Patent ID: 7905367

Claim:
An oil pan for an internal combustion engine, said oil pan having a drain mechanism which is adjustable between a closed position and an open position and which comprises an adjustable valve body insertable into a drain opening in an oil pan wall, wherein a sealing member made of a flexible material is arranged on a head of the valve body of the drain mechanism, said sealing member sealing axially between the head and an outside surface of the oil pan wall when the valve body is in the closed position, wherein the valve body in the closed position is fixed by a closing element to the wall of the oil pan, and the sealing member is held in the closed position by the closing element, and wherein the closing element comprises a projecting finger extending radially from the wall into the drain opening, for engaging a recessed track formed in the valve body, and the recessed track has a horizontally extending section nearest to the sealing member, said horizontally extending section extending radially completely around an outer surface of said valve body forming an endless horizontal track thereon, an oblique section deviating from said horizontally extending section and extending further from the sealing member, and a roughened surface structure formed on a portion of a wall of said horizontally extending section of said recessed track, said roughened surface structure engaging with said protecting finger operative to counteract inadvertent opening of said drain mechanism.