No Excuse For Stripped Drain Plug Threads.

[George7941]

There is no excuse for

Stripped/ cross threaded drain plug threads.

Stripped/ cross threaded spark plug threads

Stripped/ cross-threaded lug nut threads etc, etc.

You can see where I am going with this. All these things are avoidable with a bit of care, judicious use of antiseize, use of a torque wrench etc. Some extra time and effort prevents nasty problems later on.

 

[Johnny]

Well, there is an excuse, it's the idiot putting them on. But you are correct about it should be done correctly.

 

[Quest]

Originally Posted By: George7941
There is no excuse for

Stripped/ cross threaded drain plug threads.

Stripped/ cross threaded spark plug threads

Stripped/ cross-threaded lug nut threads etc, etc.

You can see where I am going with this. All these things are avoidable with a bit of care, judicious use of antiseize, use of a torque wrench etc. Some extra time and effort prevents nasty problems later on.


Unless you are a mechanic/mechanically-competent and maintain your vehicle since the day it leaves the dealership lot(as new vehicle), otherwise,

yes,
no,
yes.

Q.

 

[Pablo]

Funny you should say that. I think we have a new "idiot move" champion:

My business partner took his car to a local chain tire joint, with an otherwise spotless reputation. He got all new snow wheels and tires. The kid stripped ALL of his studs. Every one of them. I know it's physically possible....but there is no excuse.

But he did get all new (nice) studs, installed professionally.

 

[mechtech2]

My oil drain came semi stripped when brand new.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: Pablo
Funny you should say that. I think we have a new "idiot move" champion:

My business partner took his car to a local chain tire joint, with an otherwise spotless reputation. He got all new snow wheels and tires. The kid stripped ALL of his studs. Every one of them. I know it's physically possible....but there is no excuse.

But he did get all new (nice) studs, installed professionally.


If they're not stripped, they're not tight enough!

 

[mpvue]

my 1st job when I was 16 was at an auto parts store. we had a bunch of local repair shops as customers. one of the biggest sellers was rubber one-use-only drain plugs. they actually came on a hang card of like 20!
it would seem the gorillas are trying to justify the expense of air tools by using them on almost EVERYTHING, and using the torch on the rest.

 

[moklock]

No excuse, but a few MFRs make a stripped pan much more likely than it could be. Otherwise great Honda engines often have like 2 threads cut into their steel pan but yet used an aluminum crush washer to seal the drain plug.

I know that setup looked especally paltry when I used to sell Saturn parts comparing a 3.5L '04-'07 VUE oil pan to the older S-series pan having a regular sized nut tacked into its steel pan and a nice wide rubber seal on it's drain plug

 

[AcuraTech]

Originally Posted By: moklock
No excuse, but a few MFRs make a stripped pan much more likely than it could be. Otherwise great Honda engines often have like 2 threads cut into their steel pan but yet used an aluminum crush washer to seal the drain plug.

I know that setup looked especally paltry when I used to sell Saturn parts comparing a 3.5L '04-'07 VUE oil pan to the older S-series pan having a regular sized nut tacked into its steel pan and a nice wide rubber seal on it's drain plug


Honda oil pan threads are softer than most. Very easy to strip out if you crank on the wrench. No problem if you use proper torque (29ft/lbs) and a fresh crush washer.

 

[bdcardinal]

stripped drain plugs i almost completely agree with you, certain engines have really weak oil pans. at my work we replace a lot of oil pans on 3.0 Duratechs. we replace a lot of drain plugs on modular motors.

for spark plugs, the early modular motors are very prone to thread stripping. the 3v motors are very prone to have the spark plugs break off in the head when removing.

 

[andyd]

A couple of my Jeep 360s had stripped drain plug threads. The later models had good threads, but the pans rotted out.

 

[Dave Hess]

Install a Fumoto Valve and forget about it.