Car Guys - Question.

Jayce · 07-31-2008, 11:07 PM

My threads on my oil pan stripped out. Is the metal of an oil pan too soft to typically handle being re-tapped with a slightly bigger sized hole? Or can this typically be done?

Someone told me the metal is too soft, yet I find that hard to believe. If the threads were there in the first place and lasted 7 years, I can't imagine putting new threads wouldn't yield the same results.

c0rr0sive · 07-31-2008, 11:38 PM

If the pan was made of aluminum then the threads are made of steel and when stripped and you try to re-thread to a bigger size you will start to cut into the much softer aluminum. If your pan is made of steel you won't have much of an issue re-threading to a larger bolt size, but it all depends on the actual car and the materials they used in it.

Jayce · 07-31-2008, 11:41 PM

Hmm... so if the threads are steel, and they are stripped... I SHOULD be able to re-thread as long as there's still a steel "threshold" left?

Makes sense... we'll see what I find in the morning. Thanks!

Jayce · 07-31-2008, 11:48 PM

Ah ****, I might be ****ed on this one.

When I noticed the threads the very first time, there was some metal shavings. I took out a magnet to catch them, and they didn't stick.

Aluminum isn't attracted to magnets.

****.
****.
****.

c0rr0sive · 07-31-2008, 11:54 PM

Yea, you = screwed, guess you should like get a new pan? gonna have to drop the sucker anyway to get any shavings that may exist on the inside of it, then again, you COULD attempt to re-thread it, just be careful when threading, and make sure you get it snug, not really tight.

veedubfreak · 08-01-2008, 01:01 PM

Its actually not THAT hard to replace the oil pan on the car. And if the threads are stripped you can almost be guaranteed that there are metal shavings. I had to drop the pan in my 95 jetta because i thought thats where the oil leak was (it wasnt) and it was a hassle but its not as hard as you might think.

Also, aluminum oil pans suck. One good scrape and you're replacing the pan. Its one of the reasons my car isnt lower than it is.

superdave1984 · 08-01-2008, 01:48 PM

They make oversize drain plugs that retap the hole. They are usually not much bigger so they shouldn't be a problem. Just be sure to use a new gasket around it.

Jayce · 08-02-2008, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by superdave1984

They make oversize drain plugs that retap the hole. They are usually not much bigger so they shouldn't be a problem. Just be sure to use a new gasket around it.

Tried that. Didn't turn out so well. It ended up catching the threads in the back and shifting itself. Even with me trying to forcefully guide it straight, it just carved in another direction.

I plan to clamp the ever loving **** out of it for now, just enough to get a seal and hold the oil. Monday I am going to a junkyard with my buddy, who went there before for pontiac parts and said he recalled seeing a few elantras there. So I'll pull a pan off of an elantra and see what the local mechanic would quote me, labor wise, for it.

But if I can torque it enough for now, I know I have at least 5,000 miles to go till I have to pull something out of my *** and fix this.

To my ironic advantage, I put 5k mile in this time.

c0rr0sive · 08-05-2008, 02:20 AM

I would avoid running that car what so ever till you can drop the pan and get the metal shavings on the inside out, other wise you can say bye bye to your crank/journal bearings on the rods, and possible rocker arm damage.

Jayce · 08-05-2008, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charles_scott

I would avoid running that car what so ever till you can drop the pan and get the metal shavings on the inside out, other wise you can say bye bye to your crank/journal bearings on the rods, and possible rocker arm damage.

I doubt the shavings are a problem... seeing as though the threads that failed came out in 1 single coil. After that happened, I put my finger through the drain hole and didn't feel any debris whatsoever.

The particular oversized drain I had was built very interestingly... it has a somewhat hollow center with a magnet in the center, so it actually grasped all of the metal shavings. After I put the plug in, I took it out and put a cloth through the hole and twisted it. There really wasn't any shavings at all that collected on the cloth. Me being Mr. Curious, I got my LED flashlight and took a look inside. The drain hole on my oil pan is at the very bottom on the side of the pan, so when I look in the hole and see clear across the pan if sufficient light is there... which in my case it was.

Considering the crappy situation I'm in, I think it went relatively clean.

On another note, the search continues. I went to a junkyard last night. Didn't find many Hyundais at all but maybe 3 or 4 that were in bad accidents, and those 3 or 4 were of a different model.

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