Reply to "Oil drain plug catastrophe"

Adam,

I have repaired stripped drain plugs many times, in fact I was asked this week to look at a pan that the owner can't remove the plug from, its too tight (EEK!). Some folks just don't know their own strength! All is not lost my friend.

You should look for an auto parts store with a guy behind the counter with grey hair and glasses as thick as coke bottle bottoms. The guy probably goes by the name of Pops, or Fast Eddie. No, not the kids at Auto Zone! The old timer will have the fixes for you. Fast Eddie will be at the auto parts store that all the mechanics in town go to for parts. Possibly NAPA. He's nicknamed Fast Eddie because he moves real slow, like me.

The easiest solution is a self tapping drain plug that will cut itself some new threads as you screw it in the first time. It sounds like you may not have any threads left for it to screw into, but you should give it a try.

Unfortunately, the threaded tab tack welded in the pan for the drain plug isn't very thick, drilling it out & tapping it isn't an option.

Some other tricks I've used include having a nut carefully TIG welded on the outside of the pan; I've also drilled the hole in the pan out to 9/16" and installed a "chassis nut". Its a threaded insert designed for sheet metal that crushes itself on either side of the hole & locks itself in place. Don't have a chassis nut that big handy? Neither did I the first time, so I popped a tubeless tire valve stem into the hole!

We'll get you back on the road! Rock & Roll.

your friend on the PIBB, George