"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
11/23/2013 at 21:38 • Filed to: None
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"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01)
11/23/2013 at 21:38 • Filed to: None | 0
| 8 |
So ever since I got ScarJo, I had noticed something was weird with the oil drain plug. Like, it wasn't the original drain plug. I didn't think too much of it though, and when I changed the oil in the truck a couple weeks ago, everything went well. Flash forward to today, and I had noticed that the truck had been dripping a tiny bit of oil out of the drain plug. OK I thought, I'll just tighten her up a little. I get underneath the truck, grab the plug with a crescent wrench, turn once, and the whole plug rips off. No one else is home, so I can't plug the hole while getting something to catch oil with, so I dump about 5 quarts of brand new motor oil on the ground. Awesome. Ran out, got some kitty litter, soaked it up, but now I have a drain plug problem.
Previous owners thought that it was a good idea to replace the original, stripped threads with a 1" nut and bolt combo that they JB welded to the pan. So that whole janky assembly ripped off. This is what happens when you don't fix things properly. But the other weird thing is, the threads don't seem to be the original 1/2-20 threads they should be. I had a 1/2" bolt laying around, and it just slipped right in. So I ran to my shop, picked up a 5/8-18 tap and I think that will tap the hole just fine, but I need to get a drain plug. And Napa didn't have a 5/8" drain plug in stock.
Overall, quite a frustrating afternoon. Any suggestions on best way to repair the threads? I was planning on just tapping for 5/8" and getting a self tapping drain plug as well just to make sure the threads are cut well. I might be able to get a drill to where the hole is, but I might not, so drilling out and tapping for larger might not be an option.
Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
> BJohnson11
11/23/2013 at 21:45 |
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If you could get the pan out, I think I might try a helicoil if you have meat to drill and tap. That way you could go back to stock size.
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BJohnson11
> Jeff-God-of-Biscuits
11/23/2013 at 21:46 |
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Yea. But I'd prefer to not drop the pan. Makes for a big headache. Especially because I don't think I could drop it straight out without at least lifting the engine a bit.
thereisnospork
> BJohnson11
11/23/2013 at 21:47 |
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Drill and tap bigger if there's enough metal, otherwise heli-coil it.
Or you could JB-weld a new nut on there.
desertdog5051
> BJohnson11
11/23/2013 at 21:48 |
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I used one of these in a pinch until I could get the problem solved. Bought it at a boat supply store.
John Norris (AngryDrifter)
> BJohnson11
11/23/2013 at 22:02 |
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Sorry to hear about that. I'd sure want to change out the pan, but then you have to pull the engine up, not me. What about welding a nut on? If you can't get all the way around the nut with a weld I suspect you can get most of the way around it to get the structural strength, and then jb weld it to seal it up.
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BJohnson11
> John Norris (AngryDrifter)
11/23/2013 at 22:07 |
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Not a bad idea. If drilling and tapping doesn't seem viable I might try that. And I think a new pan would be more trouble than its worth at this point.
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BJohnson11
> John Norris (AngryDrifter)
11/23/2013 at 22:07 |
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Not a bad idea. If drilling and tapping doesn't seem viable I might try that. And I think a new pan would be more trouble than its worth at this point.
VincentMalamute-Kim
> BJohnson11
11/23/2013 at 22:44 |
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That's weird - double post showed up. BTW, we didn't drop the pan. Just went slow with a lot of grease on the drill and tap to try to keep the metal shavings out of the oil pan.