sinawalli

I decided to do my own oil changes, and today I crawled under my truck (06 3500 CTD), and saw that Dodge in their infinite wisdom has thrown a wrench into my plans! Instead of putting a simple drain plug in, they put some stupid thing that is flat, and has a square hole in the middle of it! I measured it, and it appears to be about .375" (3/8). Is this correct, or is it some metric thing? Is there a tool for this available to the public? I was going to make one at work, with a piece of 3/8th key stock, and weld a nut to one end. Any other ideas?? Thanks!!

Socrcrocr1

Use a 3/8" drive ratchet

RollOver Pete

Um...... are you sure that you want to change your own oil?

I suggest buying a service manual first.
Inside the manual you will find a list of tools commonly used when servicing a Cummins motor.
It will even show you what kind of 3/8 square thingy fits into " that stupid thing that is flat, and has a square hole in the middle of it!"
BTW,
It's commonly known as a drain plug...

mini14

its been that way for many, many years, and its almost flush with the pan so u wont shear it off...a very good design...although there was a short period of time where they were prone to cracking.....

Purplezr2

3/8 extension work best on the end of a 3/8 ratchet, I will say I have changed oil on alot of vehicles and the cummins was the first time on saw one like that, at first I did wonder if I need a special tool.

BigIron70

I use a breaker bar with 1/2 to 3/8 adapter on it. Check drain plug for cracks because they will cause damage to oil pan if they are over tightened. If cracking replace plug and sealing washer asap. Hopefully before damage to oil pan has occured. If pan is damaged and plug leaks try a little mopar gray silicone on gastket will stop leak. Or pay $1000 to replace oil pan. Good Luck

sinawalli

So,it is a 3/8 square hole. Never thought of a ratchet, since all mine are 1/2 inch, and at work. Thanks for the heads up!

Dodgezilla

Do yourself a favor and go to genosgarage.com and check out the Fumoto drainplug. I have one waiting to go on as soon as I need to change my oil...

Fisherguy

Just wait till he tries getting the filter off!

surfram

I use an oil filter cap wrench on a long extension from under the truck to loosen the filter. Once the filter is loose, slip a plastic bag over it from the bottom and spin it off. Make sure you use a large open drain pan(yellow 15qt-walmart) and not the type with just a hole in the middle. Drain plug torque is 37ftlbs.

armourbl

Holy Crap, 37ftlbs? That seems excessive. Do you all use a torque wrench for the drain plug? I'd be seriously worried about stripping the threads or worse.

ben

Fifo

Yes, and be sure to use plenty of elbow grease or it will leak.

Seriously I just tighten it nice and tight and call it a day. All it’s doing is plugging a whole, as long as the oil doesn’t leak and it’s not going to fall out you should be good. Oh, and like someone else said, use a wide mouth pan with a huge capacity, next time I’m planning on using a 5 gallon bucket.

surfram

37ftlbs is right out of the service manual. That is what I have always used on my truck with no problems. I tend to over-tighten things so having a torque number eliminates the guess work.

Roperteacher

I upgraded to the Genos Heavy duty plug. I like it much better. I bought a fumoto valve, but kind of scared to use it frankly...

SundayMoney

The torque value is written right on the plug also. You really have to look to see it,but in tiny writing around the rim it says 35-40 lb-ft.