The Ford Barn - View Single Post

Bruce Lancaster · 10-09-2017, 02:42 PM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

I think the violent rush of oil was a feature, not a bug...but oriented toward real service stations with a big drain and catcher that could be put right up under a car on a hoist. I think the rush (remember, this replaced an earlier pan with regular small plug and hole) was intended to rush some sludge out the door before it could settle. Obviously a problem if you are trying to get the oil into an old roasting pan sitting on the floor 18" above the pan in your driveway...
There were wrenches made for that plug, as noted above, but it never occurred to me big wrenches might be needed...oil changes on the family '48 were done by my Father before I started being interested, and I continued doing them when the car devolved to me. We both used the Ford adjustable that came with the car when it was delivered, and had no problems suggesting need for a bigger wrench. The OEM wrench can only partially grip the flats, but that is plenty since this is a bung plug tightened against a gasket, not a highly torqued fastener.
My Father taught me to run my finger around the large hole to help remove the sludge, which was a standard feature in pre-PCV days.

10-09-2017, 02:42 PM	#26
Bruce Lancaster Member Emeritus Join Date: May 2010 Location: Madison, NJ Posts: 5,230	Re: Large oil pan plug Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) I think the violent rush of oil was a feature, not a bug...but oriented toward real service stations with a big drain and catcher that could be put right up under a car on a hoist. I think the rush (remember, this replaced an earlier pan with regular small plug and hole) was intended to rush some sludge out the door before it could settle. Obviously a problem if you are trying to get the oil into an old roasting pan sitting on the floor 18" above the pan in your driveway... There were wrenches made for that plug, as noted above, but it never occurred to me big wrenches might be needed...oil changes on the family '48 were done by my Father before I started being interested, and I continued doing them when the car devolved to me. We both used the Ford adjustable that came with the car when it was delivered, and had no problems suggesting need for a bigger wrench. The OEM wrench can only partially grip the flats, but that is plenty since this is a bung plug tightened against a gasket, not a highly torqued fastener. My Father taught me to run my finger around the large hole to help remove the sludge, which was a standard feature in pre-PCV days.