Drain Plug Problem - HELP!!!

[Kestas]

About the oil leak -- next time the plug is off check the mating surface on the pan for flatness. All this manhandling may have left a burr. One good way to dress the surface is to carefully drag a finishing file across the surface until you get fresh metal all the way across. Do the same for the washer and you're good to go.

 

[Drew99GT]

Your oil leak could also be just left over drip from the filter or something. On our cars, oil gets everywhere when you remove the filter; it drains down the frame rails etc. to the lowest point then drips on the ground.

 

[JTM]

It looks like where the oil is dripping, it's coming down from the drain plug (the filter is about a foot and a half away). I tightened it down a little more and will see if that solves the problem.

If not, I'll just deal with it and frequently check the oil level the next time the plug is off I'll go over the washer/pan hole with a finishing file like Kestas suggested.

 

[Drew99GT]

As long as your confident that the threads weren't stripped from the previous peeps that touched it, I wouldn't worry about it. Did it feel like the new plug went in alright? Didn't feel too loose or too small?

I've had great luck with the green drain plug gaskets that are made of some sort of croky fiber stuff. Hard to explain, but they're a dime a dozen at all the auto parts stores around here. Had mine on my Grand Am for over 3 years and never replaced it and it never leaked. The good thing about that type of gasket is it conforms to the threads and both mating surfaces in the eventuality that the mating surfaces aren't completely flat.

 

[Al]

Well-I have never used neversieze on a drain plug and don't really know anyone who does. Not saying its a bad idea-just don't think it's necessary bc it won't corrode and just make sure you have a little oil on the plug. I would go with a new copper gasket from Volvo when you take it off next time.

I agree with the torque wrench. You will be safe with 22 ft lbs. Thats a relatively low number. Most specs are 22-28 ft. lbs. Get a good 0-50 ft. lb click type. Make sure you can feel the click on a test bolt at 22 ft lbs. Make sure when you are done with the wrench you turn it back to "zero" .

 

[Drew99GT]

It looks like you could still get the right sized hex in there. You can buy hex heads like that that have a regular 3/8 drive socket fitting in the back. Check Sears; I've bought many from there. If you can get it set up like that for a socket wrench, then you can just strike it with a mallet if it is really tight. Had to do that AGAIN yesterday to get the drain plug off my Dad's Blazer. the place he goes to puts the plug in so tight I can not even get it off with a two foot cheater pipe hooked on to my socket wrench

 

[dipstick01]

JB weld or marine-tex a big allen wrench on there, wait for it to dry, then twist it off. no need to buy a new drain plug, now this one has a handle!

P.S. -- make sure to fillerup with a good oil like Chevron Surpreme

 

[Ken2]

You don't need antiseize paste--there's plenty of oil doing that job.

Copper work hardens. Your copper gasket isn't as soft and malleable as it was when new. You can replace it with new copper, new aluminum, or new fiber gasket. If fiber, be sure to use a new one each time.

I've replaced plugs with oil in the pan. When the oil is cold & thick, remove the plug, put your thumb over the hole, change the gasket (maybe a helper will do that for you), stick the plug back in. I can do it and lose less than a pint of oil.

Work hardened copper gaskets can be annealed. Get them red hot and quench in water...I know what someone's going to say, but copper has a different crystal structure from steel, and this is how to anneal copper and how to harden steel.

By the way, even if someone suggests it to stop leaks, never use Teflon tape on drain plug threads. It'll stick on the pan threads and eventually be pushed into the pan. If it accumulates, it can clog something. Anyway, Teflon tape is only for tapered pipe threads, not straight threads with a gasket, and I don't think it works well on anything.


Ken

[ October 07, 2003, 12:52 PM: Message edited by: Ken2 ]

 

[Kestas]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ken2:
Work hardened copper gaskets can be annealed. Get them red hot and quench in water...I know what someone's going to say, but copper has a different crystal structure from steel, and this is how to anneal copper and how to harden steel.

---

No. To best anneal copper get it red hot and let it air cool, or better yet, let it cool as slowly as possible. Though copper does have a different crystal structure when compared with steel, annealing follows the same mechanism. If there is any alloy in the copper, it'll harden when you quench it. Most copper washers are made of pure copper, so quenching will have little effect and the washers will probably remain soft, but slow cooling is "best".

 

[labman]

Years ago I worked for a company that manufactured electrical wire. I don't remember them quenching the annealed wire. What I do remember, was telling some Chinese visitors that I worked with insulation, and they needed to ask the guy over there about how we were annealing tinned copper wire when the melting point of tin is below the annealing point of copper.

Bare or tinned, the pure copper we used in wire work hardened when drawn, and need to be annealed before insulating.

[ October 08, 2003, 09:04 PM: Message edited by: labman ]