Hi everyone!
During an oil change on a 20,000 mile road trip, I managed to strip the receiving threads out of my oil pan.
The typical remedy for a stripped drain plug is to drill and tap an oversize plug. This is a wonderful elegant solution that is unfortunately seems impossible due to my dumb a** JB Welding the old plug into the pan.
I need help deciding the best route to take before I REALLY "screw" myself.
Option 1) Pay someone
I have in my possession one beautiful new OEM oil drain pan, gasket, and fumoto plug. I was actually looking forward to this repair, until my service manual and the internet told me that I have to hoist and remove the engine in order to change the pan... I don't have a hoist or the proper engine support so this is not an option for me. I would have to find a good mechanic near Santa Fe who would use my parts.
Option 2) Tap a new hole
Today, I went to a few hardware stores and sourced a new m14 x 1.25 drain plug, tap, and bit. There is a gap of just enough space next to the old plug, where I could drill a hole, flush the oil, tap a new thread, and pretend like nothing has gone horribly wrong... My only worry is that the old drain plug mount has a little extra metal at the base for the threads to grip and this location does not, and that my new plug seal might not support the correct oil pressure.
Also,
aluminum shards. I would do an extra oil flush after tapping, but I am worried I could cause serious irreparable damage by allowing metal in the oil feed.
Option 3) BRUTE FORCE Try to break that b*** off with a 1" impact and tap a new hole on top of the old one.
Will this just shear the plug head?
Probably... right?Are these my only options? What do you geniuses think?
Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.
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