I have no idea what happened.

I have over 100K miles on a Fumoto, and other than a bit of a weep from their felt gasket, I've never had an issue.

 

I have one ready to install at my next change. Would sure like to see what Fumoto has to say.

 

I have only heard of a couple of issues and IMO neither rises to the level of a problem. The aforementioned washer (people wanted a crush washer) and the threads sticking to far into the pan not allowing "all" the oil to drain out. Unless all your cars use the same valve it seems strange that different model valves had the same issue. Did you get any pics of the defective valves?

 

Failure of the lever lock-spring (?).

 

It is an incredibly simple device. The only logical explanation is manufacturer error. You had 2 out of 3 from a bad batch. Did they give you any trouble or ask why, when you requested replacement valves? If not, it is because they already knew the answer. You were probably not the first person to contact them with this problem.

 

mine never worked when i got it in. It was just stuck open. I threw it away

 

I just looked at their website and I could not find a statement about place of manufacture.

Wondering if this has been outsourced to China, anyone know?

 

Their products are made in Japan.

 

No problems with the valve but the black plastic nipple fell off. Felt a bit of dirt in the valve mechanism with the last oil change. I love the simplicity of draining 7 quarts of oil directly into my oil drain pan.

 

No idea how it could possibly move from the locking notch without physical intervention, to say nothing of one using the locking clip, too. Mine looks just like this, but I guess I'll check on it.

 

No issues here but I only have 32k on mine... behind an actual skid plate.. with no hole in it.

 

Sometime bad batches occur but I have no idea as to what happened with yours during your experience. Been using them on six vehicles and not once have I faced an issue.

But hey, "stuff" happens at times to any part designed, created, and assembled by imperfect people.

 

RE:



It was brought to our attention by one of the users on this forum that you were having this issue and we wanted to respond to it. Firstly, could you provide us with an invoice/receipt number from the original order or an RMA number from the returned and replaced order. We are disturbed to hear about this issue and want to look into it fully. If you are more comfortable speaking to us in person, please don't hesitate to call us at 800-918-3406 or email us at sales@fumotousa.com

 

Props to Fumotousa to be proactive in reaching out to the forum to promptly address the concerns.

I have one on my 3.6 and it makes life easier. Wish I'd bought them years ago for my other cars. I have one on a Civic but the valve points down toward the ground. Not really protected but I think I'll swap it out for the new X series which will solve my concern but the product itself is fantastic.

 

I've used about 7 Fumoto valves in the past 30 years. All on passenger cars. Yes it went back to 30+ years ago when I first used it. I never used any clips to prevent unintended opening and never had any unintended opening. The only issue I've had is 1 valve will leak a few drops in the next few days after each oil change. The leak always stops a few days later (after I wipe it dry). It leaks from where the lever comes out of the valve body. I've read about one other person having the same issue years ago. But this is very minor and doesn't bother me.

 

I have 3 of these, no problems and I never used a torque wrench on them, just install them tight enough, no need to over tighten them. I also don't use the clips. Bought the first one may be 4 years ago.

 

I talked with "TheFumotoGuy" above. They have not heard of the problem with the spring before. I gave him my order # and where I sent back the bad part from the Outback a couple of weeks ago. Apparently, I ordered from a sister company so he will have to get with them to learn/start any analysis. I have not had a response back from the sister company about the second failure yet (Columbus Day week).

Even though all three of my valves were bought at the same time, they were different numbers and should be from different build batches. But if they use the same lever/spring/valve install for all valves, regardless of the unique brass housing for each vehicle, I could see how they might still use internal parts from the same batch. There were probably only two parts out of spec and I got both of them. I have read forums for the past month looking for someone else with the same problem and I did not find any.

I have attached a picture of the second bad valve. It is hard to see the problem, but the lever is moved as far as it can go to the off position. It will not move far enough to drop into the "off indention". I did not recognize it before, but the lever is also at the same angle as the first valve that went bad.

It may be quite a while, but if I hear back what they found to be the problem I will report it here.

 

What ever happened with this Fumoto problem? Was it a knock off version?

 

I had one for 3 years on my truck with no issues. Did not bother with locking safety clip or cover over the nipple.

 

I just received mine today for my '17 OB. I will have to check it out carefully before installing. I had one on my 03 OB and it was perfect.

 

I saw another version of the drain valve it’s a German company Stahibus. It seems to be a better design it has a screw on cap that is attached with a retainer to help keep it from getting lost and even with the cap off there is a spring loaded ball that keeps the oil from leaking you have to snap in the hose connector for it to flow. The only downside it cost more around 50 bucks. I don’t have it myself but when my car comes in next month I’ll probably add it. I’m getting factory aluminum skid plate so I’ll need to check if there is enough clearance.
check it out it looks like a more expensive but perhaps better alternative to the Fumoto. Check out the video for a shop vac trick that I never saw before.

Change oil - clean and simple

Innovative oil drain valve for easy and clean change of oil - with no greasy hands!

www.stahlbus-us.com

 

I saw another version of the drain valve it’s a German company Stahibus. It seems to be a better design it has a screw on cap that is attached with a retainer to help keep it from getting lost and even with the cap off there is a spring loaded ball that keeps the oil from leaking you have to snap in the hose connector for it to flow. The only downside it cost more around 50 bucks. I don’t have it myself but when my car comes in next month I’ll probably add it. I’m getting factory aluminum skid plate so I’ll need to check if there is enough clearance.
check it out it looks like a more expensive but perhaps better alternative to the Fumoto.

