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Davidsl95 Member
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I'm trying to change out the oil in 15025. 1974 Jensen Healey. I tried the two bolts on the opposite side of where the engine is. Turns out they are nuts. Not bolts... I know there is oil in the engine because it reads on the dip stick. Further up than it should... Where is the dang drain plug? Or do I have to remove the whole oil pan to change it? Help please!!! |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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there is a drian plug on the back side of the pan. |
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Jensen Healey Super Moderator 
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The drain plug requires a Whitworth socket. If it's already rounded off from the adjustable wrenches and giant pliers, it can easily be filed down to fit a 22mm socket. |
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Davidsl95 Member
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I didnt have a whitworth socket, however I do have Metric sockets just for this car. Upon taking the nut off of the stud where i thought the drain plug was nothing happened... So I tried to pull on the stud and noticed it made a squishing sound like it was the plug. Sadly it just wiggled and slowly oozed out oil but not what I wanted. I grabbed a flat heads and stuck it where I saw the rubber grommet, and pried it out. Sadly I noticed why the plug was not functioning as it should... Where the stud sits inside the grommet, there was a tear in the grommet so the stud could now move freely inside the grommet. I knew it was going to cause an issue but i thought what the h... and after draining the oil pan *overflowed my oil catch there was so much... And it looked like it had oil from cooking in it.. Was kinda wierd* i put the plug back in, and what i feared happened. The nut will not screw back into place due to the stud moving freely. Is there anything I can do to replace this without having to special order it anywhere? |
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Gary Martin JH 15371 Member
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The oil drain plug is on the back bottom of the oil pan near the cross member that goes under the engine. There is no grommet, no stud, it should just be a metal plug with a copper seal. It sounds to me like your much farther back, and are messing with plugs or nuts on the transmission !! Post pictures if you can. |
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Brett Gibson JH5 20497 Member
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I am starting to thing you have an early version engine and are disconnecting the oil return from the catch bottle on the firewall to the passenger side of the oil pan. ??? |
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Davidsl95 Member
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I know the engine is dirty. I have not had a chance to clean it yet... Attachment: IMAG0499_1_1[1].jpg (Downloaded 154 times) |
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Jim Ketcham Member
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Looks like someone cobbled up a makeshift boiler plug. What a mess. I suggest you get that out with all the rubber and find a proper drain plug if the original threads are nut ruined. |
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Davidsl95 Member
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The weird part is, on the inside of the plug there are no threads. It looks like rivits specifically designed for the plug that's in it. I'll take another look though and post a picture |
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Davidsl95 Member
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It does look threaded. The tires are completely flat and don't hold air so i'm awaiting help to pick the car up enough to fit a jack under it so I can further investigate. Attachment: IMAG0500_1[1].jpg (Downloaded 145 times) |
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allstateguy Member 
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The stock oil drain plug size is Whitworth WW 1/2 in case anyone else has the issue of the proper method of removing it. At least you won't have to buy a full set of Whitworth sockets just to be sure you get that particular one. |
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Esprit2 Member
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I don't 'know' this is what your drain plug is, but... There are aftermarket drain plugs that look much like an old-school Thermos bottle stopper. A rubber plug with a lever on top. Insert it into the bottle and fold the lever over. In doing so, the lever's cam-base pulls up on a central rod through the rubber stopper, compressing it. As the plug compresses, it expands, sealing itself into the throat. The aftermarket drain plugs replace the lever with a central shaft that's threaded on the outer end. Tighten a captive nut to pull on the shaft, compressing the plug, expanding it into the drain hole. It's a J. C. Whitney sort of thing, but widely available. They were the quick, easy option to fixing it right after you'd buggered up the drain plug. The internal threads in your photo look intact, so I'm guessing the plug itself was screwed-up. It was common for the hex to get rounded off. Rather than fix it correctly, someone put in an expanding rubber plug. You would do well to fix it right with a proper, original plug. I can't confirm the size of the J-H OEM plug, or that it was Whitworth. I defer to those who say it was. But the original Lotus 907 drain plug was inch. It was later replaced with a metric plug with a flanged 18mm hex head. Both plugs used a sealing washer. A fiber washer was most common, but soft aluminum or brass sealing washers were also available. A036R6014ZL - Drain Plug, Sump, INCH (originally used on the 1965/ pre-metric Lotus Elan Fixed Head Coupe) A036R6014Z - Drain Plug, Later. A075W4057ZL - Washer, Drain Plug (originally used on the 1974 Lotus Elite S1) A075W4055Z - Washer, Drain Plug, Later (ie, 910). Still fits all. For your J-H, it would probably be best to stick with a J-H source, like Delta Motorsports, or Martin Robey. Get the one known to fit... and a sealing washer or two. They're known to corrode/ stick in the sump, so I apply Anti-Seize, or Teflon tape to the threads. Tighten firmly, but don't over-tighten. You're dealing with an aluminum sump and brass plug, so neither thread is particularly strong. *~*~*~* "IF" your car is a MK 1 with the oil separator can on the firewall, then the oil drain hose that goes back to the sump used a banjo bolt fitting. It should be re-installed with fresh sealing washers on either side each time. From what you describe, it doesn't sound to me like there's any provision on your car for an oil return line. Regards, Tim Engel Last edited on 09-30-2017 03:12 am by Esprit2 |
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