sump plug won't seal

JohnD

JohnD

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I have a 1996 carina E, 4A-FE engine. I changed the oil a few days ago, it dripped. I drained it out, cleaned around the plug hole with a wire brush as the sump pan was grubby and rusty to prevent anything getting onto the seating, refitted with a new copper washer (not the right size, couldn't get one. the centre hole was too big but I fitted it central.

The hex on the plug was worn and slipped on the torque spanner, so i did it up tight with an open-ender. It dripped overnight. Today i got a new drain plug, which came with a fibre washer, and drained, wiped, refitted, refilled. The fibre washer was 22mm and the flange on the plug is 21mm, probably doesn't matter. It is torqued up to 39Nm

It is still not a good seal. There were a couple of drips under the car when I came back with a mug of tea. However many times I wipe round the plug, the paper towel always has a trace of oil on it. I did not use any goo or sealant. The fibre washer was oily on the engine side but dry on the plug side. i have one spare fibre washer.

Any tips? I should have been able to fix this.

Haven't been able to get copper washers in the right size, it is 12mm ID and 21mm OD

Am I going to have to use (spits) goo?
 
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Andy has the answer. The thread is stripped on my 406 sump plug but is an oil tight fit with PTFE tape - as long as you don't do it up to tight. Check around the boss to make sure it not leaking from there.

Peter
 
it's a new plug so it must be leaking round the flange. The shaft has a reduced neck on it below the thread so won't seal into the thread at the head end.
 
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Some of the more modern diesel engines have a compressible metal washer with a rubber ring on the inside.....useful to have around!
In your case, just back the plug out and wind a good few turns of PTFE tape between the washer and the sump, then wind it back in.
Plugs with a wound thread (like yours) need a thicker washer than usual - often aluminium.
John :)
 
Thats what I was trying to describe....useful things!
However, if the neck on your plug is bigger than the washer thickness, it may not work as well.
John :)
 
this evening I tried PTFEtape on the thread and the washer (this new plug does not have a neck on it like the old one did)

still drips.

Have bought a tube of Loctite blue silicone which I will try when I have time. I'm getting quite quick at the drain and refill thing now, and only spilt it a couple of times.
 
Burnerman said:
Some of the more modern diesel engines have a compressible metal washer with a rubber ring on the inside.....useful to have around!
In your case, just back the plug out and wind a good few turns of PTFE tape between the washer and the sump, then wind it back in.
Plugs with a wound thread (like yours) need a thicker washer than usual - often aluminium.
John :)
Click to expand...

I think that's the way to go. They're called "Dowty washers". I've used them on troublesome sump plugs before and they work well. If you take your copper one to a nearby hydraulics place (like parkers or somesuch) they'll probably be able to sort you out. My last one cost me 50p.
 
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when you get it sealed, might be as well to suck it out the top the next time?
 
Loctite 55 might be a bit better than PTFE.

I'd still use Universal Blue rather than the silicone as it's a lot more sticky, and less likely to break up.

I once took apart a whining gearbox off an Escort, which someone had previously dismantled and rebuilt with gallons of silicone on the gasket faces. Nearly every oil passage was blocked with strings of the stuff :rolleyes:
 
well I fitted it with the dowty seal, nice bright plug, seems fine

still drips.

On careful inspection, I found a tiny crack or pinhole in the sump pan. looks like it could have hit a brick or something, there is a rough indentation in the front of the pan just fore of the plug, and oil has been weeping out and trickling off the plug head. It's even possible that someone had sealed it with a blob of araldite or something, which I wire-brushed off when I was cleaning up the rough, rusty looking front of the pan. Maybe the bodgy garage i used to go to balanced the car on a trolly jack on the sump.

bloody thing

I drained it, degreased it, put a dab of the loctite blue silicone on the hole, let's see if it sets enough to block it.

Not worth spending money on, it's a high milage car. I don't even know if it's worth my time taking the pan off to try and fix it or get one from a scrappy.

I wonder if an oil leak is an MOT failure?
 
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