Oil Drain Plug Leaking??

So this is on my 2013 with the 2.7. I had a Fumoto drain plug installed for about a year or two. All of a sudden it started a slow leak. Not a lot just enough to drip on the driveway.
So I got out my torque wrench and set it to 15 lbs. Was able to get maybe 1/4 turn on the valve.Still leaked. So I removed the valve and put the original plug back in with a new aluminum crush washer. Still leaked. So I got a new drain plug and installed it with a new crush washer. Still leaked. So I removed the new drain plug and the crush washer and reinstalled the new drain plug with the plastic washer that came with the new plug. Still leaks.
The plug is able to be fully tightened. I also used a plastic scraper around the oil drain hole in the pan when the plug and gasket were removed but it didn't seem as though there was any debris there.

I am scratching my head as to why this is leaking. I have cleaned off the rest of the pan and the only oil I find is around the drain plug.
There was never a point where either two washers were installed or no washer installed.

 

Sounds like the tread on the pan may be buggered.

 

Possibility but one would think the drain plug would feel odd when tightening. Might have to try to run a tap through it at next oil change. Have already drained and reinstalled same oil twice.

 

The valve shouldn't go bad, but it could happen

 

I’d try thread sealer and the Fumoto valve. Since the valve isn’t going to come back out anyways. I’d try that before replacing the pan.

Make sure to clean the threads of both really good with isopropyl alcohol before applying the thread sealer. It’s going to be tough to get the pan threads cleaned good. Unless you let the oil drain over night. But it beats replacing the pan. And worth a try.

 

Are you actually tightening to 15 ft-lb? That's pretty low. I don't use a torque wrench for the oil pan drain plug. Instead I give it a light tug with a 17" ratchet. Try 30 ft-lb.

 

Agree with this, spec is 30. I would tighten to spec and ensure it's still leaking before I tried anything else.

 

Drainplugs dont have to be tight.....
I would never tighten a drain plug to 30...

I snug them up till the stop & just give a twitch of the wrist & call it good.
Theres no pressure to withhold, theyre not going to vibrate loose, etc...

Ford uses metal gaskets embedded in rubber & they work great...
I remove so many drain plugs where the threads are super coarse from being over tightened.
I also have to repair or replace many oil pans due to thread damage from drain plugs being over tightened.
I went thru alot of time-serts repairing threads in aluminum oil pans that were very labor intense to replace.

Youre certain its coming from the drain plug & not from maybe the rear of the engine oil pan, running down onto the d plug?
Not going to pretend to know what this oil pan config looks like, im just saying, when in doubt, zoom out...

 

I'm pretty sure the Torque spec on the Fumoto is 15 ft lbs as I checked it before attempting to retighten. When using the original drain plug I don't torque it just snug it up but don't horse it on.

Also pretty sure it's coming from the drain plug. When I first noticed the leak it was hard to tell where it was coming from as it gets blown around while driving. But I cleaned up the entire oil pan and then let it run. The only oil was around the drain plug and nowhere else on the pan.
However I cleaned it up again this mourning and will make an attempt To confirm again that is where it is coming from. However it seems strange it would just start leaking all on its own.

May attempt to reinstall the Fumoto with some sealer as the Fumoto wouldn't need to come out again. Will also do a good inspection of drain plug threads in the oil pan.

 

Thats the way, no reason to crank down a drain plug TIGHT!!!
It like it turns & stops at the sweet spot & thats enough, fuck this excessive torque stuff on something that gets so much wear & tear.
Like I said, I kept busy fixing other peoples oil pan hackeries....

 

Just as a side note. I thought that maybe the thread pitch on the Fumoto drain valve was not a true 1.25 thread pitch and therefore may have altered the threads on the oil pan. But I checked the threads on the Fumoto and they are indeed 1.25 so installing it did not mess up the threads in the pan.

 

sounds like the pan threads got damaged... highly recommend this product. Stripped the lower unit gear oil drain on a Tohatsu outboard and fixed with a time sert kit... that was around 8 years ago and hasn't leaked a drop/no water in lower unit.
https://www.timesert.com/html/drainplug.html

 

Timeserts as I suggested if needed are great, ive used tons of them in this application if replacing oil pan is very labor intensive....
Time sert kits aren't cheap though, heli coils are garbage....

But youre speculating at this point, lets not go into panic mode just yet...
But yes, pull plug & ditch all the oil, take a good look at the factory thread insert.
Take a pic...

 

Well after closer inspection i dont believe it is coming from the drain plug. I cleaned the oil pan and just let it idle in the driveway and did not drive it so no oil was blowing around. It appears as the oil may be coming from a rusty area on the forward part of the oil pan.

Hard to tell because of the rusty scale in that area but perhaps there is a small hole rusted in the oil pan. The area that i suspect it hard to get to. In the pics it is just to the left of the front axle. Is this a common problem with these oil pans? I assume the engine would need to be lifted to remove the pan.
Opinions/ ideas? Im thinking it would even be hard to get to this area to scrape off the scale and patch with JB Weld.

 

Maybe a little better pics. The corrosion is pretty much on all the leading edge of the pan.

 

Well looks like you found it...
I have no idea what it entails to swap out...
I thought the pan was aluminum but guess its stamped steal..
Doesnt look like just one tiny pinhole, even if you can get your bits in there to smear some jb weld on it...
Prep & cleanliness would determine the outcome...

Ide start calling some shops for estimates...
The pan is the cheap part, its the labor....

 

So I've been doing some light research on changing the oil pan. It appears as though the differential needs to be dropped down to gain access and remove. Not really motivated to give someone $1K to change the pan. I'd most likely do the job myself.
Tried to find a video on the process but the ones I found were 2 wheel drive. Anyone know of a thread on the job from this site or a video I'd sure appreciate the link.

 

Be careful, I see lots of rust & things can go bad fast....
The oil pan bolts, sometimes youre more successful getting rusty bolts out using the light rattles / impacts from an air impact over hand tools....
Electric impacts aren't the answer when it comes to getting out rusty shit, they break bolts...

 

Well I figure what's the worst that can happen? If I run into something I can't conquer it gets towed to the garage and they finish the job. But I'm stubborn and don't give up easily. I've owned it 12 years and it's never been wrenched on by anyone but me yet.
As I said I hope to find a thread or video that covers the subject.