Fumoto Valve...

[The Pirate]

Anybody have any experience with these?

I was thinking about getting one.  Honda drain plugs have this damn crush washer that needs to be replaced every time you remove the plug.  There has been a few times where I change my oil and don't have one, so I just reuse the one on there and tighten the plug a little bit more.  I know this is bad, but so far so good.  Anyways, this thing would definitely make life a lot easier and would probably be better for the threads on the oil pan too.  Thoughts from CarSpin?




http://www.fumotovalve.com/

[AutobahnSHO]

? There has been a few times where I change my oil and don't have one, so I just reuse the one on there and tighten the plug a little bit more.?

Umm,
ditto here...

[The Pirate]

Umm,
ditto here...

Hahaha, one of these days it's going to bite me in the ass.

The nearest Honda dealer is over an hour away though, and I don't always think to pick up extras when I'm there.  I have a stack of 10 or so now though, so I'm set for the forseeable future.

Which vehicle of yours has a crush washer?  I was only aware of that as a Honda feature.  It's encouraging to see other manufacturers making the same blunder, I guess.

[Danish]

What kind of Honda do you have?

Just wondering, if you take your car to a private wrench, would they also replace the crush washer?

[The Pirate]

What kind of Honda do you have?

Just wondering, if you take your car to a private wrench, would they also replace the crush washer?

2000 Honda Civic DX 111K miles


As far as a private wrench replacing the crush washer, I have no idea.  I usually change my oil myself, but sometimes in winter I have no desire to crawl underneath a car, so I do occasionally have a garage do it.  I suppose it's worth asking about next time I do.

[Danish]

Come to think of it, when I go buy filters for my mom's 03 accord usually the washer is shrink wrapped with the filter

[The Pirate]

Come to think of it, when I go buy filters for my mom's 03 accord usually the washer is shrink wrapped with the filter

Yeah, I do the whole synthetic and Mobil 1 filter thing though.

[Danish]

Ahhh, that explains it

[Catman]

I like that idea.  Maybe I'll get one.  It's always the filter that's a PIA for me though.

[Rupert]

Miatas have a crush washer. And an impossible to get to filter. There's a filter relocation kit that someone makes and is pretty popular. I just cleaned up the inevitable mess, though... Much cheaper.

Oh, and I changed the Miata's oil, like, five or more times, and didn't replace the crush washer about half of that time, and it wasn't a problem.

[The Pirate]

Miatas have a crush washer. And an impossible to get to filter. There's a filter relocation kit that someone makes and is pretty popular. I just cleaned up the inevitable mess, though... Much cheaper.

Oh, and I changed the Miata's oil, like, five or more times, and didn't replace the crush washer about half of that time, and it wasn't a problem.

Yeah, probably the worst that can happen is that it will leak out of the drain, but it's not something that I would want to be under the car fixing in winter.  Cross that bridge when I get there though.  I might give the Fumoto valve a shot though, going to do a little more research.

[S204STi]

i would say that so long as the valve has some way to lock it in the closed position it wouldn't be a bad idea.  Avoid the cheapo walmart variety, I have heard bad stuff about those.

[AutobahnSHO]

i would say that so long as the valve has some way to lock it in the closed position it wouldn't be a bad idea.? Avoid the cheapo walmart variety, I have heard bad stuff about those.

Looks like they could just allow you to take out the key (lever, whatever) on the one above.

By crush washers do you mean the metal one that is thin and should start flat?
The SHO had one at one point, but I think I replaced it with the bolt that has the plastic-type washer thingey..

I've just always put whatever came out back in, exept for hard-to-get-to stuff they specifically say to put new bolts/nuts on, like when I did wheel bearings..

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And now that I ahave a garage and concrete driveway (instead of asphalt) I know why the voyager needs a quart every 5-6 weeks....   
Not a ton of leakage but every day there's a new spot of 5-6drops.

[crv16]

Honda drain plugs have this damn crush washer that needs to be replaced every time you remove the plug.?

I've owned a lot of Hondas, and changed the oil myself countless times.  I've never replaced the crush washer.  Never had any leaks either.

[The Pirate]

I've owned a lot of Hondas, and changed the oil myself countless times.  I've never replaced the crush washer.  Never had any leaks either.

Good to know.  Thanks

[J86]

Has this been going on with Hondas for awhile?  I've changed the oil on the '96 for years and have never thought about replacing it....we've had about 230k+ trouble free miles.

[Pancor]

Totally unnecessary to replace a crush washer every time, at least on an oil drain plug.  As long as it's clean and has no nicks, its fine.   Even if it did leak, it would only be like a drop every two weeks....   

[S204STi]

I think one of the purposes of the crush washer, at least on Nissans, is to allow you to torque the drain plug to spec without risking damage to the threads in the pan or damaging the bottom of the pan where the drain plug rests.  Kind of like a crush-collar on a pinion, it allows you to set the tension you want without putting extra stress on other hard parts.

[MX793]

We used valves like that on the oil pans of the rigs at the trucking fleet I worked for.  Made it very quick and easy to drain the oil and you didn't have to worry about burning your fingers on hot oil when you remove the plug or dropping the drain plug in the pan.  On the conventionals, you could reach the valve without even crawling under the vehicle if you had the hood up.