I've already searched and found several different ways to fix the leak. My wagon is pushing 140K so maybe the pan gasket should be replaced soon? It's not leaking......yet.

Should I try fixing existing pan plug leak, or just replace pan AND gasket, and not let anyone over torque the plug in the new pan? I'm not necessarily looking for cheapest fix, just the most effective/permanent fix.

Thanks,
Michael

 

According to the title only, you said your drain plug was leaking. It is easy to get a new plug and gasket. If you have oil on the sides of the pan, that would suggest a pan gasket leak to me....

 

many here will attest to an oversize drain plug

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by headshrink &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">According to the title only, you said your drain plug was leaking. It is easy to get a new plug and gasket. If you have oil on the sides of the pan, that would suggest a pan gasket leak to me....</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've already got a new plug and crush washer in place. I've been slowly increasing the torque bit by bit to see if I can stop the leak. I'm now up to about 50lb-ft. Manual calls for 33.

 

Next time you change oil you'll have to clean it up REAL good so you can see WHY it's leaking. Since you replaced the plug & washer, I guess that leaves a damaged oil pan... I can't see it from here, so I can't tell whether it's cross-threaded or just has dirt built up on the seal surface.

Deep scratches in the surface where the washer seats? You might be able to fill them with JBWeld & file smooth. But it'll have to be really clean of oil or it won't stick.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Next time you change oil you'll have to clean it up REAL good so you can see WHY it's leaking. Since you replaced the plug & washer, I guess that leaves a damaged oil pan... I can't see it from here, so I can't tell whether it's cross-threaded or just has dirt built up on the seal surface.

Deep scratches in the surface where the washer seats? You might be able to fill them with JBWeld & file smooth. But it'll have to be really clean of oil or it won't stick.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm very sure it's not cross threaded, but I suppose a very remote possibliity. So for the sake of the discussion, let's assume it's not cross-threaded. Are you referring to the seal surface of the pan, or the washer? If memory serves me correct, I don't recall any surface imperfections, but then again, I wasn't looking really hard either.

I'm sure this will sound like a dumb question, but.....If the pan was stripped, wouldn't the bolt just keep turning indefinitely? If so, then I haven't stripped it yet. I've now got 60lb-ft on the plug now, and still leaks. My question is, is the pan worth keeping? I noticed last night the beginnings of weepage around several spots at the pan gasket, but none of which are currently considered leaking. So it looks like I should preempt gasket leaks and go ahead and replace the gasket. Now that the pan will have to come out, my dilemma is whether to keep the pan I have now, or get a new one.

Should I just play it safe and chuck the old one, or spend the time and effort into trying to salvage the current pan?? I just want the leak GONE!!

 

The way to GUARANTEE fixing the leak is replace the pan. If you were a pro working on a customer's car, you'd have to do that to avoid problems.

The deep scratches I'm talking about would be on the pan, in the area where the washer seats. (You said it's a new washer, right?) If that area is damaged like that or if it isn't flat, the "CORRECT" way to fix it is replace the pan. For a DIY job, I was just suggesting JBWeld as an alternative.

If it's just beginning to strip out, what can happen is parts of the threads are giving way. So as you overtighten the plug, it can tip on some angle where it doesn't seal flat & square against the pan. Again, fix it by repairing the surface, not by overtightening.

If your pan gasket is starting to leak, I guess that gives you the excuse to take off the pan & clean it up good. Then you can really inspect the surface around the drain hole. It's hard to see damage when you're crawling under the car without enough light.

 

Ok, so how easy is it to remove the A-pipe to swap out the pans? If it's a big enough of a pain the butt, then I'll just take it to a shop to do, otherwise I'd like to do it myself.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Lilredwagon &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ok, so how easy is it to remove the A-pipe to swap out the pans? If it's a big enough of a pain the butt, then I'll just take it to a shop to do, otherwise I'd like to do it myself.</TD></TR></TABLE>It's all about how rusty & stuck are the exhaust bolts. Sometimes they can be a real treat, but I can't tell from here.

 

are you sure its actually the drain bolt leaking? sometimes oil will leak from various parts of the motor work its way down and accumilate on the drain plug making it look like its the plug thats leaking...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by momstaxi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">are you sure its actually the drain bolt leaking? sometimes oil will leak from various parts of the motor work its way down and accumilate on the drain plug making it look like its the plug thats leaking...</TD></TR></TABLE>

I wiped the oil off the pan beneath the drain plug. I can slowly watch it seap out on the underside of the bolt between the washer and the pan. 5 minutes after a wipe it's starts a slow drip. I've lost about 3/4 quart in a month or so.

 

That's kind of funny that you mention this. I've ran across this problem once.. One of the Lube guys did an oil change and it came back later that day. Sure enough, there was a leak from the drain plug. I cleaned off the area and shined my light at the drain plug. Sure enough, there was a small crack running from the bottom of the drain plug opening. The drain plug had been overtightened so many times that the pan finally cracked.

So yeah, I'd check for that. Best way to do it is, drain the oil and run your finger nail across the bottom of the drain hole..

 

those exhaust nuts can be quite hard if they are really rusted on there. We replaced the oil pan gasket on a friends Accord a couple times. When we went to remove the exhaust, we sprayed the nuts with PB Blaster and let it sit. That really helped and all the nuts came free.