I chose the Fumoto drain valve rather than the Femco because of three factors: price, no extra parts, and ease of use.
Price: The Femco valve costs a little less than a Fumoto valve, however, draining oil with the Femco valve requires a Femco adaptor. The adaptor costs almost as much as the valve such that the total cost for one oil drain is considerably more than for the Fumoto valve.
Extra parts: With the Femco valve, oil cannot be drained without the adaptor unless the Femco valve is removed – This becomes more of a concern for me as I age, things are just not where I left them anymore. The Fumoto needs nothing extra, but an old hose does make oil draining neater.
Ease of use: Faster oil drain is easier for me and the orifice size on the Femco is small compared to the Fumoto such that oil draining requires much longer with the Femco than with the Fumoto. I browsed blogs and notice lots of complaints about how long the oil drain requires the Femco.
Using several small containers is easier with the Fumoto because it is a quarter-turn valve. The Femco is opened by inserting the adaptor into the valve (like an air line quick connector). I have had air line quick connectors pop right back out after releasing them because the spring lock which holds them together stuck open.
Accidental Valve knocks off: The drain plug wins this contest but the nippleless Fumoto and the Femco are almost the same. A Fumoto with a hose nipple (which I installed) does hang down an inch lower, however, the transmission is closer to the ground than the end of the Fumoto nipple on the M11. The fuel filter is also hanging down as low and vulnerable as well as hydraulic lines. I won’t drive over obstacles or on gravel roads.
I was going to install a safety clip on the Fumoto but the handle is on the passenger side pointing to the rear, so I deemed a safety clip unnecessary.
The main motivating factor for replacing the drain plug was the stripped threads in the oil pan. The plug would not stay in without several layers of thread tape.
The original engine oil drain plug on my 1996 U320 M11 was 1 inch by 18 TPI.
I believe that all M11 engines have 1×18 oil drain plugs until Cummins went metric after 1996, so newer M11 engines have a metric sized drain plug. by Wyatt 1996 U320 40′
OEM screw-in drain plug has advantages:
1) drain plug magnet to attract stray metal in engine oil
2) quicker drain through the larger opening to move any debris from the bottom
of pan.
I didn’t care for Fumoto T-203n quick drain plugs because they are taller than regular drain plug and could be damaged from road debris. The following is from their instructions:
1) Drive carefully at all times, and if you run over any foreign object on the road pull over and check the valve for any damage or leak.
2) N-Series valve (with nipple to accept hose) is not recommended for passenger cars with low clearance.
We like the advantage of not cross-threading threads and are using Femoco Compact drain plugs on our motorhome engine, generator & previous Jeep. by Barry and Cindy 1997 U270 36′