chuck1856

Hi Guys,

new here but looks like a great place. I removed the drain plug doing an oil change on our 2000 3.2tl and found the threads from the drain plug hole wrapped around the plug bolt! damn thing looks almost like a helicoil!

I usually do my oil changes and try to be careful not to over tighten. Every now and then I have it changed at A garage and often find it very difficult to remove. I suspect they drove it back on with an airgun... or maybe I over-tightened...either way, I'm not in quiet a jam.

I tried tightening it back on and as expected, won't tighten. I already orderED a new pan but now looking underneath, it looks like a real lot of work to replace. Exhaust and subframe in the way... Suggestions? Should I try to replace it or have it done at a mechanic? Or try one of the "band-aid" fixes I've heard of like re-tapping or helicoil, etc....?

Appreciate anyone's first hand experience with this as my searches have turned up very little.

Chuck

fsttyms1

Welcome to the forum.

That is one of the reasons i like doing my own oil changes, cause you never know when those monkeys are going to mess things up.

You have a few options.

1). Retap it in place for a slightly larger bolt. Coat the tap with grease or oil to really catch the shavings. Buy a bunch of quarts of the cheapest oil you an and use that to flush out any remaining debris.

2). Take it off and retap it.

3). Replace the oil pan.

To take it off all you need to do is remove the lower y pipe.

I personally would do method 1.

chuck1856

In haste I already bought a cheap new oil pan online for $80. But after looking at it last night, it looks like I have to remove atleast a section of the exhaust and part of the subframe. Has anyone done this first-hand on an gen2? (year 2000 TL).

I think my approach is going to be: Try to re-drill and re-tap in place. If this doesn't seal well or isn't accessible b/c of access to drill, I might bring it to mechanic to put new pan in. I'm worried I will break something on exhaust trying to take it apart....

Chuck

fsttyms1

the only thing that needs to come off is the exhaust

Tegmech

drill and tap will work but its still not fixing the problem that honda/acura seem to never address. The thickness of the oilpan is so small, once its stripped its probably best just to fix it permanetly. I would suggest dropping the pan and welding a nut in there. That will eliminate further problems. But whenever you tap into the oil pan, it is definetly recommended to have it dropped so you can clean it completely out before running the engine. Skipping an extra hours worth of work isn't worth trashing a bearing/cylinder wall/etc.

fsttyms1

ours is a aluminum pan and is fairly thick

chuck1856

Hi,

So I ended up finding a "One oversize drain plug" which is sold specifically for this problem. It was sized to be oversized for an M14x1.5 thread, which this car has for the drain plug. I know this is a bit of a band-aid fix but for $2.5 I thought it was worth a try.

So the new bolt has a self-tapping feature on the tip. This is some slots cut bisecting the tip of bolt, with the two of them being 90 degrees apart and maybe a centimeter deep along the axis. Anyway, I was concerned about the chips this would push into the oil sump.

A machinist at work recommended covering the bolt in grease before using it, so I did so. I pushed down and rotated it into the stripped hole. It took quiet a bit of torque to get the thing to full depth (enough to compress the crush washer lightly). When I backed it out I saw that the grease had captured a ton of aluminum chips. I then poured a few quarts worth of oil through and saw that this washed a bunch more chips through. I kept pouring until I didn't see anymore chips. Lastly I blasted air in from my compress up at the fill up point which sprayed out the last of what was inside the sump.

Then I filled it up with fresh oil. It's be 4 days now or so of driving and not a drop has leaked and car is running fine.

So, that's the long version of how it has worked so far. Thought I'd get it all down in detail in case someone else is search for this in the future.

thank you all for your advice.

Chuck

tag words: acura tl oil pan removal remove stripped threads

KhawajaTL

Hey guys, i have the same problem with a stripped pan, i used an oversized screw and am not seeing and leaks but I am concerned that my oil level is still showing as <20% anyone know what i can do to fix this...thank you in advance for all your help

fsttyms1

Put the correct amount of oil in it. If its not leaking you just dont have enough oil in.

KhawajaTL

Thanks fsttyms1 but i check the di stick regularly and it seems to show that there is appropriate amount of oil in there?!

rob-2

Where do you find one of these bolts? Any auto parts store?

I have a feeling like I should keep one around. I had to goto an oil changer place a few years back and it's never felt the same. I feel like I'm always about to strip it.

