Hi everyone, slight emergency, well hopefully it ends up not being one but i need some advice.

My 99 civic ex has this weird oil drain plug i've never seen on a car before, and it broke with one end which i assume has the threads is still inside the oil pan.

I'm going to try to get it out with a magnet hopefully but if that doesn't work would it be safe to say I need to pull the oil pan to get it out? I really don't get why this is even an oil plug looks like a terrible idea to use over the traditional kind.

 

Answered your own question.

 

Looks like one of those shitty quick oil change plugs. GLWT

 

I believe thats one of those "I dont want to replace my oil pan plugs" seems to me like the threads on the drain hole has probably been stripped or cross threaded and this was their fix. check to see if the threads are there and in good condition. Try to thread in a OE plug and see if it holds oil. if not, I would just replace the oil pan and make sure you get ALL the metal shavings out if any present. Some people will use a oversized plug but honestly I never had any luck with them just more headaches... good luck man

 

the threads look OK, but there still is a little piece of metal in there i can get part of the way out with a magnet, but not all the way out. Really didn't feel like pulling the oil pan this weekend....

 

the question is.....what kind of metal is it? if its aluminum, your not going to get it with a magnet and you might have bigger issues. if it sticks to the magnet the i dont see how you cant fish it out. is the piece that big? try flushing it out by pouring in oil through the top...

 

also shine a flashlight in the oil and see if you see any more metals....

 

the metal is steel. I don't know why it won't come out either it feels like it must be bigger on the inside, which doesn't make sense how it got in there in the first place

 

Maybe they removed the pan to install it.

 

looks like your gonna have to pull the oil pan this weekend. it could be the nut/washer that goes on the other end of that plug. I have seen similar fixes in my shop. I believe you actually have to pull the oil pan to install one of those properly. someone probably didnt want or could afford a new oil pan at that time :-(

 

Shouldn't be aluminum. That's a pan saver plug. When the drain plug threads are stripped badly enough those are used to seal up the pan since a plug won't work or they don't have a tap and die set to tap it to an over size.

The part inside the pan is like the drywall hangars for the ceiling, it folds in half and springs back out to make a T- shape. If you can get it near the hole it should fit out through it.

If you have a steel pan the magnet might not be very effective unlike an aluminum pan. If you have those small flexible claw grabbers and a good flashlight you might be able to grab it that way.

If not then dropping the pan to get it out is your only option. If it can fit through the oil pickup tube mouth the screen will stop it and it probably wouldn't affect much, if it can't fit through the pickup tube mouth, then it could really restrict oil flow by blocking the majority of the pickup tube's opening.

I'd personally get it out. I also have a really nice long flex grabber that is both magnetic and a 4 claw grabber that I can insert into my drain pan plug hole.

The piece in your pan looks like the piece on this bolt at home depot:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded...3?N=5yc1vZc2eq

 

Found it.

 

I just wouldnt feel good knowing one of those is in my oil pan. smh

 

^^^ thats the thing. The end part is steel, i can get it almost out with a magnet and i can grab the very end of it but thats all. I guess i get to keep trying to wiggle it through but i dont think its coming >:\

 

just pull the pan man. it'll make you feel better when you know theres nothing in there thats not suppose to be. Did you try threading in a OE plug? you still may need to tap for oversized or just get a new oil pan. you'll probably save time too.

 

Correction, it pivots on the swivel and rides along the bolt, the old ones in the 90's folded in half like the home depot drywall empty space anchors. Guess they broke to often so the design was changed to the rigid type on a swivel.

If you get it long ways it should slide right through the drain hole unless it's horribly mangled.

 

It's a glorified toggle bolt.

 

Take the oil pan out, the threads are probably fucked thats why they ghetto that on there. Be prepared to go junkyard hopping for an oil pan.

 

If he can get the toggle part of the bolt out, he can tap it for an over sized drain plug. A little easier process than a pan swap and gasket etc.