Help! Stripped Oil Drain Plug

[hjkim]

I stripped the oil drain plug while changing the oil in my 4Runner. In the process of trying to remove it I made it even worse, now the drain plug will spin and spin but it won't come out nor get tight.

So I'm thinking I have three options:

1. Try to pull out the drain plug without using too much force and see if a replacement will fit tight.

2. Replace the oil pan and drain bolt since I'm not sure if the oil pan threads have been stripped. I'm not sure how much work this entails yet.

3. Have the truck towed to a dealer and have them fix it since I'm an idiot.

If anyone has any experience with the first two of my options, I would really appreciate any advice.

I'm not sure how I stripped the bolt. Either my torque wrench is totally off or it was stripped when I took it to pep boys for the last oil chance.

 

[cfranck1]

The bolt is probably stripped,not the pan.

They usually make the bolt strip first and not the pan so all you replace is the bolt and not the whole oil pan. So if you get a new bolt from Toyota you should be good to go.

Im sure Pep Boys tightened it too much on the last oil change.
We see it all the time at work. The quick lubes f**k up the bolt.

 

[hjkim]

I went under and checked it out again. The drain bolt basically spins and spinds without tightening or loosening. Also, there is a small gap between the head of the nut and the oil pan and the bolt wiggles.

I was reading somewhere that there is a welded nut inside the oil pan that the drain bolt screws into. I suspect that this nut has come loose still attached the drain bolt and this is what's causing it to neither tighten nor loosen.

Has anyone on the forums had this problem?

I'm not sure what to do at this point other than remove the oil pan to see what's going on.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[t4r4life]

had problem likie this before but not in the oil pan, i end up drill it out with a bit.

 

[Uneek]

If there is a gap between the plug and pan, try and wedge a flat screwdriver in between, so maybe some of the good plug threads will get a bite on the pan and back itself out. Be careful not to gouge the pan though, just incase the threads on the pan isn't stripped.

Your other alternative would be to order a new oil pan and plug and replace the entire pan. Make sure you have a torque wrench and not to strip these bolts.

I blame one of my friends being the good samaritan on insisting that another one of our friends be a DIY'er. It was never a problem when he paid a family friend mechanic to take care of his maintenance. But with all the mishaps, hassles and vehicle downtime, I'm not sure if it ever became financially viable for him as a DIY'er.

In no way am I trying to discourage you from DIY. It's one of the best ways to learn about your vehicle and you'll be the first to know that something is not right. But don't bite off more than you can chew.

 

[hjkim]

I'm pretty anal about torque specs so I was using my torque wrench after finger tightening the drain plug. It's bee a while since I've used the wrench but it's been stored properly so I'm thinking it wasn't the wrench.

I'm going to try to get the drain plug using a screwdriver tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to pick up a oil pan at the dealer.

If anyone has any advice about oil pan replacement I'm all ears.

 

[t4r4life]

never trust the "click" tq wrench they LIE!!!!!

 

[hjkim]

With a vice grip and a little elbow grease I got the drain plug out. Looks like the threads are pretty stripped on the oil pan. Going to try to figure how to get it tapped.

 

[<<<<]

What year and which engine is your 4Runner?

 

[hjkim]

2007 Sport V8.

So I went to three different auto stores looking for a 12 mil thread repair kit to no avail. Pretty frustrating given I had to ride my bicycle.

I wanted to use a repair kit because I got a replacement drain plug at the store. I think I may just tap it to fit a larger bolt, hate not being able to drive.

 

[K.C.]

Option #2

• replace the oil pan
• oil pan gasket
• drain plug
• drain plug gasket (which is a given, should be done at every oil change)

 

[hjkim]

I'm contemplating option #1 since I got the bolt out. I'm thinking it should be pretty straight forward to retap the oil pan for a larger diameter bolt. Of course I think this because I've never done it before.

I first thought about repairing the damaged thread but I looked into getting a thread repair kit but some of them cost as much as a replacement oil pan.

Anyone have experience retapping the oil pan?

 

[TechWrench]

I'm contemplating option #1 since I got the bolt out. I'm thinking it should be pretty straight forward to retap the oil pan for a larger diameter bolt. Of course I think this because I've never done it before.

I first thought about repairing the damaged thread but I looked into getting a thread repair kit but some of them cost as much as a replacement oil pan.

Anyone have experience retapping the oil pan?

Just re-taping the hole to a larger diameter bolt isn't as easy as it sounds. First, you have to have enough metal to accomodate the larger size threads. Second, you have to find the right type of larger size bolt with a wide shoulder to compress the necessary crush washer for a good seal, and you also need to locate a larger crush washer to fit the larger bolt. I would suggest you stay with a thread repair kit, or replace the pan.

