Technical sump plug hell

[koalar]

For the first two hours I would only put one arm under, after that I put both under, but am still scared of putting my head properly under.

When its tight,

You really will struggle working at arms length, especially with a small amount of leverage

 

[bugsymike]

Ooooh thats brilliant, and omg YES! lefty loosey, righty tighty, I swear by it lol. I was laying on the drive, practicing in the air incase I was turning the wrong way. I wasn't, but the whole time I was chanting it like a spell.

I'm gonna give it a go with the short one I bought from Halfords tomorrow, then when it doesnt work, buy a longer one. Yours looks sooo good, really sturdy. Dad has a short one that's as sturdy, but it doesn't fit. I know Dad must have had one like yours, but I've made the garage even worse. I've defo seen a metal pole in there at some point tho. I really need to send all the stuff back to mediequip as I'd have more space, but still can't face it.

Leverage is everything, so perhaps if the Halfords one is a good fit you can extend by use of a metal tube.
Mind you if Halfords "toy" breaks they are less likely to refund if they think you have added extra leverage.

 

[John202020]

Anyone else slightly concerned about using a nearly 2ft long wrench on a "fragile " Fiat sump pan?

 

[bugsymike]

Anyone else slightly concerned about using a nearly 2ft long wrench on a "fragile " Fiat sump pan?

It's longer than that , but does depend on the skill of the operator
My argument in defence is someone yanking and straining all over the place with a "toy" tool has less control than a gentle even pressure with more leverage.
I would say under normal circumstances I have a standard L shape allen key of the correct size to fit those sump plugs that came in a Lada (Fiat124 under license) tool kit back in 1975 which a quick bump of the flat of your hand usually undid those sump plugs.

 

[RalphM]

To be honest I would try a the quick bump with the palm of your hand as above it works
for me, the other thought is get your garage to loosen it for you as your spending more on tools
than the job would cost with no guarantee of success.

 

[rmjbn1]

Just in case there was any doubt, this is the direction it needs to go to remove the sump plug

 

[steveras57]

Ooooh thats brilliant, and omg YES! lefty loosey, righty tighty, I swear by it lol. I was laying on the drive, practicing in the air incase I was turning the wrong way. I wasn't, but the whole time I was chanting it like a spell.

I'm gonna give it a go with the short one I bought from Halfords tomorrow, then when it doesnt work, buy a longer one. Yours looks sooo good, really sturdy. Dad has a short one that's as sturdy, but it doesn't fit. I know Dad must have had one like yours, but I've made the garage even worse. I've defo seen a metal pole in there at some point tho. I really need to send all the stuff back to mediequip as I'd have more space, but still can't face it.

Please take your time healing is NOT a linier process( and hes still with in spirit and in your heart!)☺

 

[bugsymike]

Please take your time healing is NOT a linier process( and hes still with in spirit and in your heart!)☺

And with his tools you are using.
When I go I don't think many of my children will know how to use much of it, even though the use of those tools fed and clothed them for all their younger lives.

 

[AnthonyH]

Anyone else slightly concerned about using a nearly 2ft long wrench on a "fragile " Fiat sump pan?

The first time I changed the oil I overtightened the plug when putting it back...so the next oil change needed a breaker bar, not sure if it was 450mm or 600mm. But it certainly requred a lot of oomph to get off. I learnt that lesson!

 

[bugsymike]

The first time I changed the oil I overtightened the plug when putting it back...so the next oil change needed a breaker bar, not sure if it was 450mm or 600mm. But it certainly requred a lot of oomph to get off. I learnt that lesson!

There used to be a joke in the trade, "How tight do you do that nut?" the reply was " Strip the threads and back half a turn".
We would soon have got a smack around the head if it had happened.

