JohnnyScarecrow

I'm dealing with an older Ford that has the double hump oil pan, with two plugs. The main plug is stripped and won't come out despite my best efforts. Any way to get at least a majority of the oil out of the overflow plug at the front of the pan? I figure I would have to raise the back end of the car, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask to see if anyone has any more creative solutions. Thanks.

jwog666

i wouldnt bother. replace the pan, besides, you would just about have to have the car standing on its front bumper to get that oil to drain into the front sump.

mjr46

no....................replace the pan

jimkaray

Since you can't open it to drain I'm going to assume by striped you really mean the bolt shoulders are rounded off. Otherwise if the threads were striped it wouldn't tighten and the oil would be leaking out on its own. If there is any shoulder left have you tried a quality 6-point socket like Snap-On, MAC or Matco that will fit real tight? If not there are sockets made for removing rounded off bolts. They have sharp edges inside that bite into the bolt head. They usually come in a set for either metric of standard bolts, not sure if they come individually. If you really chewed it up with vice-grips or something then I would get to work with a file and recreate the shoulders down to the next closest metric size since if I remember it is a standard bolt. That should be fun:-) If all else fails you can try using a chisel to get it turning, Its possible you'll put a hole in the pan but the next option id to replace it anyway. Hope this helps.

Mr. D

Fix the frozen plug. By stripped do you mean you can't get a socket/wrench to hold on the plug? Good mechanics can often get the plug out if its been damaged. At worst, drop the pan so you can drill out the plug all the way through & use as big an "easy out" you can get in the hole in the plug, or even weld a bar to the plug to get the leverage to turn it out. I had to stop a goon at Walmart from tightening a drain plug with a mallet! Yikes. I've seen a fine thread nut welded to a pan & used a short bolt with a copper gasket to replace the old plug. Not pretty, but effective! Overtightening plugs can cause a mess! I stopped a kid at Walmart from tightening a drain plug with a plastic mallet! Walmart & others now drain oil by putting a tube down into the pan. The problem is that poor lube guys don't always get all the oil out! A guy with some skills I'm sure could!

99GTvert

http://reviews.homedepot.com/1999/10...ws/reviews.htm

My brother's car had a stripped drain plug. Ended up buying a stripped type socket set IIRC it almost looks like a swirl pattern if you stare into it. Got the job done.

The above is likely a available at most stores that sell tools.

Chromeshadow

Any time you have a stripped thread you have little pieces of metal. I know a lot of car shows show how to remove stripped bolts or drill into an oil pan while it's on the car- I would worry about it all of the time.
All you need is one tiny piece of metal floating through your engine to really mess it up. Inho, I'd pull the pan and do the job correctly.

jwog666

good call guys, im not sure why but while reading i assumed he meant the threads in the pan. +1 on taking it to someone to get the plug out if the hex is rounded off, then all u need is a new plug. good luck

bluebeastsrt

Doesnt any one a set of vise grip pliers these days? When you get the plug out just make sure it wasn't cross threaded. That will be a bigger issue if the pan threads got boggered up.

TrimDrip

^what he said^