Oil drain plug

[pilotgore]

People need to do what gives them piece of mind. If running the OEM plastic plug is what makes them feel better, then absolutely only use them. I on the other hand will not use a plastic oil plug in any of my vehicles. But the main reason I use them is because they are aluminum, they are double O-Ring sealed, they are reusable and when I drain my oil, I can control the flow/output.
I Also safety wire my drain valve. Good Luck

I felt the same way…. Right up until my ronin plug was ejected during a downshift while on track. I lost all 10 quarts. Luckily I got the engine shut down in time and saved it.

After posting about my issue, I had 4 different gt350 owners reach out and say they had identical issues with their ronin. Oh… and mine was safety wired as well. Here’s a pic of the plug hanging from the safety wire, lol. You can see where the plastic nubs in the oil pan sheered off aluminum as they ejected the plug straight out. It did not rotate while backing out. It also sheered off one of the plastic nubs in the oil pan, meaning it needed to be replaced. $1200 under warranty.

It’s been postulated that the resonance frequencies of the plastic pan and the aluminum plug don’t play nice with each other. That’s way above my pay grade though….

Sponsored

 

[Cobra Jet]

For those with the factory plastic (composite) pan design - has no one in the aftermarket designed a metal pan yet?? I mean, that would be the best "upgrade" having a standard metal oil pan and metal "bolt" than the BS that is to be dealt with for a composite oil pan.

 

[JG M1]

Maybe the robust, heavy-duty design of the aftermarket plugs are putting to must stress on
the OEM factory oil pan?

 

[kz]

For those with the factory plastic (composite) pan design - has no one in the aftermarket designed a metal pan yet?? I mean, that would be the best "upgrade" having a standard metal oil pan and metal "bolt" than the BS that is to be dealt with for a composite oil pan.

Moroso has one - it actually fits just about everything.
https://www.moroso.com/ford-5-0-modular20571/

 

[mldonovan82]

Are you all replacing the drain plug after each oil change?

 

[pilotgore]

Are you all replacing the drain plug after each oil change?

No, and I can’t find anywhere that tells you change it after every oil change (including ford maintenance manuals.)

This subject came up in the gt350 forum, and the only place we could find where it said you need to replace the factory plug after every oil change, was on Ronins website. Lol.

 

[DougS550]

I felt the same way…. Right up until my ronin plug was ejected during a downshift while on track. I lost all 10 quarts. Luckily I got the engine shut down in time and saved it.

After posting about my issue, I had 4 different gt350 owners reach out and say they had identical issues with their ronin. Oh… and mine was safety wired as well. Here’s a pic of the plug hanging from the safety wire, lol. You can see where the plastic nubs in the oil pan sheered off aluminum as they ejected the plug straight out. It did not rotate while backing out. It also sheered off one of the plastic nubs in the oil pan, meaning it needed to be replaced. $1200 under warranty.

It’s been postulated that the resonance frequencies of the plastic pan and the aluminum plug don’t play nice with each other. That’s way above my pay grade though….

Sorry for your bad luck. I have a Ronin, and I safety wired to prevent lossening or ejecting. I am switching it to a UPR due to it seeps and the UPR is doubled O Ring. I have nothing against the OEM plastic ones except for the reasons I listed above. Even with the OEM, I would SW. Good Luck

 

[pilotgore]

Sorry for your bad luck. I have a Ronin, and I safety wired to prevent lossening or ejecting. I am switching it to a UPR due to it seeps and the UPR is doubled O Ring. I have nothing against the OEM plastic ones except for the reasons I listed above. Even with the OEM, I would SW. Good Luck

Do you have any pictures of how you safety wire your plug?

 

[DougS550]

Do you have any pictures of how you safety wire your plug?

I did but deleted the pictures last year. I used I think a ,050 hole on the side of the gold cap and then I drilled a small hole through one of the pan fins. I used .032 SW to secure to prevent reverse movement also applying backward pressure to prevent it from pushing out. When I change to the UPR I will update and send you picks. I have been in Aviation maintenance for 40 years and Safety wire is used everywhere.

 

[pilotgore]

I did but deleted the pictures last year. I used I think a ,050 hole on the side of the gold cap and then I drilled a small hole through one of the pan fins. I used .032 SW to secure to prevent reverse movement also applying backward pressure to prevent it from pushing out. When I change to the UPR I will update and send you picks. I have been in Aviation maintenance for 40 years and Safety wire is used everywhere.

Nice. The description makes perfect sense.

I love that safety wire is used so extensively in aviation. I got my first lesson in safety wiring from an A&P. I figured who better to learn from.

All is being said, does anyone have evidence that stock plastic plugs ever shoot out or back out? I haven’t heard if a single one. Just curious.

 

[DougS550]

Nice. The description makes perfect sense.

I love that safety wire is used so extensively in aviation. I got my first lesson in safety wiring from an A&P. I figured who better to learn from.

All is being said, does anyone have evidence that stock plastic plugs ever shoot out or back out? I haven’t heard if a single one. Just curious.

I would take a guess and say no. But, for me, I would still SW the OEM Plugs because as you know, shit happens.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Moroso has one - it actually fits just about everything.
https://www.moroso.com/ford-5-0-modular20571/

Hell, that right there would be my solution - do it once, all metal, and no more composite BS or dealing with drain plug BS....

 

[Vlad Soare]

Are you all replacing the drain plug after each oil change?

No, and I can’t find anywhere that tells you change it after every oil change (including ford maintenance manuals.)

This subject came up in the gt350 forum, and the only place we could find where it said you need to replace the factory plug after every oil change, was on Ronins website. Lol.

This is a myth whose origins appear to lie in an unfortunate choice of words in the service manual. Every procedure that involves draining the engine oil ends with a step that reads: "replace oil drain plug". But what Ford actually meant was "re-place", as in "place it back again", not as in "exchange it for a new one".

 

[Strokerswild]

I had a Ronin in my F150 for almost three years with no issue. Flawless over that time, from -30 to over 100 degrees. I replaced it with a Femco simply because the Femco has locking tabs, and I like redundancy. When I removed the Ronin, I had to use a pliers with a rag wrapped on the plug to loosen it, definitely secure.

The ability to control flow and use a hose is imperative on the 5.0 trucks due to Ford's great idea of putting the front sway bar directly in the oil flow path; it only took two Exxon Valdez events while changing oil to want to switch to something else. Not a fan of the composite pan and plastic oil plug.

 

[EFI]

For those with the factory plastic (composite) pan design - has no one in the aftermarket designed a metal pan yet??

You don't need the aftermarket for that. Ford made a nice aluminum pan for the GT500 with better baffling and 2 more quart capacity. That's what I'm upgrading mine to when it comes time.

Sponsored