Hello,

My 97 EL has damaged threads in the oil pan. As i tighten the drain bolt it gets tighter to a certain extent and then all of the sudden is loose again. If i keep turning the bolt this will happen over and over.

I bought a new drain bolt and this problem still persists. I am confident that oil pan threads are damaged.

One option is boring the hole and taping in new threads that are larger and buying a bigger drain bolt, which i am fine with but this requires me having to buy a tap and die set.

Another option i came accross is a Permatex brand Stripped Thread Repair Kit. It looks like you inject an epoxy of sorts into the hole and insert the bolt. The directions can be found here: http://www.permatex.com/documents/td...tive/81668.pdf. A con of this job is that they say i should place a piece of tape on the open end of the hole to keep the product in the threads. I guess that means that i would have to remove the oil pan.

It says for a 14mm thread that the maximum recommended torque is 23 ft-lbs. Is this adequate? Or should i just spring for a tap and die set?

Also, i guess does anyone see any other good options. One thing i am worried about with taping new threads in is if I do it slightly off level then i potentially won't get a good seal.

How much tolerance do you think there is when taping new threads? a few degrees? or do you have to basically be dead-on level?

 

Parts stores sell "oversized drain plugs" for this situation. Still, its only a temporary fix.

You need a new oil pan. Plain and simple. Do it right the first time, or else you'll be repairing your "repairs" time and time again.

 

Why would a good tap-and-die repair be temporary?

 

I think he was refering to the oversized drain plug option.

Also if the original drain plug still threads in to a certain extent then you shouldn't have any problems tapping a straight hole.

 

wouldnt those be ideal for crossthreaded thread? in my exp, the thread would completely stripped out of the hole because of overtorquing and a helicoil and oversized drain bolt would be the solution

 

I dont know so I am thinking, dont they have drain plugs with rubber stoppers that expand when you tighten them in the hole. They have freeze plugs that do this, the older guys know what I mean, time for an invention or are they already out there.

Drill it out, Mig or Tig weld on a new boss, toss some paint on it and put in a new better drain plug with magnet or one of those nice plugs that dont have to come out at all, loosen it up and the oil drains down through a tube that you hook up to it as to not make any mess at all similar to a radiator drain and tube.