Stripped oil pan drain hole

[Kruse]

For the record, I don't recommend these, but AS A LAST RESORT, with nothing else to lose, try a "Dorman piggy back drain plug".
Google it and see if they make one in the size needed.
The Reader's Digest condensed description is that an oversize plug re-threads into your oil pan and the small plug in then used to drain your oil.

 

[fdcg27]

How long have you had this car?
Why have you not been doing you own oil changes?
We've had three Civic, four Accords and one first gen Ody and I've never seen a damaged drain hole.
I've never replaced a crush washer either, including on those Hondas we've bought new and driven past 200K.
Obviously, some dimwit has either cross threaded or grossly over-tightened the drain plug at some point.
This is the reason that we do our own maintenance.
Nobody cares more about your car than you do since you paid for it and will have to pay for any needed repairs in money or busted knuckles or both.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
How long have you had this car?
Why have you not been doing you own oil changes?
We've had three Civic, four Accords and one first gen Ody and I've never seen a damaged drain hole.
I've never replaced a crush washer either, including on those Hondas we've bought new and driven past 200K.
Obviously, some dimwit has either cross threaded or grossly over-tightened the drain plug at some point.
This is the reason that we do our own maintenance.
Nobody cares more about your car than you do since you paid for it and will have to pay for any needed repairs in money or busted knuckles or both.


All answers to your questions were in the posts above.

 

[69GTX]

I'd keep on using a sealant on those threads as long as the plug remained fairly tight. Red Loctite, Orange Permatex or something along those lines. Only has to hold against gravity, be oil resistant, and withstand temps of 200-300 degF. Will probably work as long as you own the vehicle. But, you need to do the oil changes from now on....not some Quick Lube.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
How long have you had this car?
Why have you not been doing you own oil changes?
We've had three Civic, four Accords and one first gen Ody and I've never seen a damaged drain hole.
I've never replaced a crush washer either, including on those Hondas we've bought new and driven past 200K.
Obviously, some dimwit has either cross threaded or grossly over-tightened the drain plug at some point.
This is the reason that we do our own maintenance.
Nobody cares more about your car than you do since you paid for it and will have to pay for any needed repairs in money or busted knuckles or both.


You do your own maintenance, because you want the job done right, yet you run the one time use 25 cent crush washer for 200k plus miles? OK.

I bought a lifetime supply of these crush washers on eBay for $10. When you use them, for the first time, you can feel the crush, making a perfect seal. They never crush again. They are for one time use.

 

[Patrologia]

Originally Posted By: Trav
IIRC some Honda aluminum pans used a short thread drain bolt but there are a lot of unused threads further in and a longer drain bolt will work and seal fine. I cant remember the model or the years.
You can check this by looking in the hole at the threads and measuring up there then measure the bolt length, if there are more threads then go and get a longer drain bolt with new washer and tighten it carefully. If somebody knows more about this please chime in.


I'll definitely have to look into this. I'd LOVE to be able to address it with simply a longer bolt. And since I *do* use new crush washers each time, it should all seal nicely. With aluminum on this car, and with half the threads missing, I guess I'd be well advised to be conservative when torquing that bolt!

 

[UltrafanUK]

Originally Posted By: 69GTX
I'd keep on using a sealant on those threads as long as the plug remained fairly tight. Red Loctite, Orange Permatex or something along those lines. Only has to hold against gravity, be oil resistant, and withstand temps of 200-300 degF. Will probably work as long as you own the vehicle. But, you need to do the oil changes from now on....not some Quick Lube.


Some bad Iffylubes never use a torque wrench when installing a sump plug, or use a new washer. Also some filter companies have now stopped including that washer with the oil filter and that is bad news in oil leak terms. I've even seen one use an alloy washer on a diesel that was supposed to have a Copper one. It corroded and caused an oil leak.

 

[Shannow]

Have bought used cars where the drain plug was held in with silastic.

