Need some advice on this. I think I cross threaded the oil drain bolt after draining out all my oil. Cant get the bolt back in tight and am afraid to put oil in my motor unless I can get the screw back in tight. I need advice on how this can be fixed. Perhaps someone out there has a tap for a 14mm and can help me out with this. Im panicing a bit because I was hoping to get out tommorrow and drive around a bit in Red Wing. Thanks in advance.
Steve Hougom – FTR Webstaff
If it gets too bad,they make what is called a helicoil and most auto stores sell them. It is made to repair stripped threads.
Ouch! Check with an auto parts dealer, Napa or Car Quest to see if they have an oversized bolt. They make them for oil drains in cars for the same reason, stripped out threads. These oil pan bolts start out standard thread and become bigger to seal tight. You’ll need to take the old one with you or know what thread it is.
And the next one is the h/coil mentioned in the prior post.LOL, Hoggie Hoggard
Heli coils are ok. I had one in mine for a bit but I didn’t really trust it. I like a decent pair of threads when it comes to holding in oil. Use it for an emergency then get it re-tapped. Just my advice.
good luck
The best thing to do is re-tap it, but I would be extremely careful, since you don’t exactly want the metal shavings floating through your engine. $3000 in motor replacement costs will ruin just about anybody’s whole day.
I would suggest that after you get it re-tapped, you run the engine for a few minutes and then change the oil and filter again. While I’m no expert, it seems to me like a thread shaving could tear through a filter element and get into your engine pretty easily.
Most importantly – Good luck.
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