equinox

I was changing my oil the other day and as I was removing the oil drain plug bolt, the coils from the oil pan came out also. The bolt is fine, but the threads on the oil pan are bad. Now, I can't tighten the drain bolt all the way and it leaks oil.

My question is: can I tap into the oil pan and make the hole bigger and just buy a bigger bolt, or do I have to buy a new oil pan?

Saosinx

you can always ebay up the OBX pan haha i'm kidding.
but i don't see the problem with tapping the oil pan yourself, and getting a bigger bolt. unless you are planning on selling the car, or ever taking it to someone to change your oil for you... for the fact that the washer and nut are supposed to be replaced every change. but if it's yours in for the long haul, why not?

equinox

i called a mechanic earlier and he said he usually just buys a new pan for hondas because the oil pan has thin metal. I'm gonna be keeping it so that's not the issue.

Do you know where I can get a tap kit that's big enough for my oil pan? I tried autozone, kragen, and NAPA but they all carry at most 12 mm.

Qveon

Sears?

equinox

so I got word from another mechanic saying the materail is too thin to tap into and I just need to replace the oil pan. I'm probably gonna replace it, do I need a gasket too?

98vtec

yes

twistedbydezign

buy the pan on ebay, its like 120 at the least at the dealer, plus the gasket, ebay u can usually find it for 60 or less brand new, i think the one i got which was really cheap wasnt oem but still fit perfectly and came with the gasket

l2yanE

just tap it or buy a self tapping plug that is one size up- duh its not to thin ive done it before-

equinox

ok, well if you've done it before I guess it's worth a try. I don't know how the aluminum pan will hold up though. Were you worried about any small metal shavings coming off and into the engine?

GlenWatkins

Hate to post this, but... AutoZoze, Advance, etc, etc. sell this gadget. It works like a toggle bolt. You fold in the wings, shove it into the oil drain hole, and turn in the outside plug which has a heavy rubber seal. I used one years ago as a temporary measure. I still have it in there, no leaks, no problems.

The best thing to do is remove the pan and have a proper heavy duty bung welded in. You will then have a better oil pan than a new one from Honda.

Aluminum oil pan ?? I don't think so.

darkspector

You might be able to helicoil it... but I don't remember exatcly how thick the material is so I'm not sure....

GlenWatkins

The metal there is not thick at all. The threads are cut into the oil pan metal. That is, bent in oil pan metal. That's why I suggest having a proper bung welded/brazed into the oil pan. I don't understand why Honda would go "cheapo" with this, they must realize that sooner or later someone will strip this fragile setup.

bluedlude

it doesnt make sense that you couldnt retap the pan. if they cut threads to begin w/ then you have to be able to drill it out and tap it again. not a good idea because you can get metal shavings in the pan. the only time i ever paid to get my oil changed, they must have stripped it out cuz next time i tried to change it i had a 3/4 bolt in there. see how my car is metric, there wsa something fishy. so try a 3/4

W4Rmachine

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GlenWatkins &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">AutoZoze, Advance, etc, etc. sell this gadget. It works like a toggle bolt. You fold in the wings, shove it into the oil drain hole, and turn in the outside plug which has a heavy rubber seal. I used one years ago as a temporary measure. I still have it in there, no leaks, no problems.

The best thing to do is remove the pan and have a proper heavy duty bung welded in. You will then have a better oil pan than a new one from Honda.
</TD></TR></TABLE> Not worth the pain.

Eddiebx

yeah u might have issues taping it further out, the material around the threads are pretty thin. it's not like a an aluminum pan or something hwere you have more meat to play with.

in the long run i would just get a new or used pan and replcae it.

and welding on a hardcore bung is most likely not worht it. if you dont install the drain nut wiht an impact wrench i dobut u would strip it out too often.

GlenWatkins

Yeah..."If you don't use an impact wrench, I doubt you would strip it out too often"
Hahahahahaha.

So he needs to remove his oil pan to replace it with a NEW or USED one. But, while he has it off you don't think it's a good idea to get a $5.00 threaded bung and run it down to a muffler shop (or someplace) and get it welded in for like $10.00 more bucks ???