Oil pan threads almost stripped

[schwartza3]

Went to change my oil last night, undoing the drain bolt and bits of thread come out with it!...so i get my pinky in the drain hole and i pull almost the entire thread out, only the last few threads remaining. I've been doing my oil changes for the past 4 yrs, last time it was done my a mech due to major service who said the drain plug washer needs replacing to justify the slow (1 drop a day) leak. I searched this and found it could be the problem so i got a new drain bolt/washer ready for this oil change. Anyway ended up replacing the oil, this morning there was a drop on the ground. Anyone had this problem? Did you re-thread the pan or purchase a new one? or did you chase it up with the mech?

[brad]

helicoil, twinsert, other thread restoration device required.

[Brisben]

helicoil, twinsert, other thread restoration device required.

Yep thats the cheapest way to go , don't replace the sump, inless you can get one really cheap.

[schwartza3]

its leaking a bit more than what i saw this morning, there was about 5cm diameter leak on the ground when i got back from work.
once the motor is running i assume the oil is pressurised in the pan so it would leak more, is it safe to drive like this? cheers!

[h100vw]

No pressure in the sump, it leaks more because it's thinner.

Gavin

[brad]

Depends how far you are driving. Might be OK for 5 minutes up to a repairer but I wouldn't trust it for a long journey.

It's a bit hard without seeing it. If you were able to get it reasonably tight with a spanner then it's probably OK.

[schwartza3]

No pressure in the sump, it leaks more because it's thinner.

Gavin

ok, that was my main concern, i wasn't sure if there is pressure in the sump.

Depends how far you are driving. Might be OK for 5 minutes up to a repairer but I wouldn't trust it for a long journey.

It's a bit hard without seeing it. If you were able to get it reasonably tight with a spanner then it's probably OK.

i didn't tighten it hard because there are only maybe 3-4 threads left. Before i filled it up with oil last night, i poured half a litre in to see how bad the leakage would be, after seeing a bit of oil collecting at the bolt only couple of minutes later i tightened it a little more.

is there a lot of work to get the sump off?
i wouldn't want to re-thread it using one of those methods mentioned above with the sump on.
also, what if i didn't get the thread pieces out.
obviously the oil goes through the filter and the oil pickup tube in the sump also has some sort of mesh on it but what are the chances of something getting through?

[brad]

i wouldn't want to re-thread it using one of those methods mentioned above with the sump on.
also, what if i didn't get the thread pieces out.
obviously the oil goes through the filter and the oil pickup tube in the sump also has some sort of mesh on it but what are the chances of something getting through?

Look in the Yellow Pages. There used to be a mobile helicoil guy that did this stuff all the time. I've had him helicoil sparkplug threads in situ & also sump threads. He puts grease on the tap and the metal shavings stick to it. No problemo. That guy saved me hours of labour & a small fortune when I was swinging spanners (you can't prove a stripped thread was already like that, so you just have to wear it.)

[Preen59]

Don't Helicoil it. They're terrible. I'd Keysert it or something similar. Use Loctite High Temperature thread sealant with Teflon on the keysert to stop the oil wicking out through the outer thread.

It's going to cost a little bit to get that done because of the diameter of the thread, but it's well worth going for a keysert/timesert etc. Helicoils are a last resort in my opinion and not a good idea in aluminium.


Keysert...


Timesert..

[Jmac]

Fit a piggy back sump plug, which taps a new thread and becomes a fixed plug. The piggy back part is in the centre of the bolt which is actaully your new sump bolt, if that makes sense, so in essence your old plug 19mm spanner size will be the fixed plug with an over size thread into the sump, and in the middle of that your new sump bolt size will be around 15mm spanner size. Top fix and no need to worry anymore about stripped threads.
Done this fix already on dubs and a few Porsches
Here is an example

Cheers
Jmac