I went to change my oil today. Bought some Castrol Edge and got the oil filter. All was well. Poured in the engine flush and fast idled it for 10 minutes. Got on my back and went to take the sump plug out. It was very tight and with a bit of elbow grease it started to move. Kept undoing the sump plug anti clockwise and all was well.

After a minute I thought to myself. "This is bloody long sump plug" Looked at it and it was still in the sump, just turning around and around and around.:eek: Well, I thought 'bugger!':finger: I tried everything to get it to move out. Even threatening the plug with extreme violence if it didnt move....had no effect. In the end I had to submit and took it to my mate in his garage. He said he could fix it with a helicoil or fit me a new sump. I opted for the new sump as I am particular about how the car is and must have everything perfect.

The new sump will cost me

helicoils are no good for sump plugs anyway becuase they aren't water-tight.. they start to leak after a while....

£91 is cheap for a new sump

That was my thought too. Why I went for a new sump. Looking at it in perspective though. Thats the only major problem Ive had with the car in almost a year of ownership. But it is more the hassle and inconvenience that goes with it. As i was saving to get a custom made side mounted intercooler for my car before the summer. Guess it will have to wait another month now?

You might want to invest in a "Pelco Pump" and pump your oil out next time, no need to touch the sump plug !

I've been using one for a few years now and many garages are also now doing oil changes this way, dead easy, clean & quick !

helicoils are no good for sump plugs anyway becuase they aren't water-tight.. they start to leak after a while....

Had similar prob with the Octy on its Third service , Dealer Bxx er plug and then they had to get the Sump replaced , as it had been done on the second service by another Skoda dealer he had to pay for a New Sump to be fitted the dealer cost to fit and supply was

almost all Ford alloy sumps have helicoils fitted from factory without any problems

what? one of these??

this is what a 'genuine' helicoil looks like.... no prises for guessing why they leak:rolleyes:

there are of course other types of thread insert which look similar, for example Wurth's TimeSert, imho these are far better for re-threading a sump, and they also work better for stripped spark plus threads too

You might want to invest in a "Pelco Pump" and pump your oil out next time, no need to touch the sump plug !

I've been using one for a few years now and many garages are also now doing oil changes this way, dead easy, clean & quick !

Am i being a tad old fashioned - don't like them :thumbdwn: - olde fashioned way of getting engine hot, taking out plug gets oil PLUS any crap/sludge out - thought that was idea of getting old oil out , and then flush to get any more rubbish out.

Brings back the extreme situation of why real minis had magnetic plugs fitted - (not the same as they used engine oil to do gearbox too )-but any strange items would also come out in "wash" -so to speak. Same principle as religously cleaning filter housing - to keep bypass housing clean.

BTW - found that ATS are advertising oil/ filter changes at reasonable prices - don't know if it includes flush - certainly would prefer them to a certain other car repair place linked to a motoring organisation.

As for sump plugs, have been known (on non warranty cars ) to take to somewhere to get it changed and take along new sump plug and washer -to get it fitted as well.Costs pennies - saves loss of oil.

Aye, there's maybe something in what you say.

I remember the Mini days well, magnetic sump plugs with iron filing Christmas Trees attached !

And that's not to mention other strange bits that occasionally came out with the oil ! :eek:

Coincidentally, I just changed my motorbike oil, filter & spark plugs today (oil the conventional way) which has combined gearbox/engine oil and a magnetic sump plug and there was no sludge at all attached to the plug.

I guess modern engines & oils may help in this respect.

As I said though, I can't really argue with what you say, maybe I'll do every third change via the sump plug now and see if there's any sludge but I guess I'm still confident enough not having seen any for years to pump out the oil.

Each to their own I guess ?

what? one of these??

this is what a 'genuine' helicoil looks like.... no prises for guessing why they leak:rolleyes:

there are of course other types of thread insert which look similar, for example Wurth's TimeSert, imho these are far better for re-threading a sump, and they also work better for stripped spark plus threads too

Tom , why do they leak ? surely if the sump plug that gets fitted back in the hole has a suitable sealing washer on it , there shouldn't be a problem with leakage plus the helicoil will always be stronger than just an aluminium thread , especially when there are heavy handed spanner monkeys about

the Ford inserts are very similar , maybe they are not "helicoils" but i was using that as a generic name for thread inserts that look like whats in your picture

Engine flush???? Eeeeek.

I feel for your hydraulic lifters and the injectors..lol

And we did used to use a sump pump type device at our garage, but after experimenting we found you could still drain around half a litre of old oil from the engine doing it the traditional way after using the pump. This half a litre of old oil was enough to confuse the sump sensor and bring the service light on early due to oil quality (n/a to Fabia however) and some of the latest service sheelts from ELSA instruct NOT to use them for this reason.

Why do the Injectors not like engine flush??? :confused:

The oil in your engine must meet the standards for a PD engine, this is due in part to the injector assembly that runs off the camshaft. Engine flush will alter the specification of the oil thinning it out. This is why Skoda advise not to use them.

Tom , why do they leak ? surely if the sump plug that gets fitted back in the hole has a suitable sealing washer on it , there shouldn't be a problem with leakage

it's caused mainly by the new thread that is cut into the old one using the supplied tap in the kit... if the new thread isn't absolutely 100% at a right angle to the sealing surface of the sump, the sealing washer doesn't sit flat, and after a while they start to weep.. i'm not saying it's impossible to do it right, but it is very very difficult to cut the thread straight especially when underneath a car at a funny angle...

the reason i prefer wurth's TimeSert inserts is because after you've cut the new thread for the insert, another tool is wound into that thread to cut a new seat for the sealing washer. plus because of the shape of the thread insert, part of it it unfinished which means that a non-fluted plug tap needs to be run through it which kind of 'opens it up' and locks it in place

it's caused mainly by the new thread that is cut into the old one using the supplied tap in the kit... if the new thread isn't absolutely 100% at a right angle to the sealing surface of the sump, the sealing washer doesn't sit flat, and after a while they start to weep.. i'm not saying it's impossible to do it right, but it is very very difficult to cut the thread straight especially when underneath a car at a funny angle...

the reason i prefer wurth's TimeSert inserts is because after you've cut the new thread for the insert, another tool is wound into that thread to cut a new seat for the sealing washer. plus because of the shape of the thread insert, part of it it unfinished which means that a non-fluted plug tap needs to be run through it which kind of 'opens it up' and locks it in place

I see your point now Tom , just never had the problem with them leaking myself

I got my sump from my local (ish 23 miles away) Skoda garage at Rainworth. Took it to my friend who is fitting it and realised it was the wrong one. It was the same physical shape though there should be a hole in the bottom of the sump to place the oil sensor through. The sump I had, had not got one. I contacted the skoda garage and he contacted Skoda UK and they say all the sumps are the same after the year 2000. However he did say there was an option of an oil sensor being fitted but that was in an older version of the engine. In 2004 they changed the engine number to BLT. I am not sure if that was correct but he said he would order me the older style sump with the oil sensor option. He thought it may have been a mis pick by Skoda UK and sent wrong. He did say that the other sump with the oil sensor option was