93 850 oil drain plug

Post by **eroosa** » 13 Dec 2006, 22:54

I went to change the oil (while I was changing the oil pressure sensor) and I noticed that the oil drain plug was rounded off a great deal by the person (mechanic?) who did the last oil change. It is a $1.98 part and should have been replaced. Knowing that it was rounded I tried four different wrenches, sockets to get it off. Is this a left hand thread? It does not budge either way and I tried a vice grips (as a last resort) and it STILL won't budge! Any suggestions?

Thanks

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 13 Dec 2006, 23:30

If you're going to replace it anyway, use a pipe wrench and it will come off...lefty loosy, righty tighty. Same as any other screw.

Post by **akitawagon** » 14 Dec 2006, 00:05

Yes, it should be counter clockwise (to the left) to loosen the drain plug.

If you still have the original '93 drain plug with the extra large head and permanently fixed nylon gasket, the person who last changed the oil probably over torqued it and rounded off the edges (the nylon gasket isn't as effective at stopping the oil leaking as the aluminium crush washers so it gets over tightened). The first time I changed my oil on my '93, the plug was on pretty tight from the last change and I had to whack the wrench a bit with the rubber mallet in order to get it loose.

As MIJ suggested, a pipe wrench should work pretty well at getting it loose.

oki-inu · Post by **oki-inu** » 15 Dec 2006, 02:52

I have this same problem. It looks like someone put the plug in with no gasket, couldn't even get it off with a pipe wrench, although I wasn't able to get the car high enough to really do it right. I'm afraid something will break and I'll have to replace the pan. I've been changing the oil through the dipstick tube.

bobsnow100 · Post by **bobsnow100** » 15 Dec 2006, 13:48

Once you have your pipe wrench on,Give the wrench a whack with a hammer to loosen it. Works better than brute force. Otherwise go to a oil change place and say you want an oil change. They should be able to get it off. Have a new one ready to replace that one.

Post by **eroosa** » 16 Dec 2006, 15:34

Even the pipe wrench would not work. Here is what solved the problem:
IRWIN bolt-grip 5 piece expansion set. They are sockets that are VERY heavy duty and designed to bite into the metal. They cost about $21.00 at the Advance auto parts store. I used the 11/16" size and a 3/8 ratchet and it came right off. Hopefully this will be a better solution for the guy using the dipstick tube. Apparently overtightening is easy to happen on this car.

Thanks for your help as always.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 16 Dec 2006, 16:58

Glad you got it off...now make sure and use an aluminum washwer when you put the new bolt on and then only tighten it enough to crush the washer (28 Lbs Ft.)

oki-inu · Post by **oki-inu** » 18 Dec 2006, 03:31

eroosa wrote:Even the pipe wrench would not work. Here is what solved the problem:
IRWIN bolt-grip 5 piece expansion set. They are sockets that are VERY heavy duty and designed to bite into the metal. They cost about $21.00 at the Advance auto parts store. I used the 11/16" size and a 3/8 ratchet and it came right off. Hopefully this will be a better solution for the guy using the dipstick tube. Apparently overtightening is easy to happen on this car.

Thanks for your help as always.

I'll try that but it may be a month or so before I'm ready. If it works I will report back.

200K+ · Post by **200K+** » 19 Dec 2006, 08:36

Hi guys. I recently procured a 1995 850 and did my first tuneup last weekend. I also noticed the drain plug was tighter than I thought it should be, and the corners of the head showed signs of rounding. A ratchet handle and a good whack rather than steady pressure did the trick.

However! The reason for my post is not just to say "me too", it's to share this find: http://www.fumotovalve.com/

The oil drain plug valve! I had one on my RX-7 and grew quite fond of it. As oil changes go it would be months in between, so every time I crawled under the car with a rag and my tools I was pleasantly surprised to find this cool little valve I'd so thoughtfully installed

I'm definitely getting one for the volvo! One and only caveat: Using this valve, the oil does drain noticably slower than it does with the drain plug out. Obviously not a big deal, but if you are an extremely impatient person, it could irk you.

Thanks, and I look forward to many more posts on this GREAT site. (you won me over with the writeup on checking actual mileage from the ECU with the little black box)

-marshall

Tsquared · Post by **Tsquared** » 19 Dec 2006, 19:56

200K+ wrote: However! The reason for my post is not just to say "me too", it's to share this find: http://www.fumotovalve.com/
-marshall

I have posted the glory of the Flumoto valve in other threads. For the fist service on any of my new cars I put one of these on and a K&N air filter. The valves are very stiff initally but they break in after about 10 uses. I do recomend with the Volvo you get the valve with the nipple.

Good lead in Marshall, Welcome to Mathew's Volvo Forum. You will find this a friendly forum that has many knowlegable people without the BS you can encounter on other sites. (It also has pretty good moderators - MIJ, your doing a great job!)

Tony