Of course the oil pan drain is stripped

[Dyoel182]

Grrrr. So I get up on my day off to do my first oil chance since I got the car and install the oil change kit and of course threads come out when I pull the drain plug. How annoying is that? Thankfully it wasnt too much damage and the banjo fitting went on just fine so I'll never have to touch it again. Now I'll just be paranoid for the next few days that a leak develops.

 

[Harrry]

Grrrr. So I get up on my day off to do my first oil chance since I got the car and install the oil change kit and of course threads come out when I pull the drain plug. How annoying is that? Thankfully it wasnt too much damage and the banjo fitting went on just fine so I'll never have to touch it again. Now I'll just be paranoid for the next few days that a leak develops.

That sucks!!!! Even though it gives you a reason to order the upgraded oil pan for our cars :laugh:

 

[Dyoel182]

Haha I did think about that for a second while I was under the car. Thankfully just the front of the threads acted damaged and the plug seemed to hold just fine. I'm still a little paranoid and will probably look for drips for a few more days.

 

[Beachboy]

You got off lucky if the banjo fitting fixed it permanently. A while back, the dealer stripped out the threads on my oil pan, "fixed" it by using a bunch of teflon tape on the plug, and sent me on my way without so much as a "sorry bout that". I took the car to another dealer (obviously) and at first they thought they could fix it, but they ended up having to replace the whole oil pan. Cost over $600. I should have hit the dealer up that stripped the threads for the cost of the repair, but I don't like to get confrontational. I wasn't sure how much of a case I had, considering wear and tear on aluminum threads after some 80 oil changes.

 

[Harrry]

You got off lucky if the banjo fitting fixed it permanently. A while back, the dealer stripped out the threads on my oil pan, "fixed" it by using a bunch of teflon tape on the plug, and sent me on my way without so much as a "sorry bout that". I took the car to another dealer (obviously) and at first they thought they could fix it, but they ended up having to replace the whole oil pan. Cost over $600. I should have hit the dealer up that stripped the threads for the cost of the repair, but I don't like to get confrontational. I wasn't sure how much of a case I had, considering wear and tear on aluminum threads after some 80 oil changes.

YOu would of still won something. If not all of it.

 

[Dyoel182]

You got off lucky if the banjo fitting fixed it permanently. A while back, the dealer stripped out the threads on my oil pan, "fixed" it by using a bunch of teflon tape on the plug

Yeah I felt lucky after initially cursing at it. No leaks or seeping so far but I wont hesitate to add some teflon tape or silicone since that fitting wont need to come off any time soon.

 

[Dyoel182]

Well its been 6 months and still just a tiny drip every other day that I'm not gonna worry about because I'm scared to touch that bolt. The good news is that the banjo bolt was part of a quick oil change system and today was the first oil change where I got to try out the included cig lighter pump and boy oh boy was it fun not being under the car while it pumped all the oil out into a clean jug.

I also installed the second part of the kit which is the oil filter relocater. I didnt do it last time because I was so mad at the drain plug I didnt want to spend another second under the car. Right now the hoses are routed up the radiator fan shroud and over by the windshield washer fluid so I hopefully wont ever have to get back under the car to mess with oil.

 

[FIND]

You got off lucky if the banjo fitting fixed it permanently. A while back, the dealer stripped out the threads on my oil pan, "fixed" it by using a bunch of teflon tape on the plug, and sent me on my way without so much as a "sorry bout that". I took the car to another dealer (obviously) and at first they thought they could fix it, but they ended up having to replace the whole oil pan. Cost over $600. I should have hit the dealer up that stripped the threads for the cost of the repair, but I don't like to get confrontational. I wasn't sure how much of a case I had, considering wear and tear on aluminum threads after some 80 oil changes.

I would have just gone to the parts store and gotten a helicoil, and saved 590 bucks.

 

[Dyoel182]

Or even just borrow their thread restorer kit and try that first. If I'm ever feeling anal about the small single drip I'll be renting that, adding a little bit of teflon tape to the threads and maybe replacing the plastic rings with brass ones.