Change oil - clean and simple

Innovative oil drain valve for easy and clean change of oil - with no greasy hands!

www.stahlbus-us.com

those always looked nifty. A spare aluminum cap is $12 if you're worried about losing that (don't think it would come loose).

There is another valve almost identical to the fumoto - here is a comparison of the two

 

I ordered a Fumoto valve for each of my vehicles last year. They were stiff and I moved them several times by hand before installing and made sure they worked and the lever would drop into the indention stop. I installed them, filled the cars with oil and checked for any leaking. I added the safety locking clip, and the plastic cap to cover the nipple to keep debris out. Not being totally sure about the valves, for the next couple of days I went under the car, pulled the plastic nipple cap, and checked for oil leaks. No oil came out. The safety clip was still on. Everything was fine.

Over the next 6 months, I would check the oil level and it never moved. I went to change the oil on my 2016 Outback. I first checked the oil and it was still full. I went under to attach the drain hose, pulled off the plastic nipple cap, and the warm oil poured out of the valve. Biggest oil change mess ever.

The valve lever had moved from off to on over the 6 months. I was able to move it back to off, and the oil stopped flowing. So the ball valve still worked. But, the lever was at an angle and would not move back to the indention stop. It appeared to only take about an ounce of force to go from off to on with a single finger. The plastic nipple cap was the only thing holding the oil in the car.

Has anyone ever had, or ever heard of anyone having a problem like this with one of the Fumoto valves?

And to answer the questions before asked:

- I used a beam bend torque wrench set to 18 ft-lbs for the install. But, I also put an AC Delco digital torque wrench on the beam torque wrench first, so I have a double torque check when I install something. I used a crow foot socket to do the install, like others have mentioned.

- I checked for no leaking before applying the plastic nipple cap. I also checked inside the plastic cap over the next couple of days. No oil.

- I never touched the valve lever or the level lock again after installing them. I only pulled the black plastic cap off the nipple.

- The valve does not stick down below the car. If it was hit by something, the black plastic nipple cap would have been hit first and pulled off and it was still intact.

I contacted Fumoto and after 10 days for them to send a shipping label, them to receive my return, and them to send a replacement, I got a new valve on the car at no cost (no cross shipping so no use of the car). The only visible issue I could see with the old valve was that the lever was now at an angle and the internal spring appeared to be off center to allow the angle to happen.

Again, anyone heard of any issues? Or even installer problems that could cause something like this in case I am the problem?

I said I ordered three valves. My second vehicle worked like everyone else has mentioned. Then I went to the third vehicle. Being paranoid, I brought a drain pan. I pulled off the black plastic nipple cap and again, the warm oil poured from the valve. The valve had moved from off to on after I had it installed. The lever was not angled this time, but something internally was preventing the lever from moving totally off so it cannot move far enough to drop down into the off detention.

I bought 3 valves at the same time and 2 out of 3 had the same failure. The second failure just happened this weekend, so I have not contacted Fumoto yet. They never told me what problem they found with the first valve I sent back.

Since I had 2 out of 3 failures, the first thing most people would say is an installer error. Saying I caused the problem is fine, but how?
I used the exact same tools and install method for all three and one worked with no issue. Other than my hands, the only thing that touched the valve was the crow foot socket along the sides from the bottom, no where near the lever.

I used Fumoto for years with no problems. I bought one for my 2015 and it failed as you have indicated. When i recieved the replacement and before installing I noticed the lever would not go into the locking notch, The detent spring apeared to be bent out of place. I took it apart and got it aligned. But I have never installed it
I use my own Mobile one oil and pay a lube shop $10 to just change the oil. I do not trust Fumoto.

 

The OP mentioned the safety clip when instaling the valve. But when he found the valve open six months later he did not mention the safety clip. I suspect the clip was missing as it is imposible to open the valve with the clip in place.

Something or someone had to remove the clip and open the valve in my opnion.

I have an older valve and back then they used a heater hose type of spring clip. Required the use of a pair of pliers to remove the clip.

 

Very unfortunate to hear about your issues! I've had 3 Fumoto valves on 3 cars which have been in service for between 8 and 12 years and a combined ~200k miles between them with no problems. These reports definitely have me reconsidering putting another one on my wife's car...

 

That double-failure seems to be a fluke of some sort. I wonder if somehow during installation the lever got smashed or twisted and it caused the mechanism to fail. If it was a production problem, it was a fluke 5 years ago. Fumoto is still the same simple and elegant ball valve design for decades, I've used about half a dozen of them on my own cars over time and not a single issue. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one or recommend it to anyone else.

 

While you probably just got some defective valves. It does shake your confidence in Fumoto. Even if you get new ones. I put these Femco valves on my Outback and CRV. It has a screw on dust cover (like a garden hose valve cap) that you remove and it will only start to drain oil as you screw on the drain hose assembly. The tighter you screw in the hose the faster the oil flows because it opens the valve up more. The only thing I noticed is the copper crush washer developed some exterior rust on it so I coated it with some grease. I never spill a drop of oil doing an oil change anymore.

 

Femco - Replace Oil Drain Plugs - Order Femco Drain Valves Use the part numbers on my receipt in their search. Hope this helps.