Product Review: Fumoto Quick Oil Drain Valve
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| www.4x4wire.com/mitsubishi/reviews/fumoto_valve/ |
Short Cuts |
Author/Photographer: Doug H
Editor: Phil Hansford - Oct 25, 2001
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| "You will ask yourself why you didn't think
of this sooner?"
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We all know the Montero and Montero sports have their strong points,
and sometimes their weak points. One of the things you come to live
with if you own a Montero or another model is the horrible design of
the oil pan. If you have ever changed the oil yourself on a
Mitsubishi you will understand. The drainplugs as situated in the
corner of oilpan and a very strange angle. To make things worse the
way the drain is placed it is up above the oil level when the oil
starts lowering as the fluid volume lowers. This eventually leads to
the oil seeping out, spattering outside the drain pan, or dripping
onto crossmembers or other parts.
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| This little device can save a lot of hassle! |
One solution is to jack up one side of the truck. Then when you
finally get the drain plug out you are treated to a nice flood of
3,000-mile old oil on you arms, tools, and face. Your driveway will
also be on the receiving end of a puddle from the torrent of oil that
will overshoot the drainpan by at least a foot.
To solve this problem I turned to truck and tractor, or
www.truckandtractor.com, a genI parts dealer. The site offers a
permanent replacement for the stock oil drainplug. It consists of a
threaded valve that is similar to a gas valve. It has a spring loaded
locking mechanism that is designed to remain closed even with a huge
amount of vibration from the engine. It is offered with or without a
nipple end. Get the nipple end type, even if you do not hook a hose
to the nipple, it still directs the flow of oil, and lowers dripping.
Installation is simple as it could get. Run the engine a little to
stir up the contaminants in the pan, clench your teeth, and be
prepared to get one last splash in the face, and oil on the road.
Good, do a dance, because you will never have to deal with this flaw
of Mitsubishi engineering ever again. It is nice to win.
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| Here is the installed valve, totally out of harm's way. |
Clean off the threads that go into the pan, and check that there
isn't any grit in the threads. The drain is supposed to come with a
pressed material seal to go between the plug, mine did not have one,
I'll give truck and tractor a break on this and assume it fell off
the table during packaging. Instead I chose to use one of the
crushable seals that we use normally, the metal ones the dealer gives
you with a new oil filter. Tighten it up with an adjustable wrench
until it is nice and tight, as you will never have to take it out
again, but be careful not to strip the threads by over tightening.
The end result is great. You will ask yourself why you didn't think
of this sooner. Just turn the valve lever, and go have a cold one. If
only changing the oil filter was this easy, whose idea was it to put
it over the front axle any way?
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