Oil Drain Plug stripped NEED HELP QUICK
 

This is most definately not good. Started to do an oil change on my 300e today and found that the oil drain plug came out very easily. Didn't think anything of it until I started to put it back in. It threaded in and tightened to around 8ft pounds and then got loose again. Another full turn yielded the same result. My manual says to tighten it to 18ft pounds. I'm pretty sure the oil pan threads are stripped and am not certain if the car should be driven. Filled it with oil and let it idle for 5 minutes, no leak or spray, but when I put my finger on the plug I found new oil on my finger. What do I do? Is it hard to replace an oil pan? Could the pan be tapped and a new plug inserted without taking the pan off? I would greatly appreciate any help you can offer.

Scott

Hi,

Do a search on oil drain plug. I found an answer about that subject.

I now use a Stearns electrical pump to get the oil out through the dipstick. Easy and less cleanup.

Will probably change the oil more often this way -- every two thousand miles or so.

Anyway, there is a solution in the archives and it involves a tap and die set.

Good luck,

chicago124

Peruse this.. http://www.cgenterprises.com/drain_plugs.htm

Everything you hoped you would never need to know.

DOS means double oversize
SOS means single
TOS you take it from here ;)

Alright, talked my girlfriend's dad, who does engine machining. He said that we could use loctite to just seal the plug in the car. So the new plan, and the one that will save me $500 to retap the plug is to either loctite in the original bolt and use a topsider device or loctite in a plug with a valve in it. Any problems with these ideas?

You might try a new plug. Maybe it is what is stripped out, rather than the pan. A new oil pan is $231: A new plug costs $1.28 at performancemotorcars.com. $500 to retap is ridiculous though. Take it to a full service filling station and they'll probably do it for $30.

Use some teflon tape on the drain plug until you get it fixed.

Anybody else see anything wrong with these suggestions?

I wouldn't trust locktite in this aplication for anything but temporary repair. You risking too much! I think the original drain plug is M12x1.5. You can try to tap standard 1/2 inch thread there. (1/2" = 12.7 mm).

I got a replacement plug from AutoZone last night, $1.69 it was M12 X 1.5 and has a magnet to catch metal flotsam.
Permatex (Loctite) makes a thread restorer product that is an epoxy to create new threads, I think Permatex could make this work if anyone could. You could use this with a drain valve to reduce the possibility of stripping it in future oil changes.

Good luck!
-Tom

I can't see what your drain plug looks like, but my general advice would be to make the minor investment in a new drain plug when you go with the "sealer" route - and topsider in the future.

There's lots of things you can try. Loctite is pretty good for a solution that you can back out of later. The Permatex product that aTOMic mentioned sounds good. Teflon tape might work too - all good suggestions.

If you want a seal that will never leak, but would be pretty difficult to back out of - use JB Weld epoxy. :)

The problem a lot of people get into with these drain plugs is rounding off the fairly soft head, rather than stripping the threads. So, I'd have to recommend to everyone - use a 6-pt socket, and follow the torque recommendation carefully.

Ken300D

Hehe, found a valve to replace the drain plug at www.fumotovalve.com. I will look into Ken's JB weld epoxy. These valves are supposed to last for pretty much the life of your engine. I plan to just glue the sucker in there as permanently as is possible.:D

Here is a pic of the valve, looks a bit more substantial than the ones they are selling at autozone.

oil drain bolt stripped
 

at your local parts store the sell a kit to repair the stripped hole. it is a two piece set. first piece screws into your stripped hole, it has a hole in it also, and the other piece goes into threads in to the first one giving you a new drain bolt.
knukelbuster
30 years a fleet mechanic

If all fails, replace oil pan
 

I replaced my oil pan for $82 and took me 1/2 hour to do it on my E420. it was easy to get to all bolts. Add $10 for new gasket. otherwise, all suggestions above seem to make sense as well.

I was quoted 6 hours labor to remove the pan for the M103 6cyl. $450 in all, 400 labor and 50 for tapping the plug.

Got the JB Weld and the oil drain valve is being overnighted, needed also an adapter for the 300e drain valve. I will have it fixed by tomorrow evening.

Why one needs to remove the oil pan to do it? I'm not familiar with your car, but I can't beleive it can't be done without oil pan removal.

The shop said they thought it a better idea to remove the pan, as shavings from tapping the plug hole might get into the oil otherwise:eek: . It doesn't matter though, because by inserting the drain instead, I don't have to worry about shavings and most definately don't have to remove the pan.

Scott