Oil Change Gone Bad - Advice Needed on Stripped Oil Pan

[n517rv]

Need some advice. My son and I were changing the oil in his 1999 Toyota 4Runner Highlander Edition. For some reason it had a 10mm oil plug and needed a 10mm gasket. I'm guessing the previous owner might have stripped it and put a threaded insert in it???

We found a 10mm copper gasket at a local auto parts store and went to torque it down to spec and now the oil plug won't tighten or un-tighten I'm thinking the oil pan needs to be replaced.

How difficult is this to do? I searched the forum and someone suggested the diff needs to come off if it's a 4 wheel drive. Does that sound right? I'm trying to figure out if this is more than we can handle from a difficulty perspective.

Thoughts?

TIA

 

[19963.4lsr5]

Try turning it while hammering a puddy knife or thin screwdriver blade under the head. It might help you remove the plug.


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[Skulking]

Need some advice. My son and I were changing the oil in his 1999 Toyota 4Runner Highlander Edition. For some reason it had a 10mm oil plug and needed a 10mm gasket. I'm guessing the previous owner might have stripped it and put a threaded insert in it???

We found a 10mm copper gasket at a local auto parts store and went to torque it down to spec and now the oil plug won't tighten or un-tighten I'm thinking the oil pan needs to be replaced.

How difficult is this to do? I searched the forum and someone suggested the diff needs to come off if it's a 4 wheel drive. Does that sound right? I'm trying to figure out if this is more than we can handle from a difficulty perspective.

Thoughts?

TIA

The front diff is in the way of dropping the oil pan on a 4wd.

 

[thenightman]

So you are saying it just spins? First I would try soaking it good in pb blaster, then heat up the plug with a propane torch. The plug and the pan should heat up at different rates, unfreezing them from each other.

In the past I had a 94 Corolla with a stripped drain plug. I figured out what the next size up plug was, and tapped new threads in the bung. I then poured the used oil back through the engine, to hopefully wash out any shavings.

It didn't even leak, had that car for another 40k miles, and junked the car for different reasons.

Anyway, good luck!

 

[Devbot]

The front diff has to come out to drop the oil pan, but from what I've seen it's a relatively simple process, would just be a little tedious. I believe the CVs require a weird 30-something millimetre socket under the dust/hub cap, would be worth looking into before tackling it
The pans use a form-in-place gasket you can buy anywhere online, Toyota used it for god knows how many parts/vehicles
Very mean looking Highlander!

 

[Outrider]

So you are saying it just spins? First I would try soaking it good in pb blaster, then heat up the plug with a propane torch. The plug and the pan should heat up at different rates, unfreezing them from each other.

In the past I had a 94 Corolla with a stripped drain plug. I figured out what the next size up plug was, and tapped new threads in the bung. I then poured the used oil back through the engine, to hopefully wash out any shavings.

It didn't even leak, had that car for another 40k miles, and junked the car for different reasons.

Anyway, good luck!

Good tip ^^.

For tasks like this, a small butane torch comes in real handy. You can get a precise flame right where you need it, instead of heating up a general area with a big flame from a normal torch.

Something like this - but in this case, I would suggest not using the soldering tip, rather just the small (and very hot) flame:

Amazon.com: Bernz-O-Matic ST2200T Micro Flame Butane Torch Kit: Home Improvement

I use my little torch like this far more often than my big propane or Mapp gas torch.

 

[n517rv]

So you are saying it just spins? First I would try soaking it good in pb blaster, then heat up the plug with a propane torch. The plug and the pan should heat up at different rates, unfreezing them from each other.



In the past I had a 94 Corolla with a stripped drain plug. I figured out what the next size up plug was, and tapped new threads in the bung. I then poured the used oil back through the engine, to hopefully wash out any shavings.



It didn't even leak, had that car for another 40k miles, and junked the car for different reasons.



Anyway, good luck!

Yes, the oil plug bolt just spins. You can never tighten it or loosen it.

So I what does the PB Blaster do? I assume the torch will heat up the bolt and expand it so it might grab threads. Is that the idea?

I'll give it a try. Thanks to everyone for the advice!



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[Skulking]

Yes, the oil plug bolt just spins. You can never tighten it or loosen it.

So I what does the PB Blaster do? I assume the torch will heat up the bolt and expand it so it might grab threads. Is that the idea?

I'll give it a try. Thanks to everyone for the advice!



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Most of the advice given (Heat and PB blaster) is really only useful for when you have a seized bolt or nut which you don't have. [MENTION=99144]19963.4lsr5[/MENTION] was right in his first post. Use a flat bladed screw driver or something similar. Get your wrench or socket on the bolt and while loosening use the screwdriver blade underneath the flange on the bolt head to apply gentle force downward to help the bolt come out. You aren't trying to pry the bolt out with the screwdriver, just encourage it a little bit to come out since it doesn't have enough thread engagement to back itself out without help.