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Sump plug Hell

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hell plug sump
4K views 27 replies 13 participants last post by  rarebear 
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#1 ·
I decided to do an oil change but came to a quick stop when the Sump plug's
hex centre rounded out1 i went to the local Alfa/Fiat (Simonstone) & nearly fell over when
they asked for over £14 for a sump plug & washer ...why so much?

So tomorrow I will have another bash at it ,any tips ?

I may have to file flats & get the steelsons working?

Oh thanks to the Blue 147 for letting me out of Simonstones ,no one else was going to :thumbs:
 
#3 · (Edited)
I think there is a seller/Alfa Specialist that does a tapered sump plug for plugs that just continue turning without tightening?

At the moment i can't remember but! will have a think unless someone else comes up with who it is? I have it on my twinspark and with it you don't need a washer, think it was £5? Sorry, not much help!:lol: But there is an Alfa specialist who stocks, manufactures these, but im not sure if its the same for your stealth Tractor jobbie?

Just remembered it is Alfashop in Norwich.
 
#6 ·
£14....... I know that is daylight robery but just be thankful the bill isn't for something more expensive like a new sump. Unless its over £100 from alfa I don't think twice about it. By the time you've driven around to other shops, phoned people and emailed them for the part you will have spent double the original £14 in fuel and the phone bill! I paid £9 odd the other day for the tiny light bulb that goes in the aircon control panel. £9!!!!!!!! Believe me. No where else did them that size!
 
#8 ·
The sump plug on my car was loose when I got it.

When I say loose I mean just about finger tight. I was expecting stripped threads to be the reason for it, but they are ok. :confused:

Not sure who did the last oil change but the car had a Halfords filter on it.
 
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#9 ·
Oh what fun I had today,decided to buy a new 8mm hex built into a socket to get more leverage,I chose the 1/2" drive over the 3/8" drive as i have a nice metre long bar which is 1/2" drive.I also thought that if it worked out that it was that tight I would leave it as i did not want to strip the thread (its had a new sump already)so I bought a cheap small pump that sucks the old oil from the dipstick ,great I've got it all covered!

First unforeseen(by me) problem was that with the 1/2" drive the bar or Ratchet head is too big as it fouls against the bend in the exhaust pipe,its curved right next to the plug as it has to go around a mount! So I put just the socket on & used some large Mole grips but it just turned inside the hex of the old sump plug, OK plan 2, the pump.Feeling slightly smug I fitted the pipe as per instructions & went to switch it on,before I did for some reason I thought that I had pushed it in too far & maybe the pipe was not under the oil so I went to pull it back up a tad.

Unforeseen problem number 2, the bloody Fecking pipe was stuck fast ??? It wouild go in but would not come out, I pulled & it stretched to nearly a third of its length, OMG I can't put the blasted dipstick back in so I stuck,I was bloody furious ,I'm sure the neighbours must have heard me having a long swearing conversation with myself.I jacked it up again & treid to see if I could take the dipstick tube out but this was not happening,so I started twistiing & pushing & pulling & managed to free it although it was still stretching & as a last gesture it let go wrapping around me with all the bloody black Selena oil all over me & DOWN MY NECK,not a happy chappy. Wife came out & started telling me off about all the blasted oil over the path & palnts etc ,god shoot me now !So tomorrow its a big pair of stillsons after I grind some flats on the edges.
Oh just out of interest I checked with the local Porsche dealer & a sump plug for my 996 is cheaper ?? but with that I would have missed all this fun :)
 
#10 ·
bobster ! I feel for you ... been there done that.. all I can say that oil stains will remain whatever chemical you put on it ! better stick to the P car (like me) only the quantity to
refill the P is staggering, but the plug(s) come off neatly
 
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#13 ·
Symon that's a great idea, you are invited to my place to do it ,i'll watch & supply the tea :thumbs::)

Rarebear ,your damn right mine takes 9 litres & last service it was £114+ for 10l of mobil 1 !!

Sparky ,I can see the funny side now but at the time I just wished one of my son's had popped in so i could chew his head off & blame him for it lol,well son's they have to have some use ?

Wifey well ... still moaning apparently its a Russian vine that has been enviromentaly endangered ?
 
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#16 ·
Not to far away with that image Bezste:lol:

Ok got down to it again & had to chiesel the MF out a right pain but all done now.
The old one was round as round could be inside & looks as though its been that way for awhile,baring in mind that this car has been looked after up to my ownership by Alfa dealers & Alfa specialists only since new,also looking through the service receipts its not only had a new sump but 3 other sump plugs in the past? Either rubbish plugs or rubbish mechanics or both !!

Old plug named "Head Barsteward"
 

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#17 ·
While I was in the garage one of my lads arrived & roped me into servcing his car & fixing the rocker cover gasket leak that he had for awhile.here's his car that he loves.As you will see in the photo's I cleaned his stupidly expensive "BMC, air filter but on the inside holder it reads "not for highway use" so whats it for then ?
 

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#19 ·
I think it is because in some countries certain parts that are fitted to cars need type approval.

Not here. :p
 
#20 ·
Americans have funny laws... as a matter of fact they are funny in a dangerous way:cheese:

I once bought a box of bullits in a gunshop with the remark not to use on people !:rolleyes:
 
#21 · (Edited)
I'm struggling to get my sump plug off, another stupid hex head and no doubt last tightened by a dealer monkey with an industrial jack hammer ! Any tips to get it off without stripping something. It's difficult to understand the stupidity of the designer that decided to use a sump plug with a poxy hex fitting when they could quite easily have used a plug with a nice big normal bolt head.:rant:
 
#23 ·
Tried WD40. Tried heat + WD40. I don't see how WD40 will work anyway. If the oil can't get out it's unlikely the WD40 will get in ... for all it's penetrating powers ! I haven't tried total brute force yet, until something gives, but I suspect if I do it will be the hex rounding out. Perhaps someone needs to remind Alfa that steel and aluminum don't mix ... unless you want them to weld themselves together which they do very well. And I'm not going to even start on the hassle I've just had changing the air filter :rolleyes:.
 
#24 ·
Well the sump plug came off in the end, undamaged ... solution was to moderately hammer the plug flat on the end and all of a sudden it unscrewed with no effort at all. Must have broken the bond to the copper washer I guess.

Incidentally, is the engine subframe on other 147's as rusty as mine is after only 5 years ??!! Looks like it never had any paint or other protection from the day it rolled out the factory. And the underbody sealant is pretty poor compared to a VW, thin as hell and barely covering the various seams ... not impressed at all. And I thought Alfa had eliminated their rust problems.:(
 
#26 ·
Now you need to do up the sump plug using a torque wrench. It is only done up to 17 to 21 Nm which is about 15 lbs.ft or ft.lbs if you prefer!

Use a new Dowty washer and you won't have any problems in the future. The problem is that the specified torque does not feel that much (it isn't!) and the temptation is to "tweak" it a bit more. I've lock wired those on my GTV and daughter's 147, not really needed it but it prevents the above temptation.
 
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