Why do Americans hate drain plugs? Drive line oil change queries.

[Jordi]

Until now the only real spannering I have done has been on my Suzuki SJ.

Everything has a drain plug. Everything has a fill plug.

Dodge ram RWD - take the diff cover off to drain (or suck it out)

Is this the correct way to drain the oils from my driveline???

This Chevy TH350 - suck it out, crack the sump off and await the disaster (which I will be as i’m doing the filters) and, if so inclined fit a plug or after market sump.

NP203 kinda has a drain plug.

Dana 60 / 14 bolt remove the diff cover or suck it out.

 

[nvrenuf]

Trust me, Americans LOVE drain plugs, it’s the manufacturers that hate them. (saving pennies for profit)

 

[Ricko1966]

Until now the only real spannering I have done has been on my Suzuki SJ.

Everything has a drain plug. Everything has a fill plug.

Dodge ram RWD - take the diff cover off to drain (or suck it out)

Is this the correct way to drain the oils from my driveline???

This Chevy TH350 - suck it out, crack the sump off and await the disaster (which I will be as i’m doing the filters) and, if so inclined fit a plug or after market sump.

NP203 kinda has a drain plug.

Dana 60 / 14 bolt remove the diff cover or suck it out.

TH350 buy a new pan with a plug in it or put a plug in yours while it's off. As for R&R turn a 33 gallon trash can lid upside down on your drain pan to act like a giant funnel. Remove all the bolts except 2 corner bolts on one end loosen those as loose as you can get them and still keep them in place do the same on the other end, now take out all the other bolts.Pry your pan loose then take out 2 corner bolts,so the pan can tip and drain partially into your giant funnel drain bucket.Push it back level by hand pull your other bolts,drop the pan.Measure how much fluid you took out,put that much back in. Now that trans mission and converter is going to 12-14:quarts but you are only changing 4 when you do a fluid and filter. Drain the transmission through the drain plug once a month for the next 3 months then ever every other oil change,your fluid will always be clean.
The Dana I'd pull the cover.

 

[nvrenuf]

From an ad when I was looking for a core back in the spring. Dont know why I save random junk like this on my phone lol

You must be registered for see images attach

TH350 buy a new pan with a plug in it or put a plug in yours while it's off. As for R&R turn a 33 gallon trash can lid upside down on your drain pan to act like a giant funnel. Remove all the bolts except 2 corner bolts on one end loosen those as loose as you can get them and still keep them in place do the same on the other end, now take out all the other bolts.Pry your pan loose then take out 2 corner bolts,so the pan can tip and drain partially into your giant funnel drain bucket.Push it back level by hand pull your other bolts,drop the pan.Measure how much fluid you took out,put that much back in. Now that trans mission and converter is going to 12-14:quarts but you are only changing 4 when you do a fluid and filter. Drain the transmission through the drain plug once a month for the next 3 months then ever every other oil change,your fluid will always be clean.

I don’t think the point is “how”, it’s “why not”.

 

[xm20k]

Just plain old cost/time savings why spend 2 dollars and 10 min welding in a bung especially on something that only gets serviced in the 10s of thousands of miles, also you're not the one that'll service it, that'll be an outside shop, dealership, or the owner themselves.

 

[Ricko1966]

I don’t think the point is “how”, it’s “why not”.

He asked if this was the correct way. I gave him my version.

 

[Keith Seymore]

Just plain old cost/time savings why spend 2 dollars and 10 min welding in a bung especially on something that only gets serviced in the 10s of thousands of miles, also you're not the one that'll service it, that'll be an outside shop, dealership, or the owner themselves.

Times 15 million.

Pretty soon you are talking real money.

K

 

[WP29P4A]

Just an opinion, but I think they intentionally skip the drain plugs to motivate the DIY crowd to "Take it to the dealer". Another one of the many service scams, like John Deere not letting the end user of their products maintain/repair them. The nickle they save skipping the drain plugs drives business at the dealerships for the life of the vehicle. The biggest motivator for me to not let commissioned mechanics anywhere near my vehicles, is the damage they do while trying to cut corners.

 

[Old Guy Bill]

I just don't think a drain plug was that important in the initial design.
It just wasn't needed as a regular service item.

 

[idahovette]

Just an opinion, but I think they intentionally skip the drain plugs to motivate the DIY crowd to "Take it to the dealer". Another one of the many service scams, like John Deere not letting the end user of their products maintain/repair them. The nickle they save skipping the drain plugs drives business at the dealerships for the life of the vehicle. The biggest motivator for me to not let commissioned mechanics anywhere near my vehicles, is the damage they do while trying to cut corners.

Please don't lump all of us "commissioned mechanics" together........most of us don't do damage

 

[xm20k]

The biggest motivator for me to not let commissioned mechanics anywhere near my vehicles, is the damage they do while trying to cut corners.

I hope you never work in an auto shop because you'd probably have a panic attack every time you got out on the road with the average driver if you ever saw some of the stuff people have done to THIER OWN VEHICLES.

Also, the average customer wants the cheapest price and will refuse to fix items that are safety/priority issues and then complains when things go wrong or become a more expensive issue. This is why I no longer work in a shop on other people's junk because I have too much pride in my work to operate in that manner.

Ya sure just fix the air who need rear brakes and front ball joints

 

[Matt69olds]

The early TH350 transmissions had a pan with a drain plug. It disappeared in the early 70s.

So at one time regular maintenance and ease of service was a priority. Unfortunately, profit soon became a much bigger priority.

 

[WP29P4A]

Please don't lump all of us "commissioned mechanics" together........most of us don't do damage

I don't. I know there are plenty of ethical mechanics, I just don't have the time money or patience to locate them. It's not like the good ones have special badges that say we don't cut corners. Plus this is Reno, we don't get the best of the best here and if we do it's a few good ones, not the norm. it's a pattern here or I wouldn't have clients asking their audio/video guy to fix the stuff the pros didn't feel like doing correctly. It happens in all trades, even audio/video and network systems.

Below are two examples. The before pics are from professional installers, one is an a/v installer, the other is an IT guy. The after pics are examples of what I leave behind. The a/v system was cleaned up to make it serviceable, not to make it pretty. The last pic is how a professional electrician chose to do his finish work on a multi million dollar home. I was asked to pull out all the electrical devices on the main floor and correct these types of issues. It's way harder to fix other peoples bad work than it is to do it right the first time. It does pay well though.

 

[Rustisbest]

That looks like some stereo install and ignition box wiring I've seen lol

 

[Turbo4whl]

Another one of the many service scams, like John Deere not letting the end user of their products maintain/repair them.

John Deere, another manufacture that has stuck it up the end user. WE have many small JD's in the fleet, truck mounted for the street breaking air compressors, the welder trucks and a few others. We had a JD computer program that would let you clear codes and run a re-gen on the exhaust.

No more. If the operator ignores the codes/warnings, when the soot level goes above 3, the Deere will not re-gen on it's own. The worst is what fails. Sensors and the wiring harnesses, all from Deere fail. Not all the Deere dealers will even touch these small oil burners.