Its a conspiracy. It would be hard to prove, but the results are undeniable. The engineer that designed the oil change kit I bought years ago and the engineer that designed the drain plug for the 07 MINI are both sadistic pranksters.

Seems simple enough. Put drain pan under oil pan, pull oil pan plug, catch oil, retrieve plug, reinstall plug with new washer. I haven't kept count but I have down this more than a few times on many other vehicles.

I can't prove it, but sometime in the recent past, these two hunjaks got together and schemed. And then they sprang their evil trap.

I loosened the oil plug, dropped the wrench, and unscrewed the plug with my fingers. It pops free, the oil is draining quickly, so I (as normal behavior) dropped the plug in the pan.

*SNAP* goes the trap.

I have since tested the outcome of dropping the plug into the pan under less frantic conditions. With a regularity that defies random chance the plug makes a dash for the hole in the center and proceeds to do what plugs do best. Plug.
I need not tell you the catch basin of my oil change kit does not hold 4.4 quarts of synthetic oil.

I can see this engineer, fuming in his cubicle, because his total contribution to the design of this engine was the drain plug. Wheee. Five years of college and he gets to design a drain plug. So he grabs his blackberry and text his ol' college buddy. And they form this evil plan. B***ards!

I am gonna drill holes in my catch basin. After I shower and clean up the garage!

 

My oil change basin has two holes.

 

It's nice to know that sort of thing happens to people besides me

 

Yes, always better to have it happen to the person beside you, than yourself...

 

Mine has two holes too

 

I just always keep hold of the plug.
:shrug:

 

Mine has a three legged "screen", so the plug can't go down the hole.........

My sympathies, tho, I know what a mess 4 qts of oil can make!

 

I have found that flinging the boiling hot plug across the garage, whilst I scream in pain, is not AS messy as having the entire contents of the pan dumped on the floor. The down side is that about every 4th time I never see the plug again.

I had a Fumoto valve on my other three MINIs and used to change the oil in a white dinner jacket and never get dirty. Pop the handle, start the flow, stand up, sip a martini (or Diet Coke), close the valve, change the filter and refill.

This new drain plug IS evil . . .

 

Your mistake is using a WRENCH.
Get an allen wrench socket set. They're not much money. Try Sears. Then use the appropriate size SOCKET on a ratchet of your choice for removal. Very hard to drop that! Put on a rubber glove, as some oil is going to run out the ratchet handle. Put down newspaper in case it gets out your arm, have a big cotton towel or t-shirt handy just in case. But you should be able to do this easy using an allen wrench socket on a 3/8 ratchet, no problem, without dropping it. Oh, you COULD drop the entire ratchet, but that will have a devil of a time going down the hole, and it wipes clean easy.