was it safe to drive the car when 1 or 2 threads were stripped? i did the oil change last week and when i took the drain plug out i saw aluminum pieces stuck at the end of the bolt. all i did was screwed it back on not too tight, i've drove about 400 miles and had no signs of leakage. i was wondering if i can just buy a fumoto valve and use that as a permanent fix. the valve will be put on so that the drain plug wont be tampered ever again.

 

These pans are pain in the butt. I had a plug apparently put on by magilla gorilla and couldn't get it off. I had to heat it up with torch to get it out......

Sounds to me like your idea is solid, esp when it's the interior threads at issue here. I saw those drain plugs in the Moss MINI catalog. I will be getting one next oil change too. I think these plugs are only to be torqued down to about 6 foot lbs. So it's probably tight enough for now.

Meantime, keep eye on dip stick, and at night toss a piece of cardboard under the area, re-check in morning for oil drops.

 

my threads were stripped from and independent shop...then i had my oil changed at the dealership and they charged me 1000 bucks to replace the pan. ouch.

 

Whether or not the threads were stripped, shouldn't the o-ring (i.e., gasket) prevent any leaks?

 

The drain bolt gasket will prevent any leaks, as long as the bolt stays securely threaded into the pan. But I think the concern is that with some of the threads stripped, the bolt *won't* stay secure. If the bolt begins to back out, the gasket won't help at all.

 

YEP go with the valve!

 

at 44K miles, my oil pan in my '05 MCS was found to be leaking oil. 1st time "replaced" under warranty. Lo and behold, 7 weeks later, the oil leak had returned in full force.

Called my service advisor immediately and took the car a couple of days later. Either the first tech did not do the job (They kept me waiting for the car at the dealer an entire morning (4-5 hours) on a Saturday), or the guy managed to mess up the new seal or over torqued the threads when installing the new pan.

The dealer, no questions asked, replaced the oil pan, seal and oil/filter for a second time. They were very nice about it, but I still voiced my displeasure as they apparent lack of repair quality control. If it weren't for having my tires rotated recently, I would have not known about the leak and assumed everything was fine and dandy down there.

These oil pans in the R53 seem to be a PITA. Thankfully, I am still under warranty and was able to catch it before it was too late. Oil leak was very minor but still a leak nevertheless.

All good now.

 

A car can be a very finicky beast, I am sure the tech did his best, it would have been another thing if they didnt stand behind their work, but they did. Mistakes and mishaps happen in every walk of life, no one is perfect. And parts sometimes fail, etc. ....Your car wasnt negligently damaged, a part or procedure failed is all.

 

Oil drain pan threads can also be repaired back to the factory specs with a TIme-Sert insert.
http://www.timesert.com/html/drainplug.html



Cheers mate
D

 

does anybody have any experience with the above mentioned kit? im going to have to drill out my plug.

 

You may not have to drill out your plug. My dealer over-torqued the plug and I stripped the heck out of the bolt flats (using a Craftsman 6-point socket and breaker bar - the bolt would NOT budge!). When I bought it back to the dealer - along with a very apologetic attitude toward my stripping the bolt - they kindly welded another bolt to the end of my original bolt, and gave me a new drain plug! Try the weld-a-bolt-to-the-end trick first.

I replaced mine with a VW bolt - same thread, but with a copper crush washer that doesn't swell or deform to freeze the bolt in place. I did grind the VW plug down by 1/8" since it was a touch longer, but that probably wasn't necessary.

Good luck!

 

I'm going to have to go the torch route on my next change. I rounded off the bolt and even tried a Craftsman Bolt-Out set with no luck. Luckily I have a Mitey-vac, so I could suck the oil out through the dipstick tube. I have a new plug but I think I'm going with the Fumoto valve.

 

WE R50/53 folks are lucky in that the Fumoto will work. The R56/57 guys have the plug on the very bottom of the pan and, while the Fumoto would work, one manhole cover (or errant squirrel) and they're in a heap o trouble.