Gfaze

Visit your local Kragen Auto and you'll find it.

totaledTL

Huh? The dipstick indicates there is adequate oil but you still think it's low- ?

mklaudt

Ditto - that makes no sense.

CJITTY

Good info on that bolt..when i change my oil, that is my biggest fear..i use a new crush washer each time..the honda dealership gave me about 10 for free. i think torque for the bolt is 28lbs or something right?

totaledTL

Referencing my new gen-u-wine Acura service manual results in a spec of 29 ft. lbs, with a note immediately below: Do not overtighten.

acutee

...or I would get the fumoto oil drain valve, and be done with it easily. you will not have to touch the bolt again, just open the valve for draining then close it. I can forsee a lot of work to take out the oilpan eventhough it is fairly easy; you never know what else will happen like bolt breaks in half in the process. so the less removing stuffs is better unless you have to make things easy.

mestizoracer310

Hey is this fumoto drain valve ok for lowered cars? I'm running Tein H techs and am hesitant to use this drain valve....

tlfreek

I just wanted to say thanks. I did exactly the same thing as you - this thread saved me, directed me to napa and got an oversize plug just like the one described above. Thanks a bunch for the post and follow-through - quite honestly I think this plug fits way better than the original. I think I'll keep it provided it doesn't leak.

tomf

what kind of grease should be used when re-tapping the oil pan ? or does that not matter ?

totaledTL

Grease? Use a lube for tapping threads, probably a very thin type of oil.

tomf

Sounds good - I had the same situation happen. Apparently a Toyota plug got put into mine. so basically the 1st half of threads are damaged and the back half is good.

The auto shop put in a longer plug ( so basically the back half of the threads - 5 maybe ) are now holding the plug in.

Should this be ok ? I'm assuming yes - being that our plug only goes in about half way..

01tl4tl

MIGHT be ok--until next oil change!!! when the threads start ripping across each other~

Cyro22

Thanks to this thread for all the tips. My son got a new-to-him 99 and on the first oil change (this morning) the threads came out on the oil pan drain plug. It looks like the wrong drain bolt had been used as it was very short (for going into aluminum), maybe 3/8" of thread depth. As others had said, the options are to tap to a larger size, helicoil it, use a longer bolt or one of those oversize self tapping bolts. Those are cool and I didn't know they existed until I read this thread. I count the oversize as the last resort so I went with the longer bolt method. The drain plug bolt is 14mm x 1.5 pitch which is a finer thread than ISO metric. The stripped drain hole is actually about 1" deep and had intact threads everywhere except the first 3/8". I couldn't locate a long enough bolt (Sunday) but borrowed a die and created a 14mm x 1.5 x 1" long bolt by threading the shank of a much longer 14mm bolt. This worked great and is a permanent fix. Cam.

ps I always use sealant on my drain plugs as it acts as a sealant and threadlocker, so I wont have the tendency to over tighten.

riTLce

Same problem happened to me months ago, I bought one of those oversized drain plugs at the local auto parts store, fixed it right up no drips or leaks since then. Way better idea than spending all the time and money on a new oil pan.

Cyro22

For a permanent fix I bought a 14mm x 30mm x 1.5 bolt to use as a new drain plug. I had to order it at a specialty bolt shop. It is long enough to pass the stripped threads and reach the good threads. All is good now.

acutee

For reference guys, buy a good soft washer and that is the key for not being leaked. Just a snug holding close to the head of the ratchet, not the end of the handle, and it is all good for me. never use cheater extension bar for tightening.

The washer from honda is not good, too hard of material, you have to tight it hard enough for it to stop leaking and that is the big problem. another lousy problem is that honda suggested to replace the washer on every oil change (for their own profit, i guess) stop doing that. Once that washer works, it is molded to that bolt and is all flatten out corretly, there is no need to replace it. there is no way it can be crushed unless you want to strip the oilpan threads, and that is what happened here.

TheMightyQuinn

Boy, I'm glad I installed the drain valve years ago. No tools needed for an oil change and no more leaks.

Cyro22

Those fumoto drian valves are pretty handy. There are a few vehicles I didn't put one on because of the vulnerable spot the drain was in. I can't do the acura since the first 3/8" of pan threads are gone, unless I build a custom one. I do put one on any vehicle I can. Lifesavers on a Tundra or G35.