I found out early on the drain plugs, even OEM, are soft - to avoid damage to the more expensive pan assembly I think. This is by design. Combined that with the difficulty in getting the hex key into the plug straight and not keeping it dead straight while loosening/tightening when the car is only up on stands and you on your back reaching to get to the plug (vs up on a lift with you easily standing directly under it) - you get non-ideal forces on the key-plug joint.

I treat the plug as a disposable part - have spares on hand. Soon as there is a sign of strong wear/wobble on the removed plug, it goes in the recycle bin, and in goes a new plug. (and this is with OEMs).

I am on plug #3 now in 6 years. Meanwhile, my VW New Beetle at 13 years is on drain bolt #2, only because the copper washer on those is integral to the bolt - and that is steel on steel, not aluminium on aluminium.

 

You can see that a torx bit will fit in the hex opening...but it's going to round the fitting eventually - need to use 8mm hex.

 

Glad you finally got the ECS plug out- i had similar issues with rounded stock drain plug on 987.1- luckily i had less issues & was able to tap in a torx bit that grabbed the plug- i bought the LN Engr magnetic plug (not sure if ECS is the same or not) & haven't had any issues with it rounding out.

 

may be we should design an Aluminum 8mm wrench to remove the drain plug. Hard anodized drain plug and an aluminum wrench will not strip out.

 

Often if you strip a torx the next larger size and a bit of force (get me a hammer!) will allow you to remove the part.

 

True...but the solution is don't use a torx bit in a hex fitting in the first place.

 

Yes. I thought we were way past that but maybe not. It's a HEX fitting folks.

 

I used IRWIN extractor. Worked fine. Now I use one plug per drain, never re-use, and tight at 50Nm precisely.

 

So I finally got around to getting my plug out. What a pain! I actually had to end up using, gently, an impact wrench to get it to come out. I know I didn't over torque it initially because I knew it was starting to round off. Oh well thanks for the tips!

 

i have the same one... i take it it should be torque'd back to oem 37 ft/lbs (which is what i have been doing) ... this thread scared me a little!

http://suncoastparts.com/product/PKMAGNETIC.html

 

The Suncoast description is not complete - here is what is written on the LN website:

Our drain plug uses M18x1.5mm thread pitch and replaces the original drain plug, Porsche part no 900 219 009 30, and uses O.E. sealing ring Porsche part number 900 123 106 30 which should be replaced every time you install the drain plug and torqued to 19 ft/lb. Installs with an 8mm Hex, just like a stock plug.

This confirms that you should use a hex (8mm) wrench, not torx and that the torque spec is 19 ft/lb. not 37.

 

HOLY CRAP... thank you.

 

- Suncoast has since changed 'Oil Plugs' they sell to eliminate the 8mm Allen, to an Exterior Bolt type plug.
- I wonder if the torque value is the same. Probably .......... It's really up to Porsche.
- But, it's about time that Porsche recognizes that multiple owners experience the same issue with 'stripped' hex plugs & correct the problem.

 

Don't torque any drain plug of any material into your aluminum sump to more than 19 or 20 ft.lbs. no matter what you find in a torque spec so document.

 

Amen! after all it's a plug, I don't understand why torqued is required.