 

[FIND]

wow I feel bad now. My oil pan was leaking last year from a bad gasket that I musta broke while I was putting on the updated pan, I replaced the gasket and the way I checked to see if my pan was leaking yet was to look if the oil I left on it last year was still there....

Im a horrible person.

 

[starjammir]

Hey I know of someone else with a stripped one. Damn oil change places! I hope he sees this and goes out and buys the updated one for that car He knows why!

 

[Beachboy]

I would have just gone to the parts store and gotten a helicoil, and saved 590 bucks.

Yeah it would be been nice to save $590, but I don't have the time to work on my car, and I have to have it available 24/7. So paying a mechanic is my only option, and if they say they have to replace instead of repair, I have to go with their decision.

 

[Dyoel182]

and if they say they have to replace instead of repair, I have to go with their decision.

Umm no you dont. Half the reason you have a phone book is so you can call around and find a place that will do things how you want them to. Of course they're gonna upcharge you for an entire pan replacement, gaskets and probably "shop materials".

 

[FIND]

Yeah it would be been nice to save $590, but I don't have the time to work on my car, and I have to have it available 24/7. So paying a mechanic is my only option, and if they say they have to replace instead of repair, I have to go with their decision.

naw just tell them to repair. Its not like they are paying you to bring the car to them, and they arent cutting you any deals. Tell them what you want. I was a mechanic for years, and customers have asked me to do some things that in my opinion were pretty dumb, but, the customer is always right, only thing I could ever do is tell them why I didnt want to do it and ask them if they are sure they want me to do it their way. Yeah replacing it is a "better" repair, but honestly, most of the reason they want to do it, is cause a pan replacement takes like no time at all, and they probably charge flat rate.

Besides, doing a helicoil is really easy. especially on an oil pan. You can be done with it in about 20 minutes including jacking up your car.

Hey I know of someone else with a stripped one. Damn oil change places! I hope he sees this and goes out and buys the updated one for that car He knows why!

in my opinion that is the biggest problem with a quicklube place. They get into so much of a hurry with things. I worked at a walmart TLE when I was really young for about a month. I got written up for telling someone not to start a car until they added oil to it (I was supposed to report it to my supervisor so they could tell the person since it wasnt my place to tell them what to do), I got written up for telling someone to move and let me show them how to mount the tire they were working on for 15 minutes while making no progress, and they made someone who worked in the pets department shop manager for the TLE, despite promising me that I would have that job, seeing as I was the only person working in that TLE that had any type of shop experience in the first place.

But I digress.

You wouldnt believe how many times I had seen people cross thread oil plugs, round off plugs, (try to)replace them with the wrong plug, or overtighten said plugs.

 

[Dyoel182]

You wouldnt believe how many times I had seen people cross thread oil plugs, round off plugs, (try to)replace them with the wrong plug, or overtighten said plugs.

My friend is the shop manager at a NTB and he will not let the techs use a socket on any oil drain plug. His reasoning is the guys will hate using a wrench so much that they'll remove it by hand and thread it in by hand (so they dont damage or cross-thread) rather than turn it little by little with a wrench clanging around. It seems to work.

 

[FIND]

My friend is the shop manager at a NTB and he will not let the techs use a socket on any oil drain plug. His reasoning is the guys will hate using a wrench so much that they'll remove it by hand and thread it in by hand (so they dont damage or cross-thread) rather than turn it little by little with a wrench clanging around. It seems to work.

yeah, back when I was in the shop in ND, we would have some kids that would come over from the Votech center that would get credit for working for us. So since the other mechanic didnt like working with the kids and didnt like teaching, I always got stuck with them. So whenever a kid was in working, thats exactly what I would tell them, only use wrenches, and tighten them as far as they could by hand. Had one kid with us all summer long and I dont think he ever got to use a ratchet.

Gawd did that save me from doing a lot of oil changes and tires.