How to Inspect a Motor Oil Drain Plug

Part of the Video Series Motor Oil Changes & Maintenance

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Make sure an oil drain is securely plugged. Learn how to change motor oil with tips and techniques from this free video.

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Video Transcript

How to Inspect a Motor Oil Drain Plug
Hi! My name is Dean and on behalf of expertvillage.com, in this clip we are going to talk about inspection of the drain plug. It is very critical that when you get the drain plug out that you look at the threads and make sure they feel nice and they look nice and straight. A pulled thread will lean left or lean right. You also want to take a look at the gasket area around this and make sure that it is intact and it looks like it is going to seal back up because if it’s not and you stick it back in, then you are going to have a leak and will have to pull the plug back out and change the gasket. So now would be the time to look at this and decide whether you are going to need to put a new gasket on it or whether it is going to be good enough to put back in as is. You also want to make sure that nobody has rounded off the corners of this drain plug by not using a box end wrench like we discussed in an earlier clip. If it looks good, then it is suitable to put back in and that is what we will do. This is an example of a plug that would be suitable to put back in. The threads are good; the corners aren’t rounded off on the plug. As you can see they are a little bit worn but they are in fine shape and the gasket area is still smooth and nice. This is a suitable plug to put back in.

About the Expert

Expert: Dean attended a 2 year auto-tech program in 1976, has a long standing history as a local mechanic, and now manages two oil change stores that service an average of 40 vehicles each per day. Read More