When I did the oil pan last weekend, one of the short bolts connecting the oil pan to the lower oil pan stripped as I was putting it on. I know I didn't overtorque it as I was using a recently calibrated torque wrench when it stripped, and torquing to the FSM spec.

Anyway, I was in a hurry to leave and had to button the car up and haven't had a chance since to really get under it. It's leaking pretty good out of the oil pan gasket now. Not the worst om6xx leak I've ever lived with, but it's still something I'd like to spare my driveway of.

Has anyone ever encountered this before and have any advice on a potential remedy?

My thought is to just get a longer bolt and put a nut on the end. I don't have a tap and dye set.

Any better suggestions / anything wrong with that approach?

Thanks.

__________________
1984 300TD - der Landstreicher

I believe there should be room on any one of the oil pan bolts to put a longer bolt with a nut to snug things up.

__________________

Chris
84 280sl
82 300d euro

That works sometimes.

If it is Aluminum as a you need to rethread and the hole goes through to the other side you could use a slightly larger selftapping screw.

If it is a blind hole the selftaping screw may nor man not work depending on how deep the hole is.

I don't know about all auto part stores but Pepboys Autoparts has individual tap sets that come with a drill bit and a tap. They have metric as well as US type taps. So you don't need a whole set.
With them you could also go to a slighly larger size and use a screw of that size.

The same auto parts store also has helicoil type thread repairs.

__________________
84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

I'd go with a HeliCoil though you may need to drop the pan to do that. It's just a 6mm x 1.0 IIRC. I broke one off on Mutt's 617 and haven't taken the time to fix it yet - no hurry as it isn't leaking.

Dan

It is very easy to bugger up the thread on aluminum. I do the following depends on the situation.

1) Use a longer bolt, hope there is some good thread further in. Use washer if necessary to make sure it is not 'too' long.
2) Use a bolt and nut if it is a thru hole.
3) Use an imperial instead of a metric bolt. It is a little bit bigger and will bite with the stripped thread. Mark it so you know it is a different bolt and do not mix up with other bolts.

re-thread it would not work as the metal is gone.

__________________
Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

Is the upper oil pan on the om617 aluminum? I guess I could put a magnet on it when I go home later and check for myself. That would explain why it stripped so easily.

It's a through hole so i will more than likely attempt a longer bolt and nut as a temporary fix and do the helicoil next time I do an oil change.

When I get it on the lift next week, I will be sure to post the results.

__________________
1984 300TD - der Landstreicher

Remember that there's a couple of pans on these. The lower pan (I call it the "sump") is steel and very heavy gage for an oil pan - I think they do that to keep the sound at bay. Anyhow, the upper pan is aluminum and is a STOUT casting - it holds half of the rear main seal and so is reinforced to handle that. The block, of course, is cast iron.

Dan

I would not bother with heli-coil if a through bolt does the job. Why add another failure point?

__________________
Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.