Thread: Successfully freed stuck sump plug! Now a couple of Qs...

Hi Guys,

Just changed the oil in my 3.5L disco 1. Took about 3 hours though because I could not get the sump plug undone!

I wonder if this is a common problem? If so I will tell you all how I managed to get it undone...

The crappy shifter I was using was not up to the job and there was no space to turn it when I tried to fit a bit of scaffold pole over the end and also no space to fit a socket over the bolt head due to the positioning of the exhaust pipes. So in the end I thought I'll just get a spanner and Bob's your uncle.

Well decided the correct size was 1 1/8 inch so a trip to supercheap and $23.99 later I was the proud owner of a nice big spanner which I checked fitted the bolt head before driving home.

Problem was when I got home despite half a can of WD40, lots of grunting and even hammer blows I still couldn't turn the bloody nut - I was actually moving the car with the effort!

Scratch of head and a few curses later hit on the idea of using the bottle jack to turn the spanner and after a couple of tries bingo! Half an hour later oil changed but due to wasted time and early darkness caused by clock changes no time to change the plugs oh well hopefully some time next week...

Now the questions!

Anybody got a better way to loosen a stuck sump plug?

It had a little copper washer on the plug - I just flipped this over and reused it - should I have got a new one? If so what are they called and what size?

When I was driving off to buy my spanner I had forgotten to put the oil filler cap back on and the car kept stalling - is this normal or an indicator of a problem?

How many Kms before its due for its next change?

What do people do with their waste oil?

Cheers in advance

Steve...

In a perfect world you would use a new washer, just as you should use a new one every time you clean a spark plug. What's that you say. clean spark plugs? I still do. Old habits die hard. I too use a bit of teflon Loctite pipe sealant and not a new washer as I have run out of that size and would have to buy them.