This is my first time changing the oil on the car, just purchased the car last week. I noticed that a washer was missing as I pulled the drain plug on the oil pan so I assumed it was stripped. I verified this when I added one, then two washers to the drain plug while tightening it and it has very little resistance

Since I have another car, I can afford to have the car down for a little while but I'd prefer to not have to replace the oil pan. I know this is a common problem among the discount oil change shops and inattentive car owners... does the drain plug typically strip out before the oil pan? With the oil pan being aluminum, I suppose the pan itself could be stripped out.

Haven't tried a new drain plug yet, and haven't had a chance to try out the teflon tape trick... if it's the oil pan that's stripped, neither of these will solve the problem

Unless someone has an oil pan that's not stripped and would be selling to sell it for a decent price, let me know. I've seen a few on ebay going for $50-70

 

my buddy did that on his bike turning it the wrong way. I had to tap it then went to the local auto parts and got a bigger bolt. then i flushed the shavings with cheap dollar store oil

 

tap and die set

 

Pull the pan off and get a new one. Thats what I would do

 

Go to a shop and see if they can install a timesert on your oil pan drain hole.

 

FTMFW!!!!!!!!!

 

Worst comes to worst, weld the hole up and drill another hole next to it and weld an aluminum nut on the back.

 

Why go to all that trouble when you can just weld a nut to the outside of the pan aligned with the original hole? Seems like the quickest/easiest solution if a tap n die set cant fix it.

Seen it done plenty of times. If you can find a willing enough welder, he could probably do it with the pan still on the car.

 

I found an aluminum H22A4 oil pan with washer/drain plug for $85 shipped on eBay. The Time-Sert kit is almost $100... at least this way I have a spare oil pan on hand

In the mean time I'll try the teflon tape trick and I'll make a washer/gasket for the drain plug with Hondabond

 

Why are you using washer on the plug?

You use crush washers, and one.

 

A new-to-you pan is probably your best bet. I dont think the aluminum pan is thick enough for a timesert to be installed.

A tap and die set is probably worthless with a thread size that big as most sets are only going to have the smaller taps. Its probably not a common size anyways knowing Honda. Kinda like going to Sears and looking at a set of wrenches and then getting home and realizing you dont need half of them and the ones you do need werent included in the set.

 

Why? Because you're supposed to, and because the previous owner didn't and it leaks as a result of him overtightening and/or not using a washer

Hopefully the teflon tape will seal it temporarily and I can reclaim most of the oil that's in it... if not, hopefully the Hondabond will act as a rubber washer (in place of the Honda drain plug washer) and seal what the teflon tape doesn't. It's only a temporary fix until I get the new oil pan

I won't be driving the car the next two weeks, I just don't want oil all over the garage floor if my parents or brother have to move it or use it

 

Its a crush washer, not a regular washer.

The crush washer crushes, and acts like a seal when you torque it down.

Regular washers dont seal properly like the crush washer does.

 

i use the metal washers with rubber outside

 

I use the aluminum or copper washers that deform.

 

Buy a helicoil. Its an insert that you drill out and re-tap your current threads in oil pan, than insert the "insert heli coil". Than install a matching bolt/plug with appropriate crush washer and bob's your brother's uncle. Oil should be drained and pan should come off and you should replace gasket and retorque pan back on to spec.

 

Here's what I did when I stripped my pan bolt: Drop the pan, clean it really good from oil a grease. Take a hand drill and a large drill bit set and drill the threads out of the pan nut. Go to a hardware store and find a stainless steel nut that has threads that are the same size as the pan nut hole. Use a wire brush to take the black protective spray off of the pan nut. Find a bolt with threads that are the same as the new nut but so it is the proper length to make it from the outside of the pan, through the pan nut to the end threads of the new nut. Put the bolt through the pan nut and then thread the new nut on to the end of the bolt. Weld the new nut to the end of the pan nut (make sure not to weld the bolt to the nut itself, if you don't have a welder a muffler shop should be able to do this for you for cheap). Once complete, get a large washer as well as a crush washer to complete the outside seal. There! You now have new threads on your oil pan!

 

kind of hard to weld an aluminium nut to a steel pan lol, unless you have a nice aluminium dry sump.

 

A helicoil cost a few dollars. A pan-saver works quite well to for a few more dollars. Unless your pan gasket looks questionable use one of these two options. A pan-saver (butterfly plug) literally takes one minute to install.