 

[CookieRoe]

Haven't seen it mentioned, but just rethread it. If you have a V6, then you will need this:

M12 X 1.25 D5 Plug Hand Tap

Not difficult to do, took 2 minutes. Do it gingerly!! Oh, and DON'T forget to get a NEW drain plug from the dealer!!

Good Luck

 

[keitht253]

Haven't seen it mentioned, but just rethread it. If you have a V6, then you will need this:

M12 X 1.25 D5 Plug Hand Tap

Not difficult to do, took 2 minutes. Do it gingerly!! Oh, and DON'T forget to get a NEW drain plug from the dealer!!

Good Luck

Agreed. This happened a couple times at the shop at which I used to work. Each time, the techs just retapped the pan.

You may find that you need to go bigger, but that's not as big of an issue as it seems.

 

[hjkim]

Oh my god, what have I done

I would like to first thank everyone for their help, this is a great forum. Now on to my recently realized disaster.

So I go my oil pan tapped, but it was odd I had to drill some of the metal out to get the tap to fit. After that, I installed a new drain plug and also noticed that the washer fit much tighter to the new drain plug than the last one.

I placed a clean shop rag under the drain bolt and refilled the oil (about 5 quarts) and waited to see if there was a leak.

No leak after about an hour.

So I pulled the drain plug out with the catch pan under it to try to flush out any metal shavings that might be in the oil pan from retapping.

No oil.

This seemed odd, then I thought maybe I need to run the car for a sec. (I wasn't thinking) so I replaced the drain plug, ran the engine for about 20 seconds and pulled out the plug again.

No oil.

Then I had this revelation.

OH MY GOD I DRAINED THE TRANSMISSION!!!!!!!

Then a second revelation.

OH MY GOD I RAN THE ENGINE WITH ALMOST 11 QUARTS OF OIL!!!!!!! (some drained when I removed the oil filter earlier)

So after about 30 minutes with face in hands, I couldn't deal with it and just went away for the rest of the day.

Now, I need to figure out what I need to do to get the tranny in working order. So, I'm going to go through older threads for information. I may just try to drive it a few blocks to a local shop to have them deal with it.

Funny thing I recall is that the tranny fluid looked pretty much like motor oil. I may not be remembering it right.

Anyway, thought I would update the board members on my debacle. It should be good for a chuckle or two.

 

[Climb14er]

I would like to first thank everyone for their help, this is a great forum. Now on to my recently realized disaster.

So I go my oil pan tapped, but it was odd I had to drill some of the metal out to get the tap to fit. After that, I installed a new drain plug and also noticed that the washer fit much tighter to the new drain plug than the last one.

I placed a clean shop rag under the drain bolt and refilled the oil (about 5 quarts) and waited to see if there was a leak.

No leak after about an hour.

So I pulled the drain plug out with the catch pan under it to try to flush out any metal shavings that might be in the oil pan from retapping.

No oil.

This seemed odd, then I thought maybe I need to run the car for a sec. (I wasn't thinking) so I replaced the drain plug, ran the engine for about 20 seconds and pulled out the plug again.

No oil.

Then I had this revelation.

OH MY GOD I DRAINED THE TRANSMISSION!!!!!!!

Then a second revelation.

OH MY GOD I RAN THE ENGINE WITH ALMOST 11 QUARTS OF OIL!!!!!!! (some drained when I removed the oil filter earlier)

So after about 30 minutes with face in hands, I couldn't deal with it and just went away for the rest of the day.

Now, I need to figure out what I need to do to get the tranny in working order. So, I'm going to go through older threads for information. I may just try to drive it a few blocks to a local shop to have them deal with it.

Funny thing I recall is that the tranny fluid looked pretty much like motor oil. I may not be remembering it right.

Anyway, thought I would update the board members on my debacle. It should be good for a chuckle or two.

Everyone makes mistakes... that's a given.

One suggestion, and one only:

Call a tow company, have 'em put it on a flatbed tow truck, take it to a BONIFIDE Toyota mechanic and have him do whatever it takes to get the 4Runner back to NORMAL.

Admit your screw-ups, pay the piper and MOVE ON!

That's it!

 

[hjkim]

Yeah, called dealer and scheduled to have it towed by flatbed tomorrow.

On the bright side, I did get the oil finally changed. It took me 15 minutes.

 

[CookieRoe]

me three!!!

Hey, it happens to the best of us!

Call a flat bed, driving it may damage the tranny/engine (b/c you don't know which one you drained). Take it to a TOYOTA dealer and drain/fill the tranny and engine. If it helps, get a paint marker and paint the engine oil plug (red, orange, whatever) so you don't mess up again!

Good Luck!

 

[t4r4life]

20 second with over filled oil is no big deal because the oil is still cold so the oil pressure wont be high enought to blow anything, just drain the oil and the tranny completely, and refill no need to pay the tow truck guy couple hundred bucks when you can fix it ur self for 50.