Made a stupid mistake today, I totally stripped the threads from my oil pan. I thought i remembered the proper torque for the plug, but i did not!

In an effort to fix it at least temporarily, I put in one of those oversized drain plugs, it was all the parts store had (late at night).
I tried for an hour to get it in straight, but it would only go in cross threaded. It is pointing upwards, towards the engine, at a ~5 deg angle from normal. Definitely a bad seal, the washer isn't even being squished on one side and it's practically bottomed out on the other (I didn't want to strip it again!)

There is a very distinct drip, one small drip every 2 mins or so when the car is heated up, and a decent weep when the car is cold.

I have a feeling my only choice is to replace the oil pan entirely, but just for fun, I'm wondering if anyone else has another suggestion for a short/long term fix.

Is it worth trying one of those insert fixes after a cross-thread?

Is there a lot going on in the engine near the drain plug, where the act of stuffing more metal into a space that's already in bad shape will cause me even more grief?

While thinking about that, I'm also looking for a new pan. I see a lot offered online, and the prices vary significantly! Mini parts mass has it for $356, pelican has it for a bit more, but some places have it for as low as $130. The cheap ones claim to be new... Are they a scam?

I've seen pelican's writeup on the replacement, and i have the bentley manual as well.

Any and all suggestions welcome...

thanks!

 

Eric, Im sorry you had such terrible luck. I would be very cautious w/ the $130 ones, Ive heard of some of those being such thin steel (most often Chinese) that a good rock can punch a sweet hole right on through. End of engine.

 

Autozone, I have worked there for 3 years. See if they have a plug with oversized thread. Tap it, and put in the oversized plug! :D

 

Take it out and get the hole welded shut. Drill a hole and re-tap it. You not only gained experienced on re-tapping you also got yourself some new tools vice spending the money in buying a new pan.

There are used pans here once in a while. Post in the WTB section.

 

It was just a stupid mistake...

I don't really trust a larger plug at this point. I an worried I will push a big chip in because of the cross thread (if I haven't already). If I am going to disassemble, I feel I may as well put in a new pan rather than an abused one. Thanks for the heads up on the cheap pans, it seemed too good to be true.

I needed to replace the oil pan gasket anyway...

 

Another question:

While i've got the car "in service mode", what else should i be replacing? It's a 2005 with 65k miles.

thanks!

 

'05 w/ 65k, 09/04 delivery, thats 2 months before me, you need to drive more....

Just check the normal stuff, belt, tensioner and check for what feels like play in the crank pulley, I know all that stuff is accessable through the fender well, but having the front end off just makes it seem like it's easier to work in that tight space.

Oh, while it's on jacks don't forget to check your axle boots for leaks.

 

I've got to buy all my parts ahead of time, as i'm going to do this over thanksgiving weekend. I remember long ago someone saying that replacing the crank seal or rear gasket while the car was in service mode was a good idea... But i can't remember for sure what it was...

thanks
Eric

 

I just had this happen myself. Threads stripped completely out of the pan. Didn't realize it until I took a look in there and saw them all mangled. Then realized they were actually wrapped around the drain plug. I picked up a pan for $140 and it seemed to be pretty decent quality.

As for what to check...belt, tensioner, idler pulley, crank pulley, coolant lines, cv boots. Other than that, I'd just take a look underneath to make sure there are no leaks that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Replacing the pan is fairly easy. Unbolt your AC and use a bungee cord to hold it up so it doesn't hang by the lines. Then just unbolt and replace. The Bentley manual has the order that should be used when removing and installing. The pan is light, so don't worry about it falling too hard once that last bolt comes out. Its pretty cool to get a look up into the block when the pan is off. Not something you get to see everyday.

 

Crank position sensor o-ring should be replaced. If it isn't leaking oil now, it soon will. Relatively easy to do with car in service mode.

 

Sensor or o-ring?

Anything else?

 

o-ring

 

this one: 12147514983
?

 

 

Both.

 

I know you have an excuse to do other stuff now but for those that just want to get out of a bind....you can purchase a drain plug that is longer. The pan is quite thick where the drain plug is and the OEM plug only extends about half of the depth. I picked up a few plugs at Autozone when this happened to me and found one that was the same thread but several mm longer. Screwed in no problem, holds tight and doesn't leak $4.

I would have repaired it the correct way with drilling and inserting a helicoil but it was a Saturday afternoon in a smaller town that still thinks that the metric system is a tool of the devil. Buying a metric helicoil kit would be an order only deal on a weekday. The kits are expensive but cheaper than time and materials to change pan and gasket.

As for chips in the pan, use the used oil to flush out the pan from the top then one "waste" fresh quart through so you can see better. Done it many times at a shop and never had a problem.

 

Well, I made myself a set of MFE extension pins, here's hoping they're good! Thanks to Ian for the dimensions!

Someone suggested i put anti-sieze on pretty much everything when i put my oil pan back on, as well as oil pan gasket sealant.

What's the consensus on this?

thanks!