Was quite a day yesterday. After TB/ICV cleaning and spark plug change, changed oil filter and drained oil. Installed my LN Engineering Billet Oil Plug that I have had for many years and many oil changes and began tightening it up. Well, then this happened and I have no explanation for it:


How come it is that I have used this over and over again and it failed? I will be buying a new one and thank goodness it was simple enough to remove. Thankfully I had a new stock aluminum oil drain plug I could just pop in until the next oil change. BTW - I have never found anything sticking to the magnet but it is good to know it is in there.

 

I had one that broke too.....realized I was putting the same amount of torque as the stock drain plug. The LN plug uses about 20 lbs less torque.

 

It was strange. I had just barely gotten to the point of getting to the crush washer and tightening when I felt a give and thought ohh no. So it was not over torque, it just gave way. Despite that, like I said, I'll be ordering a new one from LN. I like the magnet and the larger bit hole. Maybe they have done some re-engineering because on the website they say the bit size is 8mm (like original drain plug) versus my broken one at 10mm. Seems to me that would make for a stronger head/shoulder area. We'll see....

 

Sorry to hear that you had a drain plug fail. Yes, we've redesigned the original version - first to go back to 8mm hex as many were torquing beyond the 19 ft/lb we specify and another revision to make it compatible with 09 and later 9A1 engines.

That said, so few ever have problems, I would just advise you to contact LN directly and we'll warranty the drain plug and ship out a replacement no charge for your trouble.

 

^^

 

I've had mine for six years, so it's probably of the first generation. I understand that nothing lasts forever so I have an OEM plug standing by just in case. I would have no problem buying a replacement if/when the time comes. It's a small price to pay for some peace of mind.

 

I've been using these since the first one was sold.. Which went into one of my engines.
No complaints yet, almost a decade later and several hundred units used.

Over torque kills these.

 

Mine failed the same way. Charles mentioned that it was the older version (it came installed on my '99) and had probably been over-torqued at some point. My indie did the first oil change during my "post-purchase inspection" and they probably did not realize it needed to be torqued differently than the factory plug.

Charles offered to replace mine as well, but since I didn't buy it, it didn't seem right to accept it.

Look familiar?

 

Awesome Charles! I will contact you at LN. And just for the record, I am in no way disappointed in the billet drain plug and would buy another one in a heartbeat.

 

A torque wrench and following the spec when tightening will prevent this and importantly protect the sump threads .

 

No need for that if Jake patents and develops the "Faultless Drain Plug Tool".

 

The fact that this plug will fail if over-torqued offers built-in protection for the sump threads. I think that is a design feature.

 

Broke mine, too... over torque.

 

The cool thing is that when the joint between the flange and the barrel failed - at least in my case - the barrel was still threaded into the sump plate and with the flange gone, there was no torque required to remove it. Removal was so painless it was almost...faultless...

 

Happy ending! Got in touch with LN Engineering yesterday and they are sending a new drain plug. I really appreciate that. Thanks Charles and Stephen at LN!