Then bought an oversized plug, and rented the tap from the parts place I got the plug from...never had an issue.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: Patrologia
Originally Posted By: Trav
IIRC some Honda aluminum pans used a short thread drain bolt but there are a lot of unused threads further in and a longer drain bolt will work and seal fine. I cant remember the model or the years.
You can check this by looking in the hole at the threads and measuring up there then measure the bolt length, if there are more threads then go and get a longer drain bolt with new washer and tighten it carefully. If somebody knows more about this please chime in.


I'll definitely have to look into this. I'd LOVE to be able to address it with simply a longer bolt. And since I *do* use new crush washers each time, it should all seal nicely. With aluminum on this car, and with half the threads missing, I guess I'd be well advised to be conservative when torquing that bolt!


OE bolt is 14x1.50 and about 10mm long thread length you need one about 20-25mm long thread length. The threads in the pan are about 22mm, tighten it snug not ball busting tight. If you cant get a actual flange drain plug go to the hardware store and get a 14x1.50x25 bolt and put a copper washer under it.

 

[UltrafanUK]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Have bought used cars where the drain plug was held in with silastic.

Then bought an oversized plug, and rented the tap from the parts place I got the plug from...never had an issue.


I've always carried an oil proof version of PTFE tape, which I just wrapped around dodgy drain plugs until they a tight enough fit not to leak, BUT that that only works if you have some degree of thread left. If the plug has forked the thread so badly there is nothing left to get any kind of grip, you will need to use a sealant.

 

[mjoekingz28]

Originally Posted By: Trav
not ball busting tight.




Is that an industry term?

 

[Trav]

For sure it is

In other words don't give yourself a hernia tightening it.

 

[Patrologia]

Originally Posted By: Trav


OE bolt is 14x1.50 and about 10mm long thread length you need one about 20-25mm long thread length. The threads in the pan are about 22mm, tighten it snug not ball busting tight. If you cant get a actual flange drain plug go to the hardware store and get a 14x1.50x25 bolt and put a copper washer under it.


Thanks for the detailed information. I'll look into getting the bolt you described.

 

[THX1138]

When the drain plug threads on our Volvo V70 got sloppy, I used a thread chaser to clean up the pan threads, then installed a Fumoto Valve with some oil resistant thread lock. Been installed for a year and working fine.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Remove drain plug, drain oil,replace drain plug with new gasket and torque to 33 ft. lbs. No problems in thirteen years. No problems last sixty years. You just have to have a little mechanical know how to use wrenches.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: HosteenJorje
Remove drain plug, drain oil,replace drain plug with new gasket and torque to 33 ft. lbs. No problems in thirteen years. No problems last sixty years. You just have to have a little mechanical know how to use wrenches.


After we got done replacing that pan on my friend's Civic, I suggested he use M1 EP so that his daughter no longer had to go to a place at school to get the oil changed mid-year. I also bought him a torque wrench.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: HosteenJorje
Remove drain plug, drain oil,replace drain plug with new gasket and torque to 33 ft. lbs. No problems in thirteen years. No problems last sixty years. You just have to have a little mechanical know how to use wrenches.


No offense but what does that have to do with the price of air at gas stations? He bought it this way and is looking for a decent repair without replacing the pan.
In this case snug and a little grunt is enough, 33ft.lb is way too much for the threads still left in the pan.

 

[Vikas]

Since nobody bothered to give him the link to the youtube video explaining how to use the longer bolt on the Honda oil pan, here it is:- go to 1:50 if you are impatient

 

[Ducked]

Dunno if this is likely to be relevant, but the OEM drain plug on my car's sump has a castellated captive nut on the inside, into which the drain plug screws. Not a very good design, since it acts as a lip/strainer when draining the oil, but it might be something to try in extremis, if you have trouble finding enough thread for your longer bolt.

You'd obviously have to take the sump off for this, and probably change oil by pump in future.

 

[Trav]

Just buy a 20-25mm long bolt and forget the cutting, almost every Ace hardware has them, the threads on the pan are 22mm deep on the one I checked.