O-Ring for drain plug on plastic oil pans

[rbkennedy1950]

After two years I purchased a new drain plug but all I really needed was the o-ring on the plug. When I measured the outside diameter of the new and old o-rings, while on the drain plug, the new one measured 12 thousands of an inch bigger, not sure if the old one was worn or the new one was just bigger. The new plug had no problem going in so I imagine it is better than the old one. Does anyone know if you can just purchase the o-ring from Ford or an auto parts store? I go online and find many places that sell o-rings but matching the size is a problem. I may be anal but I want to change the o-ring every time I change the oil, when putting $50 of oil in I don't mind spending another $2. I don't want to hear that the o-ring will last for years or just buy a new drain plug every year I want a replacement o-ring. Someone has to know the size of the o-ring or where we can get them.

Update 1-5-2021. I took some careful measurements of the o-ring from a new drain plug that I ordered. I then searched the web for a manufacture and found globalindustries.com and order a package of 5 O-rings. They fit perfectly although I have not used one yet but I'm sure they will be fine as they measure exactly what the factory one did. The inventory stock # is B2272251. The description is Viton O-Ring Dash 208. A pack of 5 costs about $5 with $5 shipping. I only ordered 5 as I was not sure they were correct but they are so order 10 or 20 and you should be set for life. I would not order any other material other than Viton as it meets the temperature requirements that an engine will submit the O-ring to. The bad news is that because of Covid the Post Office took almost a month to deliver them

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[thunderstrike]

UPR Mustang Billet Oil Drain Plug (15-19) 3025-01 - LMR

 

[ORRadtech]

Use a micrometer to measure inner and outer diameters and the thickness in millimeters.
If the old and new are different I'd measure both. That will give you a range to look for. From there it shouldn't be too hard to find.

 

[Reap]

Try Harbor Freight. I know they have an assortment of Viton O ring packs.

 

[Elp_jc]

Hey OP, as it was alluded on the post above mine, MATERIAL should be your #1 concern. It'd have to be Viton or better. Not sure what the OEM plugs have, but so far I'm buying a new plug with every oil change. Last time I thought I bought an OEM one, but it wasn't (Dorman). This time I bought it straight from a Ford dealership, where the O-ring is green (vs black), and will replace it next oil change at 6K miles. Not sure how many oil changes it should last, but I'd like to replace the O-ring every oil change. Spending $14 on a new plug every time seems stupid, so hope somebody finds the correct Viton O-ring, and posts the link to buy them . By the way, I replaced the plug because I like the version with the 3/8" square hole better than the 'handle' on the stock one. That's the standard GT350 plug, which is more expensive than the 'handle' one, so hopefully it has a better O-ring. Will go in next oil change in a few months. So won't need a new O-ring until 1-1/2 years or so.

 

[WD Pro]

@Elp_jc - There are green o rings, but your ford one may actually be a black one painted green. Ford have painted other o rings that are used on the coyote

If you have an old one give it a rub with a bit of thinners or chop it in half and see what colour you see, I would be interested to know.

I would also be interested to know why Ford paint them ? Perhaps the coating reduces stiction to help with the first bit of movement upon removal ?

WD

 

[boB]

I buy a lot of o-rings and checked one of my sources, TheOringStore (catchy name). Hydrogenated Nitrile (HNBR) have "...superior oil and temperature resistance..." and come in green (and black). Next time I change the oil I will measure the o-ring but I bet someone else does it sooner.

 

[TexasMetallic5.0]

I’m just going to try one of these the next time I change my oil. Throw a hose on the end and not make a mess everywhere. I’m tempted to do the oil filter relocation so I don’t have to put a plastic bag around the filter every time.

 

[Elp_jc]

I just don't trust any of those plugs. Plus they're metal, which could mess up the plastic pan. Not worth it to me. And the good news is I could control the flow with the stock plug perfectly fine, so no reason to even consider any of those things. Plus I want to drain as much oil as possible, and both UPR and Ronin say not to remove it with every oil change (probably due to the risk of damage to the oil pan with the metal). But to each his own, of course .

 

[kz]

OP - o-rings get compressed over time (since that's how they work). So the fact that new one was larger isn't abnormal.

(At work we had a high pressure / high temp application where o-rings routinely leaked, went way beyond viton on materials to fix it and whole bunch of other changes).

As for UPR drain plug - I had unfortunate experience with it when a cone ran over during autocross turned it open is I started losing oil. Shut the engine down in time.

I am back to yellow OEM plug.

(look at the concrete around and the tire - it's all oil on it - in process of replacing the UPR plug with OEM one I've had as a spare while my people went to get oil and funnels since the engine eventually ended up completely dry).

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