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I'm trying to change my oil, and getting stumped at the point of draining. There is a blue mark on the bolt which lines up with the oil pan, which I assumed was a marker to show where it should be tightened to. Now that I've had no success in making the plug budge, I'm wondering if this is a deliberate mark from a prior owner/tech to show "I've glued this up!" and oil changes would have to be done with a pump. Has anyone come across this before?
As the plug should be torqued to 25 Nm / 18 lb-ft, there's no certain way to know in advance where it will tighten to so alignment marking is out.
Jaguar consider the plug as one-time use to be replaced at each oil change. It could be the PO was suspicious and marked it to make sure it was replaced. That plug looks to have had a lot more than one use.
Looks like maybe Loctite Threadlocker Blue. Maybe the PO wanted to make sure the single use plug wouldn't loosen up after multiple uses. You'll need a bit more torque to remove it.
Why mess with a good thing.
But if you are going to...
Be prepared to encounter stripped threads on the pan. This looks like something a mechanic did with what he had at hand.
From your picture it looks like the threadlocker is under the drain plug. And you being unable to budge it also tells me that.
..... I didn't realize that the plug was disposable - I'd better get a replacement handy before trying any extra torque on it!
It's the O Ring that's disposable but Jaguar don't list it separately so a Dealer service includes a replacement Drain Plug (P/N AJ83017). Absolutely ridiculous and it's not too difficult to source the correct size O Ring if you DIY.
I agree with Queen and Country - the thread lock is suspicious.
It looks like someone has stripped the drain hole or otherwise damaged it and used an all purpose sealant like Permatex Blue to make the repair.
I wouldn't touch it, unless I had a new plug, and an oil drain repair kit available or at least the source for one. If it is really bad you might need to replace the oil pan as well. The Auto Parts stores will have solutions for you, go by their recommendations.
Good Luck.
I agree with others . It looks like a repair but the blue stuff is either Loctite or a silicon sealer. Is it hard or soft material. If hard as in Loctite then I would say you have a problem. If you remove it with using extra force be prepared to have to pull the pan. Looks like shoddy mechanics work. Can you contact the previous owner?
Just to throw out an alternative. It could be paint marking from a oil consumption test. Typical if a mechanic or dealer is testing for oil loss over a certain amount of miles, say 1000 miles they will tape off the oil cap and put a paint mark similar to what the OP has, so that they would know if someone had tampered with the plug. Just a thought...
Thank you all very much. Since I was using a fair bit of torque and it didn't budge, I thought the same about the oil pan itself potentially being stripped/damaged. I'll try going through the dealer I got the car from to go back to the prior owner and ask... never hurts to ask!
A couple of additional thoughts. Is that a leak showing? The pan is wet so either you have a leak at the pan, above the pan or it's cleaning solution. If it's not a leak, consider replacing the pan. Can't be that expensive and looks like nothing is in the way of having to drop the pan. If that's a leak, you have something else needing attention. Consider fixing that first then replace the pan.
I'm not going to hold my breath on hearing back from the prior owner, and given how firmly it's on there... do I want to replace the oil pan? I might post a review of using that pump as I couldn't find one for the 4.2l engine.
Originally Posted by Sean W
A couple of additional thoughts. Is that a leak showing? The pan is wet so either you have a leak at the pan, above the pan or it's cleaning solution. If it's not a leak, consider replacing the pan. Can't be that expensive and looks like nothing is in the way of having to drop the pan. If that's a leak, you have something else needing attention. Consider fixing that first then replace the pan.
It was hard to get a decent photo Sean! Since everything is so close together, it was focusing on the wrong part, or not bright enough, or couldn't see between the plug and pan! What you're seeing is the WD40 I tried on the screw to see if I could get it a little looser. It was all wiped down, hence the shiny look! I'm pleased to report that there's no leak
If you decide to change the sump pan, it's available from SNG Barratt, one of the forum sponsors, for about 120$US. The part number is AJ89496 and includes a drain plug.
Oil drain plug - glued?
I might post a review of using that pump as I couldn't find one for the 4.2l engine.
