Has anyone out there found a harder, more durable bolt than the Jaguar XR820128 one? I just picked up another one yesterday at the Greensboro dealership but I despise these bolts because regardless of how good your 13mm wrench is or how careful you are with it, these soft heads will begin to round on you after just two or three oil changes....

There's gotta be a harder bolt out there somewhere that won't leak. Anyone found it?

 

MY OE sump bolt has lasted 10/11 years. It could do with replacing now but I'm more than happy with the 10+ year lifespan that I've achieved. I've never had a leak in my 6 year ownership.

 

I'm also still using the one that came with the car in 2007.

 

I rounded mine off changing the oil a few weks ago. Just went to the local Autozone and replaced with the their brand. Seems to be good quality. I did pony up for an extra long 13mm wrentch that I hope keeps me out of trouble next time.

 

Thanks for your feedback. Do you happen to have the Autozone part number?

 

I use a 6 point impact socket to remove the oil plug. No rounding as I am still using the factory oil plug at 105K miles.
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Looks like the AutoZone part number for my 2005 S-Type 3.0's drain plug bolt is 653106 (size M14-1.5) for $4.99 each in my neck of the woods. Less than half the dealership price and even better, it comes with a larger head (15mm). Appears to be a Ford part and that's good since these 3.0 engines are essentially a Ford Duratech V6 with a few tweaks....

I'll try one of these bolts next time. Hopefully the head isn't made out of soft lead like the Jaguar bolt appears to be....

 

Sorry to say it but you should not be rounding them off!

I'm on the same one after 5+ years and 40K miles. My previous Ford had what looks to be the identical plug and it lasted all my ownership of the car (7+ years, same oil change interval, 73K miles).

They're deliberately soft so that if badly treated they protect the item they thread into. Anyone rounding them needs to figure out why and stop doing it. Using a harder plug is asking for worse trouble.

It's easier for me not to round them - I'm weedy. For those who're strongly made I think the use of a small-range torque wrench is maybe the answer.

 

Our two Jaguar drain plug bolts are the only ones I've ever had a problem with. I've been doing my own oil changes since the late 1970s. My Craftsman wrenches are of good quality and I take proper care of them. I try to be especially careful with ALL drain plugs. But there's no question that these bolt heads are far softer than any of the other heads I've owned....

Maybe it is just me. After all, my wife has complained over the years of me permanently torquing and twisting the seats in her vehicles just from sitting in them and trying to get comfortable for long periods of time. And the back of my head did indeed wear a hole the size of a tennis ball all the way through the leather surface in the family room sofa cushion where I liked to place my head while watching sporting events. The reupholstery company that we hired to replace that leather surface said that in 50 years of business, they had never seen anything like it....

 

Er, ... get your wife to tighten the next one using the shortest spanner that fits? She'll probably not be able to over-torque it....

 

My wife will agree to crawl underneath a vehicle after you manage to capture the Loch Ness Monster....

 

Oh, it's gonna be a while then.

A torque wrench where you set the torque and it clicks when it's reached.