New oil pan needed after 1st oil change (2.7 engine w/ plastic oil pan and drain plug)

[da_jokker]

I wasn't going to buy a ronnin plug...now I think I might....not because of the plug being plastic as much as the idea we are supposed to replace them at every oil change.

I've never replaced a washer on a drain bolt either...but having a plastic plug give up the ghost seems likely.

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[8cam]

Wow a plastic oil pan and a snap-fit drain plug. On an off-road rig. This seems right up there with the 2-piece lug nuts. WTF Ford? I wonder if anyone is making a real steel oil pan with a drain plug and copper washer yet?

 

[rtazz17]

Wow a plastic oil pan and a snap-fit drain plug. On an off-road rig. This seems right up there with the 2-piece lug nuts. WTF Ford? I wonder if anyone is making a real steel oil pan with a drain plug and copper washer yet?

This argument has been around forever. These composite pans are extremely stout. I have had one on my f350 for 11 years without issue and its not covered by any protection. If you are able to crack this pan then you would also put a hole through a steel pan. I have also used the same yellow plug for 11 years and 200,000 miles without issue. You wont find hardly any complaints of a cracked composite pan on forums where this pan is used.

 

[Fonz54]

@Administrator requesting to add that its the 2.7 engine with plastic oil pan and drain plug to the title and OP so as not to confuse all of the forum as this is in the general maintenance section.


these are fairly good in terms of plastic oil pans (why? Just..... why????), but they will always be a potential failure point and issue.

FWIW, many companies make retrofit kits to give you a viable long term drain plug, Ronin being my personal favorite if I had wanted to go with the 2.7 engine.

I replaced mine with the Ronin unit on my first oil change.

 

[Yukon65006]

This argument has been around forever. These composite pans are extremely stout. I have had one on my f350 for 11 years without issue and its not covered by any protection. If you are able to crack this pan then you would also put a hole through a steel pan. I have also used the same yellow plug for 11 years and 200,000 miles without issue. You wont find hardly any complaints of a cracked composite pan on forums where this pan is used.

The composite pan was never even in my list of things I was worried about. Given that they have been used for years with little issue and on the Bronco it is protected by the skid plates. As for the plug I did purchase a replacement/spare like I have with threaded plugs and crush washers. Cheap insurance to have on the shelf.

I have no idea how the internal pins/tabs could break given the strength of the new composites and only having the limited range of rotation the plug has with positive stops built in.

 

[Yukon65006]

Did you try righty tighty lefty loosey? The spot you put the plug in is when its loose then it turns clockwise from there and snaps tight on the other side of those ribs.

Yes it should be loose in that position and turned clockwise to tighten/draw it in. As you can see I was able to press it all the way in so no guide pins/tabs/tits/whatever you want to call them.

I attached another vid to the original post showing it rotating from stop to stop while being all the way in. Also a vid showing the condition of the plug with no damage to it.

 

[Raptor911]

don't be nervous. This plug literally has been used on several million fords

The OP's vehicle is a unique situation, either it was damaged during the 1st oil change or it was defective from the get go.

Don't go trying to rig up a clamp as you may damage the pan.

oh ok. I'll have to ask them when i have them do my change next week. I'd hate to have something happen and it drop out. I wonder if there is a rubber clamp you could wrap around those tabs and the pan to hold it just in case. This shit has me nervous now that i know mine has had a small drip around the plug.

 

[Yukon65006]

don't be nervous. This plug literally has been used on several million fords

The OP's vehicle is a unique situation, either it was damaged during the 1st oil change or it was defective from the get go.

Don't go trying to rig up a clamp as you may damage the pan.

I agree with don't be nervous, this is the 1st I have heard of something like this.

If I damaged it during the oil change (this was the 1st one) I have no idea how. The design is pretty ID10t proof. Has built in stops on the pan and the plug to prevent over tightening.

 

[cowman]

The composite pan was never even in my list of things I was worried about. Given that they have been used for years with little issue and on the Bronco it is protected by the skid plates. As for the plug I did purchase a replacement/spare like I have with threaded plugs and crush washers. Cheap insurance to have on the shelf.

I have no idea how the internal pins/tabs could break given the strength of the new composites and only having the limited range of rotation the plug has with positive stops built in.

I will put my money on it was a manufacture defect on the pan....

 

[Yukon65006]

Updated 1st post. Warranty denied, as expected.

 

[Raptor911]

I am curious .. did you do the 1st oil change?

Updated 1st post. Warranty denied, as expected.

 

[Yukon65006]

I am curious .. did you do the 1st oil change?

This was the 1st oil change.

 

[da_jokker]

So you guys are saying that a plastic composite oil pan can take a beating like this?

 

[JBlanco]

I will put my money on it was a manufacture defect on the pan....

100% this! Given the track record quality control of these trucks, no surprises here.
Hopefully the tabs are stuck to the pickup tube screen.
I would like to see the breakaway points between the tabs and the oil pan through a microscope to determine if there were extrusion defects.

 

[ColeTrain84]

So roughly $1400 to change it out? I'd be finding a way to keep it in place until I decided to tackle it myself. That's absurd. From the pics that the one dude posted, it doesn't appear to be that bad to swap out

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