Topic: Large oil drain plug.

Gary M.	-- 03-10-2013 @ 6:57 PM
	My 39 Standard 85 hp has a very large oil drain plug. On newer cars the oil drain plugs got a lot smaller in later years. Was there some reason that the drain plug (and the diameter of the drain hole)were so large? Just curious.... Thanks...
Old Henry	-- 03-10-2013 @ 9:53 PM
	I found it very handy when I changed my oil in my '47 after it sat for 31 years to get up in there with a stick and scr*pe out all of the sludge before putting new oil in for a first start. Don't know if that's why they were so big but it sure worked for me. Here's my first start after just an oil change. It must be pretty interesting since 498,685 people have watched it so far. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY389S_KUjs Old Henry (The older I get, the better old looks.) This message was edited by Old Henry on 3-10-13 @ 9:56 PM
MG	-- 03-11-2013 @ 5:31 PM
	Old Henry, Great video! It does my heart good to see the enthusiasm of the two young men helping you. They got to know there are more exciting things in life other than video games.......MG
Gary M.	-- 03-11-2013 @ 5:33 PM
	Interesting! Why did you wait so long to start it up ?
Old Henry	-- 03-11-2013 @ 8:18 PM
	After I parked the car by the side of Mom's house in 1975 I left home. My parents gave it to my brother. I always wanted to restore it but my brother wouldn't sell it to me until his sons passed teenage years without any interest in restoring it. By then I was not as interested in restoring it because I thought I couldn't get parts. So, my brother gave it back to Dad. In 2006 Dad (who had since divorced Mom and lived 30 miles away) asked me to drag it to his house so he could look at it. (It hadn't run for 31 years.) I said fine and headed to Mom's with my 14 year old son (youngest of 10) to drag it to Dad's. On the way I called my neighbor who I knew had restored some cars to ask him what he thought of restoring this '47 Ford. After 30 minutes talking to him telling me how easy it was to get parts I asked my son if he wanted to restore the car. If he'da said no I'da hauled it to Dad's but he said yes and was excited. So, instead of hauling it to Dad's we hauled it to our house and spent the next year restoring it together. (I resigned from singing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to do it.) We actually started the engine within 9 days of hauling it to our house (had to order a carburetor kit to put in). He's the boy behind the steering wheel pushing the starter button. That's why we waited so long to start it. Old Henry (The older I get, the better old looks.) This message was edited by Old Henry on 3-11-13 @ 8:28 PM
supereal	-- 03-12-2013 @ 9:19 AM
	Before detergent oils arrived, sludge buildup was a major problem. The large drain plug hastened the removal of the old oil by increasing the velocity of the drainage and, hopefully, any accumulated sludge particles. Ford attacked the problem by adding large cleanout panels on the bottom of some oil pans, such as trucks and tractors, so sludge could be scr*ped out. We used to see gobs of Jello-like sludge, particularly in the valve chamber of old flatheads.
deuce_roadster	-- 03-12-2013 @ 9:37 AM
	As per Super's post, the old oil used to be parafin based and would actually turn into a low grade wax filled with carbon contamints after the volotile part boiled off. It is no wonder back in the day an engine would need rebuilding with 30k on the odo with those primitive oils.
Gary M.	-- 03-12-2013 @ 6:12 PM
	Wow Henry, what a story ! There were a few cars that I owned years ago that I wish I still had but they would be rust buckets by now. I did sell 2 cars to 2 of my friends 25 years ago and they still have them. They keep them garaged so there still in great shape. I had to sell them to buy a house. As for the big drain plug, I wish there were some sort of tool that would allow you to scr*pe some of the pan sludge toward the drain hole to remove it. If there is, Ive never seen it. Does anyone have any input on engine flush products? Im thinking of using it but Im not sure if there are any adverse affects. Thanks Guys....
fla48	-- 03-12-2013 @ 7:16 PM
	I can remember that occasionally, in the mid 50's, after draining the oil we would fill the crank case with a gallon of diesel, idle the engine for a short period of time, then drain the diesel and add fresh oil. The diesel was really yucky when we drained it. May not of done much good at cleaning out the sludge, but a lot of people were doing it. It did not seem to hurt the engines any. I scratch my head and wonder at some of the things we used to do.
Old Henry	-- 03-12-2013 @ 10:27 PM
	I used a popcycle stick with a little paper towel wrapped around it to scr*pe out the sludge and a gallon of kerosene run though the engine as fla48 did with the diesel. Ran that engine 10,000 miles after just that much prep before rebuilding it. Old Henry (The older I get, the better old looks.) This message was edited by Old Henry on 3-12-13 @ 10:28 PM
supereal	-- 03-13-2013 @ 10:06 AM
	Don't put anything in the crankcase except motor oil. If you scr*pe the sludge loose, you will succeed in creating floating contamination. If you must do it, drop the oil pan and do it correctly. We sometimes recommend a refill with a diesel motor oil such as Rotella. It is a high detergent formula that will dissolve some of the deposits. Unless you have an oil filter, even that is not a good idea. The bearings depend on an oil cushion to prevent metal to metal contact. Engine flushes may dilute that function, and it only takes a few minuets to damage sensitive rod and main inserts.

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