Hi folks,

I'm sorry for asking what to many may well be a pretty dumb question but when doing an oil change on the Octavia, I've the 2 litre diesel, is it necessary to replace the sump plug at every oil change.

I'm only asking as I'm used to having a compressible copper washer that had to be changed but when I got my last oil service done I bought a new sump plug and noticed it's a solid metal ring built onto the plug that doesn't look as if it would be affected by compressing it ...

It's not a big issue at a couple of pounds but I'm just wondering what the thoughts of the members are on it.

Regards

Peter

They are supposed to be changed every time.

 

Personally I don't change them unless they are damaged or in poor condition, which has never been the case so far.

Personally I don't change them unless they are damaged or in poor condition, which has never been the case so far.

 

I agree.

You don't change wheel bolts after changing wheels, do you?

The captive washer on the genuine sump plug is a soft alloy that crushes when the plug is tightened to make a leak-proof seal.  It doesn't 'un-crush' when the plug is removed, so is not as effective if used again.  It's up to you, of course.

I fitted one of these to mine http://www.quickvalve.co.uk/index.htm

 

Although an initial expense, a very clean and quick way of changing your oil, and works very well.

Had the same thoughts, but for the sake of a couple of quid from ECP it seemed a no-brainer.

Suck the oil out its a lot easer

Extreme3d I must admit that I like the looks of the one you have fitted and if I was in the position of being fit enough to do my own oil changes I'd be getting an order in for one of them ....

skodacarman your answer is the thing I was looking for ... I didn't know the washer was crushable as it looks a pretty hefty bit of metal to me ... As you say blackspaven at around a couple of pound for a new one I'll maybe just buy a couple more in and supply one to my local garage along with the oil and filter when they do the change for me ...

Thanks everyone for your input as its most appreciated

Peter

I have always used a smear of silicone seal RTV around the HEAD of the bolt and never had a problem reusing them.

The captive washer on the genuine sump plug is a soft alloy that crushes when the plug is tightened to make a leak-proof seal. It doesn't 'un-crush' when the plug is removed, so is not as effective if used again. It's up to you, of course.

Old engines like the 1.9 had these for a while but newer engines have a slightly longer thread and are fitted with a thick captive (sometimes loose, sometimes fixed) steel washer. These can be reused provided the washer is in good condition, and not damaged by over tightening, just check it for lipping.

Personally I preffered the old replaceable copper washer type plug, but I think these went out when alloy sumps started to be fitted to some engines although they still exist on the htp engines.

The alloy washer type are the worst of the bunch and need to be thrown in the bin.

Edited 6 August, 20169 yr by xman

A sump plug is a quid, hardly breaking the bank.

I always renew as the threads do wear. Having replaced sump plugs and torqued to 30 Nm I never had to install a new sump or helicoil.

Is it necessary? Not really. Is it good practice (and recommended by VAG) yes.

Sump plugs are made of steel, whereas the sump is an alloy so the actual sump threads are of a softer material.

In theory the sump plug should last lifetime of car, so tightening sump plug only needs to seal and not stop something falling off....

The trend now is a non-copper washer fitted to the sump plug, my old jalopy 2005 Fabia VRS has the same set-up.

I only changed the sump plug a few years ago for a magnetic sump plug with a copper washer, which will last for years to come...

Edited 6 August, 20169 yr by giandougl

"A sump plug is a quid, hardly breaking the bank."

Really? Not at my dealer. They're over 3 quid, a 10

mile / 1+ hour round trip through the middle of town during rush hour and a 45 minute wait while they look for the parts guy or longer if they are busy with another customer, and a good chance they'll sell you the wrong one.

But I understand and agree with the principle.

Edited 6 August, 20169 yr by xman

Sump plugs are made of steel, whereas the sump is an alloy so the actual sump threads are of a softer material.

In theory the sump plug should last lifetime of car, so tightening sump plug only needs to seal and not stop something falling off....

The sumps on all my cars are steel.

"A sump plug is a quid, hardly breaking the bank."

Really? Not at my dealer. They're over 3 quid, a 10

mile / 1+ hour round trip through the middle of town during rush hour and a 45 minute wait while they look for the parts guy or longer if they are busy with another customer, and a good chance they'll sell you the wrong one.

But I understand and agree with the principle.

Get Briskoda parts to stick a couple in the post for you.

The sumps on all my cars are steel.

Lucky boy, no problems in over tightening then..as said my old Skoda VRS has an alloy sump so over tightening could be a problem..

