Oil Pan replacement

Sure, but on the one hand, you have a bare tap tool made by an unknown Chinese manufacturer. On the other, the Lisle set comes with a very heavy duty drill bit which chases out the old threads and a tap tool with a spring-loaded collar which ensures proper alignment, all from a well known professional tool maker.

 

The clip does nothing to prevent the cap from being unscrewed. It is there in case the threads fail and the cap pops outwards. In that particular case the clip would hold the cap in place. As you rotate the cap the clip is pushed out of the way by ribs on the cap. Elegant, yet purposeful design...

moto g(7) power ?

 

No, that's not the tap we have been talking about. Do google search on "Timesert", you will find more info on this product. It is much more than just a tap. It is a complete repair kit that will insert a new thread and uses special plug that comes with the kit, but that's not what we have been suggesting. If I remember correctly Time-Sert plug is M16, and the kit works for any stripped threads on oil pan that uses M12, M14 or 1/2 inch plug.

And about the plug itself being stripped can be checked very easily by just visually inspecting the drain plug when you remove it. If the drain plug is stripped and thread on the oil pan is good, yeah, by all mean just get a new drain plug and your are all done fixing the problem.

 

In the video he's wailing away at the cap with a hammer and rod, just to get it started. Saying it's the clip that's preventing it turning, is absurd. I've done about19~20 oil filter changes, don't even notice that clip any more. I really think it has no function, other than to satisfy the requirement of some ivory tower engineer.

I'll be shut of it this Spring, converting to spin-on oil filter bracket.

Nothing is 100 percent certain, but I think it's a very safe bet you'll be ok with the longer one. Hopefully it it will have a bit more grab. If you can install with torque wrench and achieve the spec'd 27 foot/pounds, think you're good.

 

No, it won't. You can try it, but since you have to drain oil to do that, as might as well try to get the tap ready in case a new plug does not fix the problem.

 

Thoughts on welding/gluing a nut to the outside surface of the pan?

moto g(7) power ?

 

K&N sells spin on filters with a hole on a nut at the end, for you to tie a wire just in case it happens to blow off. My iQ has a metal cap and I do not recall the same clip. It has to be a safety in case those threads fail, sending the cap shooting outwards. But they over-engineered the cap as there are so many stuck cap cases!

Enjoy the spin on. I was not able to find the union bolt spec during my EU Tech Info subscription sadly...


moto g(7) power ?

 

I looked into these. I don’t think they’re a good choice for this. A Time-Sert is like a helicoil. The problem is that you’re using the threads to hold in oil, and this creates two sets of threads. And you still have the problem that the threads need to be precisely true, or else the drain bolt won’t seal the oil in. And, it costs more.

 

Well, oil will seep out once you back the bolt out some. The gasket is the primary seal for the oil. The main question posted was the concern it would not be perpendicular so the bolt would not hold the gasket down flush.

moto g(7) power ?

 

I don't think so. The seal is between the underside of bolt head and washer, and between washer and the pan.

@jzchen beat me to it, and more complete to boot.

 

As @Rebound explained, Time-Sert is similar to another type of thread repair jig called helicoil. Both are inserts that will be placed inside of the drilled hole that is re-tapped. I have never used either of them, but from my reading, they can be as permanent as the original. The simpler tap solution that has been suggested here is to make the hole bigger with a drill and create a new thread on it using a tap and use a larger bolt (drain plug) that will fit on this new drain hole. I think both Time-Sert and Helicoil if you choose the right size insert, you can use the original drain plug. In terms of difficulty, I think they are all about the same. In terms of cost, simple tap and larger bolt can be as low as $10 as shown in previous comments, but a more complete retapping kit like the Lisle set suggested above would cost more than $100. Time-sert kit is also a bit expensive around $100 as a kit as you found it on eBay or more on a store shelf. Helicoil is much cheaper, but I am not aware of a nice kit that comes with a drill bit and a tap like Lisle or Time-sert.

Since you don't know if the thread is just damaged or stripped and the messed up thread is on oil pan or on the drain plug bolt, we don't know if you need to retap the oil pan drain hole or not. If the damage is only on the bolt (drain plug), then it can be very easily fixed by replacing it with a new one. But to find out, you will have to drain oil empty and examine the plug. At that point, if you don't see any abnormality with the plug, and replacing with a new plug (either OEM or longer plug) does not fix the problem, it is most likely the thread on the oil pan is messed up. So, to fix this, you have to have a drill and a tap of the right size handy. I never have done re-tapping the oil pan. I did not have to do that on my son's Honda, for a longer drain plug fixed the problem. Changing a plug is as easy as changing oil but drilling and re-tapping oil pan may not be something you want to try DIY depending on your skills and tools you own. For example, if the drill is not perfectly perpendicular, it may leak oil. To make sure the drill bid is perfectly perpendicular with a hand drill, you may have to rise the car up much higher than you would normally for a simple oil change. If something did not go well and oil leaks a lot, you may not be able to drive your car to a shop to be fixed professionally. In the end, a DIY project may end up costing you much more.

 

This all likely came about due to "professional" oil changes...

Tough call. In OP's shoes I think I'd score a new pan, new bolt (and washer), and a tube of Permatex Ultra Black, and have at it.

I forget, has dealership been asked for a quote?

Interesting tool for loosening the old oil pan:

Amazon.com: oil pan separator

 

Yeah, most likely, but at least OP was doing his own Oil Change last time. That's how he found out about not-snug drain plug.
For my son's Honda, I was quoted $450 for oil pan change at a non-dealer auto shop. They would not do oil pan thread repair, but if OP can find a competent mechanic willing to help him with thread repair, it should be much less than oil pan change.

 

There was a lady here with a 2nd gen needing oil pan replacement, and they (Toyota dealership) were quoting her around $250 US, to the best of my recollection. If you don't ask, you'll never know. And phone a few dealerships, who knows.

 

Yeah, at $250, I would take mine to that dealer if oil pan changes was the only way to fix it. Wait, no I did not have to do that, all I had to do was to change with a longer drain plug. The grand total of $5.

 

I would start with the $10 13mm kit from Amazon first. It will likely go in 90 degrees "square," since there is only half a millimeter larger than the original 12mm hole.

The second option, should the 13mm strips, is to go to the M14x.1.5 tap and Honda OEM type plug,

Replacing the entire oil pan would be the last resort.