Oil drain plug on the 226

[konrad]

So looking at the oil pan on my 51 Deluxe, there is what appears to be obviously the oil drain plug at the rear of the oil pan, just ahead of the transmission.

However, the 51 parts manual lists the drain plug as being 7/8" x 18.  The head of this bolt is far larger than 7/8"...in fact it's bigger than 1 1/16"...the largest open end wrench I have.  The parts manual also shows an oil pressure relief valve, but does not show what size it should be, and I see no other obvious drain plug on the pan...

What am I missing here?  I can see no other obvious bolt for draining the oil...

[darrin145]

7/8" is the diameter of the threaded part of the plug...18 is the pitch of the threads.

[konrad]

Many thanks darrin.  Would have thought there would be a 3rd listing for the head size in that case...most inconvenient not knowing what size wrench you may need for any given bolt. 

[Fid]

The size of the oil drain plug on my '51 Kaiser is "crescent wrench."  That always seems to work fine.
Of course if you have a modern crescent wrench you have to be careful that it's not metric.

[konrad]

ROTFL...

Actually, turns out the head is 1.25".  My neighbor loaned me his largest open end wrench, and it fit, but that was after I'd already taken Betsy down off the ramps, rain was threatening...and damn whoever tightened the friggin' thing up so tight my adjustable, even with a bit of a cheater on it couldn't bust it loose.

Or perhaps, damn my 62 year old muscles (or lack thereof) that I couldn't bust it loose.

I'll try again another day, borrow my neighbor's 1.25" open end and see if I can't use the force. 

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

I have found that many mechanics who didn't tighten an oil drail plug enough overtignten from that point on.  It is one of the great nightmares of oil change places because if it is not tight enough oil leaks out and many of today's drivers never check oil & go after the shop when their engine siezes up because the oil had leaked out.  They even ignore the warning lights for low oil pressure (symption of leakage) or oil pressure gage.  I do know of cses where owners stated they didn't know what the oil pressure gage indicated and didn't care as long as the engine ran.

[Terry T]

The size of the oil drain plug on my '51 Kaiser is "crescent wrench."  That always seems to work fine.
Of course if you have a modern crescent wrench you have to be careful that it's not metric.

large pipe wrench can give more leverage

[Gordie]

The size of the oil drain plug on my '51 Kaiser is "crescent wrench."  That always seems to work fine.
Of course if you have a modern crescent wrench you have to be careful that it's not metric.
[/quote

In addition to those metric crescent wrenches don't buy left hand pliers or hammers by mistake!

[boatingbill]

I have found that if you put the wrench on the drain plug and hit the other end of the wrench with a short whack from a hammer, it will break loose every time. Easier than trying to break it loose by hand.

[MarkH]

I have found that if you put the wrench on the drain plug and hit the other end of the wrench with a short whack from a hammer, it will break loose every time. Easier than trying to break it loose by hand.

Would you describe that as an "impact wrench"? :-0

[jmxkf1]

Hi All,
I just dealt with the oil drain plug which must have been torqued on by an oil change place as mentioned in earlier post.  I tried the 1 1/4" wrench but that is too big.  The correct bolt head size for the '53 Kaiser is 1 1/8".   I'm going to find one on the internet and own it.
For this time, I used a crescent wrench.  I laid down under the car on jacks and used my leg as well as a sledge hammer to bust the nut loose.  I almost busted one of my own doing this too.  It's hard to hold the crescent wrench in position while using the leg.  The correct size wrench will be much easier.   

[konrad]

Hi All,
I just dealt with the oil drain plug which must have been torqued on by an oil change place as mentioned in earlier post.  I tried the 1 1/4" wrench but that is too big.  The correct bolt head size for the '53 Kaiser is 1 1/8".   I'm going to find one on the internet and own it.
For this time, I used a crescent wrench.  I laid down under the car on jacks and used my leg as well as a sledge hammer to bust the nut loose.  I almost busted one of my own doing this too.  It's hard to hold the crescent wrench in position while using the leg.  The correct size wrench will be much easier.   

They must have gone with a bolt with a slightly smaller head by '53, as the 1 1/8" wrench I had was too small, but my neighbor's 1 1/4" fit perfectly.

[konrad]

Okay, I was mistaken...the bolt head on my '51 is 1 1/8".

Still couldn't bust the damn thing loose today and I used both a BFH and a BFW...no visible rust in the area...someone tightened that thing down good many moons ago...