What's the best plug to use these days? Oil change at the weekend and I have both:  

 

https://goo.gl/photos/AXbsRJ9CKoqsmFqT8

Based on personal actual experience with a VRS EA888 CCZA, the one on the left, with the crush washer works a lot better.

 

I tried using the standard captive washer design that fits most VAG designs, and it was fitted in the car when I bought it,   but I had to torque it up so much, in three attempts to stop dripping, each time dropping the tray to access, it worried the life out of me I was going to strip the thread on the sump bolt.

 

I just replace the crush washer now (a febi bilstein which costs about £2,5 or £3.  The short stubby short projection of the bolt on the left is what is the OEM part is supposed to resemble with a torx head.  Never had so much trouble with any other sump plug on a VAG vehicle before this EA888 series engine.

 

The twin charger 1.4tsi I had was a doddle, standard design replacement bolt with captive washer no problem. Oil stopped as soon as you put in the bolt even before torquing.  Also didn't have to remove the under tray to access even though it had one on the front section. A lot easier and a lot less fuss!

Edited 1 June, 20179 yr by TheClient

4 minutes ago, TheClient said:

Based on personal actual experience with a VRS EA888 CCZA, the one on the left, with the crush washer works a lot better.

 

I tried using the standard captive washer design that fits most VAG designs, and it was fitted in the car when I bought it,   but I had to torque it up so much, in three attempts to stop dripping, each time dropping the tray to access, it worried the life out of me I was going to strip the thread on the sump bolt.

 

I just replace the crush washer now (a febi bilstein which costs about £2,5 or £3.  The short stubby short projection of the bolt on the left is what is the OEM part is supposed to resemble with a torx head.  Never had so much trouble with any other sump plug on a VAG vehicle before this EA888 series engine.

 

The twin charger 1.4tsi I had was a doddle, standard design replacement bolt with captive washer no problem. Oil stopped as soon as you put in the bolt even before torquing.  Also didn't have to remove the under tray to access even though it had one on the front section. A lot easier and a lot less fuss!

 

Yeah that was what my poor memory was suggesting.  Just couldn't remember exactly. Cheers!

2 hours ago, planehazza said:

What's the best plug to use these days? Oil change at the weekend and I have both:  

 

https://goo.gl/photos/AXbsRJ9CKoqsmFqT8

 

2 hours ago, TheClient said:

Based on personal actual experience with a VRS EA888 CCZA, the one on the left, with the crush washer works a lot better.

 

I tried using the standard captive washer design that fits most VAG designs, and it was fitted in the car when I bought it,   but I had to torque it up so much, in three attempts to stop dripping, each time dropping the tray to access, it worried the life out of me I was going to strip the thread on the sump bolt.

 

I just replace the crush washer now (a febi bilstein which costs about £2,5 or £3.  The short stubby short projection of the bolt on the left is what is the OEM part is supposed to resemble with a torx head.  Never had so much trouble with any other sump plug on a VAG vehicle before this EA888 series engine.

 

The twin charger 1.4tsi I had was a doddle, standard design replacement bolt with captive washer no problem. Oil stopped as soon as you put in the bolt even before torquing.  Also didn't have to remove the under tray to access even though it had one on the front section. A lot easier and a lot less fuss!

I would go for the longer plug as that is the one recommended by VAG, plus the shorter ones head will round off in time, the 19mm bolt sizen of the one on the right will last a lot longer if use use a good fitting six sided socket, never have a problem with these, never had one leak, should change the sump plugs a every oil change regardless.

No, that is not correct (edit for FL Mk2 vRS TSI CCZA).  The Genuine OEM part I got from Skoda  for my VIN is  N  911 679 01. Plus, with the crush washer required there is not a huge amount of torque required to get a seal, so I don't think the torx head will round off in a long time nor do I think there will be a a problem with longevity given the crush washer is very effective without using huge torque.

 

The crush washer definitely needs to be replaced each time, agree there.

 

I definitely could not say the same is true with the other style of bolt having used both in this engine which is the same as planehazza has.
 

Edited 1 June, 20179 yr by TheClient

The washers on the long plug are pretty poor unless, as 'TheClent' says you use a huge amount of torque to get a seal and risk stripping the thread. I used a new plug recently and had this problem. I ended up draining the oil back out rather than risk going mad and damaging the thread.

I cleaned the bolt up and allowed all the oil to drain. Then applied a little Hylomar Blue gasket sealer either side of the washer and reinserted the plug and hey presto - no more oil drips. Any future oil changes I shall do using an oil extractor.

 

The older copper washers never gave me any problems. Those crush washers do look the best bet.

Years ago I bought a pack of 10 sump plugs from caffyns on e-bay. They were not expensive so worth changing every time.