bboytius

hey guys, this past weekend, i was changing the oil on my civic ex 2dr and when i replaced the drain bolt with the washer, it was loose. turns out the threads were stripped. right now, since only the threads near the outside of the pan were stripped, i managed to just thread the bolt in without the washer and some of the threads on the inside managed to hold the bolt in but now some oil is leaking, very little but i'm afraid next time i change oil, it'll just get worse. so, instead of shelling out all the money to buy a new oil pan, i was searching around and found that some people just rethreaded the hole and bought an oversize plug. i was wondering how hard it is to rethread the oil drain hole and can i get the rethreading kit from a hardware store like home depot or something? by the way, what is the size of the standard drain plug so i can know which oversize to buy, thanks.

jyoung

i remember some guys who changed my oil on my 93 vic stripped the bolt with an air powered tool. somehow it ended up being cheaper for me to get a new oil pan and having it put in then to have the oil pan removed, and then rethreaded and put back on. think it cost me a little over the 200. i might have got screwed, but maybe the experience will help. good luck.

bboytius

thanks, but i don't think 200 for a replacement oil pan is gonna go with me. i'm already scrounging for money as it is (pre-med college student). thanks for the reply anyways.

SMX

Three low cost options I can think of. One is something like this:

http://store.summitracing.com/defaul...oil+drain+plug

Two: Find a friend with a welder and weld a nut of the same thread onto the bottom of the hole.

Three: Get a used pan at a junkyard.

7Gnoob

Any shop should be able to tap it out for you. You can DIY with the right tools, it's not hard. I'd go to the hardware store and ask them wht to use.

4drcivic2k1

iTrader: (2)

I think I have a stock pan laying around. Its painted black, but i'd let it go for $50+shipping if I can find it

bboytius

yea, i was reading up on some articles about how to rethread stuff on the internet and seems like its easy enough. just one quick question though, when taking the oil pan off, do i just unscrew all the screws and it'll come out or do i have to unbolt any other brakets and the exhaust pipe?

7Gnoob

Why even take of your oil pan? I would drain the oil as much as posible then raise the front of the car so the oil doesn't leak out while you're working. The only awkward part is that the tapping fluid will be leaking down your arm.

bboytius

if i just tapped the oil pan while on the car, wouldn't that risk getting shavings inside the oil pan?

Boilermaker1

iTrader: (16)

Metal shavings through your oill pump should be reason enough... if that isn't, then scratching the hell out of the cylinder walls should take care of it.
Either pour GALLONS of oil through the system with the drain bolt open before starting the car again.
On the other hand, the cheapest way is to get a 14x1.5mm bolt, drill and tap it for a smaller size (about 10mm) through the center, then weld it in place. Sure, your oil will drain slower, but it'll a) get the job done b) be less of a mess c) still work just as well. Then just use a 10mm bolt for a drain.

2k2civic

iTrader: (1)

I would look into helicoils. Or if you wanna drill and re-tap it, then pour a quart or two of cheap oil into the motor and let it push all the shavings out.

bboytius

thanks for all the replies so far, yea i was thinking about either a helicoil or drill and retap. probably helicoil coiling it. but i wanna do it right and just want to know if taking the oil pan is just an unbolt and drop process or is it more involved such as taking off the exhaust pipe and any brackets. don't wanna risk any shavings getting anywhere inside the motor. this car still has to last me for awhile before i can even start thinking of getting a new one.

4drcivic2k1

iTrader: (2)

You have to take off the B pipe in the exhaust, and then a couple small brackets off the transmission. Remove all the bolts around the pan, and you may have to get a little rough with it to get the pan unstuck.

bboytius

just for clarification, the b-pipe is the one leading from the headers to the cat right?

4jacks

iTrader: (3)

I just recently had the same exact problem with my wife's Neon (Cheap Aluminum Oil Pan). I thought I was seriously SOL, and either needed a new Pan, or was going to have to weld. I went to NAPA who sponsors A Car Care Ministry that I'm involved with. The guy there said it was a common Problem, and he had a self threading oversized Drain Plug. It was very simple, You simply screw it in. However now I have to be Very Careful when I'm changing her Oil from now on, so I don't Re-Thread the Re-thread job.

Anyhoo Go to the Auto Parts Store, (NAPA if you got one) Explain your problem, They'll look in the book and let you know what size you need the Self Tapping Drain Plug was $4 for the Neon.

Let me know how it goes.

Also the pipe from the Headers to the Cat is commonly called the Down Pipe. I've never heard it called the B-pipe b4. But some cars have a Flexiable Down Pipe, maybe that is what it is referring to. I dunno, i'm curious too.

4jacks

iTrader: (3)

Also,

I dont believe it's common practice to take the pan off to Re-thread the Drain Plug.

I'd say talk to the Professionals at NAPA, but I did not drop the pan.

Or you can just drop the pan as an added Precaution.

bboytius

its not the bolt that's stripped, but the actual hole where the oil drains that's kinda stripped. that's why i was going through the whole consideration of dropping the pan and such. been thinking and i'm gonna first just try a longer bolt since only part of the threads in the hole are stripped but if that doesn't work, i'll see if i can go with your idea with the oversized self-tapping plug. that sounds a whole lot easier than dropping the oil pan. gonna try and fix it this weekend since that's the only time i have to do anything. thanks for all the replies and help from everyone thus far. greatly appreciate it.