I used to have a Fumoto valve on my Subaru Impreza. It hit a rock and got damaged as well as cracked my oil pan from the force of the impact. After that experience, I decided not to bother with these valves unless they were flush with an undercover and could not take a direct hit.twoqttsdad wrote:I'm changing my oil tomorrow. Got my stands and floor jack. I've read here that you have to remove the cover under the engine to gain access to the drain plug. I was thinking of cutting a hole in the cover about six inches in diameter right under the drain plug so that next time I don't have to take the cover off.
Maybe installing a oil drain valve from Fumoto engineering with a hose attachment and leaving a short length attached. That way next time I just have to reach under, pull the hose out and point it into the oil drain box and turn the valve.
Just ideas of course and not sure if it's going to work. I've used the drain valve on other cars with no problems. Just want to make it easier the next time.
Has anyone done this.
They should work fine with the Kizashi and cutting an access hole may not be a bad idea. In fact, some OEM panels are designed like this such as with the Mercury Milan (Ford Fusion twin). They have swivel panels on the undercover for accessing the oil drain plug.
That being said, I'd rather remove the undercover every time. It's not hard to do and only takes an additional 2 minutes or so. I don't recall, but it may actually need to come off for the oil to drain out of the oil filter to a receptacle. I could be wrong on this however as it has been a while since my last Kizashi oil change.