I have the Valvomax on 3 vehicles. I like them.
Valvomax drain plug "system"
- Thread starter puellarum
- Start date
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
Agree. I have two Fumoto valves (5.3L’s) - they seem well protected by the frame. Before - hot 0W20 would splatter all over - actually like slowing things down a bit …
I’m sticking with a drain bolt on the Jeep - it does off-road and only two easy oil changes per year using the filter 2 rounds …
yeah, they do..
Would've been nice to have the other week when I changed oil in one of my Civic's, it was really windy that day and I should've postponed it but went ahead anyways and the oil splattered everywhere, mostly on the inside of the rim... most of it did land in the drain pan though.
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2021
- Messages
- 84
I use the Fumoto on the dually since the oil pan was damaged from overtightening at the factory and would not seal with a metal washer . It's slow but works fine and is protected by the cross member.
I had to replace the drain plug once on my dad's 2006 F150 w/ 4.6 because the dealer totally messed up the threads. I'm a machinist and I've never seen it before but he said it looked like they split the threads on it, I guess they cross-threaded it or something... each thread was split right in the middle and looked like 2 threads. I thread a lot on a CNC lathe and I could achieve the same results by moving half the distance in between threads and cutting again but using the same threads per inch.
I installed the Fumoto on my accord, like that I don’t need any tools to do an oil change. Just jack up car about 6 inches so I can reach under and remove safety clip and flip lever.
I removed the Fumoto to install the Valvomax just to try it out. To me it was more work, when I went to screw in the drain piece, the hose would turn too so I had to screw it on a little, reorient the hose and screw on some more. I had it going into just a regular drain pan, had it been going into an empty bottle it may have been better/different maybe
I took the Valvomax off and went back to Fumoto. On my accord neither one of them didn’t hang down, just pointed straight back but for me is quicker with the Fumoto. I do like the Valvomax design but the Fumoto functions better for me
I removed the Fumoto to install the Valvomax just to try it out. To me it was more work, when I went to screw in the drain piece, the hose would turn too so I had to screw it on a little, reorient the hose and screw on some more. I had it going into just a regular drain pan, had it been going into an empty bottle it may have been better/different maybe
I took the Valvomax off and went back to Fumoto. On my accord neither one of them didn’t hang down, just pointed straight back but for me is quicker with the Fumoto. I do like the Valvomax design but the Fumoto functions better for me
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There be a lot of valves in the world. I look at my hot water heater in my garage and I know it's looking back at me, one of these days one of us will flinch and I'll either shoot it or it will explode. Hopefully I win.
I feel ya on stuff hanging down. I truly hate that one of my favorite things to do is drive down old washed out roads in search of abandoned old stuff. I turn back all of the time due to plastic pans on my F150. But to be honest - your drain plug is really just a valve. A manual one.
we are just channeling our inner Greg House
Sometimes going pee is like that, even when the valve and the hole is the same
I took a pretty hard look at that. The valvomax device maybe sticks out 1/2 inch more than the OEM drain plug. It's really miniscule and this is on a 1989 K5 blazer with a 6-in lift on 37s and 1-ton axles. If a rock hits that valvomax thing and damages it, then that same rock would have gouged a hole in the oil pan anyway. And it's approaching impossible. Between the big tires, the solid axle, the crossmember. I mean, anything hitting it is extremely unlikely. And it would have damaged the existing oil pan and drain plug anyway.
How many times have I told myself I would be extra careful and not splash any... And yet every time it splatters everywhere.
On the flip side, I'ts still a valve and not a plug. Which I cannot put my trust into.
Considering how much oil is left behind normally, I don't think it realistically matters. On my FRS, for example, there's almost an entire litre that remains in the engine normally. 6.3L dry fill vs 5.4L service fill. After installing a Fumoto valve I haven't noticed a difference when changing oil.
When I did my oil change and went from the Valvomax back to the Fumoto, I should have put a different drain pan underneath and measured the small amount that came out afterwards but I didn’t even think about that until after I had taken the valve off.
If I had to venture a guess, I would say MAYBE an ounce, if that, came out after I pulled the valve off.
From what I have read throughout the years about how much oil is left in the nooks and crannies of the engine Im not worried about it. The people out there (me included) that run a Fram Ultra or Toughguard and do 5K mile intervals and reuse the filter one or two more times and just leave the filter on. How much old oil is still in the filter?
People come up with all sorts of excuses to not use one. “Oh I’m afraid that it will stick down another 1/8th of an inch or if a rock or stick or something hits the lever on the Fumoto valve, it takes longer to drain blah blah”. Come on. The Fumoto has a spring activated lever, you have to lift it and then push it 45 degrees to get the oil to start draining. If you push up on the lever and don’t turn it it will go back down into the notch and stay closed. Yes it does take a minute or two longer. Big deal. If you don’t want it, don’t buy it
I go to do an oil change, I STILL have to lay down on the ground (my dream is to own a lift someday), I STILL have to jack the body up about 6 inches so I can reach/fit under the car, I just reach under, pull of the safety clip that came with mine (you don’t have to use the clip if don’t want to, see above) lift up on the lever, turn it and it starts draining into the oil drain pan. Then while that is going on, get my oil and funnel ready. If I’m reusing my oil filter I just wait for the oil to stop draining, close valve, put safety clip back on, pull out drain pan, lower car and refill.
Yes, you may have a drip or two you have to wipe off the face of the valve when you close it or go to put the Valvomax screw on cover back on but that is it.
I do like the design of the Valvomax better with the hose attachment and like @Trav has mentioned in this post and others, if you put the hose into an empty 5qt container you don’t have to transfer from oil drain pan to recycle container
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P.S.
I do have my Valvomax oil drain system for sale in the For Sale section on here. Part # is M14-1.50 it fits multiple years and models of Accords, Civics, CRV, Odyssey etc…
If for your year/make/model if this is same part number I’m letting mine go for less than half price MSRP. I’m not going to use it and eventually just throw it away to get it out of my shed
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4WD
$50 site donor 2024
Since I don’t use a hose - just like the shorties - you can see they only have enough threads to fill the sump threads - so don’t think they strand much oil - you could always pour a few ounces of cheap oil straight through if you want to check it …
Exactly