 

[rmjbn1]

I like the 'back half a turn', it's always tempting to pretend you didn't notice and walk away :/
@sherbsville if it's any comfort I'm with you in spirit in being reduced to tears by a tiny fiat. Spent yesterday draining the gearbox, driveshaft out and separated then discovered I had the wrong partAt least we're both having fun :0|

 

[bugsymike]

I like the 'back half a turn', it's always tempting to pretend you didn't notice and walk away :/
@sherbsville if it's any comfort I'm with you in spirit in being reduced to tears by a tiny fiat. Spent yesterday draining the gearbox, driveshaft out and separated then discovered I had the wrong partAt least we're both having fun :0|

It always annoyed me when Motor factors supplied the wrong parts and then calmly sent the replacement at 5:30 when going home and the customer steaming!
In the end I used to say to them "if there is a choice of two parts for that model, send both, as it was on account they could just put wrong part back into stock with no downtime for me.

 

[sherbsville]

There used to be a joke in the trade, "How tight do you do that nut?" the reply was " Strip the threads and back half a turn".
We would soon have got a smack around the head if it had happened.

No, seriously, Dad always warned me not to over tighten things, including olives. I recently put in new pipework under the sink, and STILL over tightened the olives, so had to cut em off and replace em. I have form with over tightening stuff.

 

[sherbsville]

I like the 'back half a turn', it's always tempting to pretend you didn't notice and walk away :/
@sherbsville if it's any comfort I'm with you in spirit in being reduced to tears by a tiny fiat. Spent yesterday draining the gearbox, driveshaft out and separated then discovered I had the wrong partAt least we're both having fun :0|

PAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNNNN.

 

[AnthonyH]

@sherbsville if it's any comfort I'm with you in spirit in being reduced to tears by a tiny fiat. Spent yesterday draining the gearbox, driveshaft out and separated then discovered I had the wrong partAt least we're both having fun :0|

This kind of thing is the perfect excuse to buy another Fiat car as a spare. And double the fun lol

 

[sherbsville]

Ok, so im freezing and its almost dark, and omg WHHHHHHYYYYY!??

I gave myself an hour to take the sump plug off. After an hour and five minutes, there was a scary noise, and it moved, YAAAAAAAYYYYYY! Drained the oil, amazing.

Now its been over another hour, and I cant get the oil filter off. Omg. I bought this stoopid thing off amazon that is rubbish, and keeps coming undone. I'm not 100% if im doing right. Im so cold omg.

Anyway, is it safe to leave my car raised over night? If so, what can I buy that will get here by tomorrow to take the stoopid oil filter off. Omg. Its alot of swear words over ere.

Omg now someone is going past listening to the macarena. This is a terrible time to be alive. Im so cold. Omg.

Thankyou.

 

[Didge3]

Congrats on getting the sump plug out! Car will be alright raised up for the night although I'd put the sump plug back in for now in case you forget it when you come to refill!
I've had plenty of tricky oil filters in my time, I generally don't like those strap tools. If its really stuck in the past I have hammered (not too hard mind) a small flat head screwdriver into the side of the filter and then used it to spin the filter.

Isn't the 500's oil filter in a housing mind? It should have a big hex on the end if so (its made of plastic) can be tricky to access in the cramped engine bay though

EDIT: Think only TwinAirs and Abarth's have the oil filter in a separate housing, sure someone will be along to correct me shortly

 

[sherbsville]

here is a pic of the strap thing.

 

[sherbsville]

Congrats on getting the sump plug out! Car will be alright raised up for the night although I'd put the sump plug back in for now in case you forget it when you come to refill!
I've had plenty of tricky oil filters in my time, I generally don't like those strap tools. If its really stuck in the past I have hammered (not too hard mind) a small flat head screwdriver into the side of the filter and then used it to spin the filter.

Isn't the 500's oil filter in a housing mind? It should have a big hex on the end if so (its made of plastic) can be tricky to access in the cramped engine bay though

EDIT: Think only TwinAirs and Abarth's have the oil filter in a separate housing, sure someone will be along to correct me shortly

Ok, thankyou. I'm so cold I cant hold stuff anymore, so am gonna try one more rage filled turn, then go in for today.

 

[jackwhoo]

Your pic of strap wrench shows correct way round