Heavy Driver

I just added a Fumoto Valve into the transmission pan, allowing for a much cleaner fluid drain before dropping the pan for the filters.

I used a Fumoto F-104 drain valve.

You can see from the link it has a diameter of 18mm and a pitch of 1.5mm, so I bought the corresponding drill bit and tap to thread the oil pan. I realized the pan was thin, but I wanted to try.


Tapping didn't work for me, so after drilling the hole, I ended up just widening the hole and dropping the Fumoto valve in it. (I widened it using a Dremel.)

I recommend using an 18mm drill bit if you do this, since tapping is out of the question. If you choose a different Fumoto valve, make sure you get a corresponding bit (and nut for inside the pan).










Since the tap option didn't work out, I decided to use a nut on the inside of the pan and some RTV-type sealant. Finding a nut proved to be difficult at first, as many of the Fumoto valves I saw have a pretty thin pitch (at least compared to the diameter), so going to a hardware store and finding a nut with, say 18x1.5mm, is all but impossible.












However, as many of you know, 18x1.5mm are the dimensions for O2 sensors, so I just used a sensor bung - this one is hex and made tightening easy: O2 Sensor Bung.

Again, a little sealant and it all went together nicely.















I might use some thread locker next time I drop the pan, but so far so good.