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3 Ways to Deal With a Leaking Oil Pan Bolt or Stripped Threads

by Eddie Carrara

I have been turning wrenches in the automotive business since 1986. My title is an ASE-Certified Master Technician, my mission is to help you understand the machine you drive every day and help save you some money along the way. If you find this site helpful, please comment and share the information.

Drain bolt stretched threads. This is what happens to the drain bolt or any bolt when it is over tightened. Do you notice the way the treads taper and stretch at the bottom of the drain bolt on the left? This is extremely common when mechanics send the bolt home with an impact gun. It's even more common on wheel studs. 

Leaking Oil Drain Bolt and Damaged Oil Pan Threads

Every now and then, you will find a mechanic who thinks the oil drain bolt should be tightened with an impact gun. An oil pan is made from either stamped steel or aluminum, and either metal can be damaged if the oil drain bolt is over-tightened or cross-threaded. Stripping the threads in the pan can cause the oil to leak out around the bolt.

It's unfortunate when a customer comes in for a simple oil change and ends up walking out of the dealership with a bill for over $700. Usually, a customer will never even know the oil pan or its bolt is damaged until the next visit to the garage, because if the mechanic who caused the problem tells you about it, it makes him look like a bad mechanic.

Here are three options for dealing with a leaking oil drain bolt and damaged oil pan threads.

Option 1: Use a Rubber Plug as a Temporary Repair

If you are in a tight spot and you don't have time to repair the threads in the oil pan, you could install a rubber drain plug for the oil pan. The rubber plug is used as a temporary fix, and it's not meant to be a permanent fix.There are several different styles; you just need to choose the correct one for your application. Once the rubber plug is installed, be sure to tug on it and push it to make sure it is installed correctly. Run the engine until it reaches normal operating temperature—that is, until the engine cooling fan cycles twice—and check for leaks.

Keep reading: options 2 and 3 give you peace of mind and they are permanent.

Option 2: Repairing the Oil Pan Threads With a Helicoil

Using a helicoil is one option for repairing threads. The helicoil is a hardened steel thread insert that comes in many different sizes and thread pitch. Repair with a helicoil is strong and permanent. I have used helicoils to repair cylinder head bolts without regret.

Option 3: Repairing the Oil Pan Threads With a TIME-SERT

The third and best option for repairing oil pan drain bolt threads is to use a drain bolt repair kit made by TIME-SERT. The kit comes with everything you need to produce a professional repair that will last for the life of the car—as long as nobody screws it up again.

A Time-Sert insert is similar to the helicoil, but is specially designed to repair damaged oil pans. The kit also comes with new oil drain bolts and sealing washers. This is a plus, and there is no need to try to match up the thread pitch or find the right diameter bolt to fit the pan after the repair.

Replacing Missing Threads on an Aluminum Oil Pan

If you are repairing aluminum oil pan drain bolt threads, no problem, TIME-SERT works extremely well during this application and the repair looks like it came from the factory. I have had to make at least 50 repairs on oil pans during my automotive career, and Time-Sert has been the best oil pan drain bolt repair kit on the market that I have used. The TIME-SERT kit is a bit expensive, but it doesn't compare to the cost of replacing the oil pan—or the cost of replacing the complete engine because you lost all the engine oil.

The cost of replacing an aluminum oil pan can easily exceed $500 for parts and labor. You need to remove the sub-frame on some vehicles to remove the oil pan and that alone can get costly. Using a Time-Sert repair kit will take about 30 minutes from start to finish with professional results.

If you have any questions leave them in the comment box below, and I will answer them as soon as possible. Thanks for stopping by.

This is what you want to see, no damage and the threads are pristine. 

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