damaged oil pan drain plug...(help!)

Did my first oil changed Saturday morning. Must have been the strong coffee. I over tightened the oil pan drain plug bolt and damaged the thread(ahh!!!)http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/images/smilies/banghead.gif.The bolt is stuck(just rotates and cannot be tightened), loose thread but no leaks so far.

Do I need a new oil pan? Thanks in advance.

I don't know of any way out of it aside from an oil pan replacement. An aluminum oil pan & steel drain plug bolt is never a good setup :banghead: You always want to wipe clean the plug threads & the mating surfaces of the plug & pan & just snug the plug by hand. As a way out of it, you could install a fumoto drain plug, or one of those fram sure drain plugs. That way it stays in place & you just open the valve to drain the oil. That may work for you.
G/luck
Joel

I don't know of any way out of it aside from an oil pan replacement. An aluminum oil pan & steel drain plug bolt is never a good setup :banghead: You always want to wipe clean the plug threads & the mating surfaces of the plug & pan & just snug the plug by hand. As a way out of it, you could install a fumoto drain plug, or one of those fram sure drain plugs. That way it stays in place & you just open the valve to drain the oil. That may work for you.
G/luck
Joel

Joel,
I heard about that fumoto drain plug. Doesn't it stick out too much underneath that it can get damaged? Thanks again. -Paul

FWIW I bought the fram quick drain and hated it. It was awkward and did not drain at anywhere near the normal rate. I removed it and do it the "old" way.

I've never tried the fram. I do have a fumoto on my isuzu & it works out great for that type of truck. Something like that might stick out into harms way on a low riding windstar.
Joel

I think I'll stick with the plug.

How hard is it to change an oil pan from a scale of 1-10? A shop has quoted me $200 for labor alone!

Just a thought but can you tap it out one size larger and use a larger bolt? This should be able to be performed without removing the oil pan

Just a thought but can you tap it out one size larger and use a larger bolt? This should be able to be performed without removing the oil pan

I am going to try first to unscrew loose plug while pulling it and try a single-oversize plug. If I can't get it out then I'm replacing the pan.

It may be a good idea after you "tap" with a larger (wider) bolt to loosen it and throw in a litre of cheap oil to flush out any shavings that may be in the pan due to cutting the larger hole.