I do not have a Mustang, but I do have a 1989 LTD Crown Vic that has the 5.0L V8, and Mustang forums are much more active than Crown Vic forums.

The other day I get under my car to change the oil. I was surprised to find that the plug was already lose, but then would not come off no matter how much I turned it. It would also not tighten no matter how much I turned it the other way. The last time the oil was changed I had taken it to a place to do it. I tried calling the place and found they are out-of-business. I called a few other places and they told me all they can do is take the whole oil pan off, which would cost a few hundred $.

I did a little bit of looking online, and found I could try to pull the plug out with vice grips, or I could turn it with a socket while having a flathead screwdriver wedged under it. I just wanted to make sure these solutions would work when the plug turns freely in either direction before I tried anything. I am also open to any other suggestions.

Also, if I cannot get it off, it is not leaking oil. There is a second plug farther foward and higher up that is like an overflow drain. They did not mess with that one so it is not stripped. Would it me a viable option to stick a hose connected to a pump to get the oil out of that one and change filter more often since I wouldn't be getting all the oil out?

Thank you for help guys.

 

Either way your plug hole sounds screwed. you may have to get a new oil pan. they are easy to remove and replace. buy one yourself, reomve the old, clean contact surface with a blade, then apply gasket and screw oil pan back on. Shops charge alot for the labor, not the part. you can do it in 2-3 hours if you are mechanically inclined and can read DIY directions.

 

If the hole is stripped, you can get a self-tapping oversized drainplug. It basically just enlarges the hole to the next size drain plug. No replacement of the pan needed. Dorman sells these.

 

I forgot to mention I already have an oversized plug. Figured I should get one before I attempt to take the original one out.

I talked to my little brother (he's a mechanic) and he said on my year and model of car you have to raise the car to have enough room to work under it, and then undo the engine mounts and raise the engine in order to have enough room to take the old pan out and put the new one in. That is why I did not consider a DIY for the oil pan.

But thanks for the replies guys.

 

Is there a welded or captured nut on the inside of the pan on this type of engine? If so, how to I determine if its that that has come loose instead of the threads getting stripped?

 

From your description it sounds like the threads are also damaged on your oil drain plug where it would have meshed with the oil pan threads. you may have to use vice grips to be able to pull slightly on the plug while turning it to get the remaining threads to mesh to back it out. It may take a bit of torque, but don't force it too much. You ought to be able to feel if it is starting to mesh. Even better, have your little brother have a look at it. He may have seen such a situation before.

 

There is no nut on the inside of the pan. The pan itself is tapped and the drain plug screws into that. It's a pain to replace the oil pan from the ground but it is possible. You will have to loosen the engine mounts and the tranny mount to be able to pull it up away from the crossmember enough. You may need to use a engine hoist, I did. I also had to unbolt my longtubes, they were hitting the firewall and preventing the engine from raising enough for clearance. IIRC i had to unbolt my oil pump and pick-up as well.

 

As stated earlier you can just go up a size on the bolt. Also, when you change the oil, you need to drain both sides of the pan.

 

Just make sure if you retap the plug hole to grease up the tap so it catches most of the metal shavings, and change the oil once after a couple hundred miles for good measure.

 

Or if it is like a mustang pan, you could just leave it alone and use the other drain plug. I would bet money that the 10 minute oil change places probably aren't pulling both of them anyways.