stupid oil plug

[Canabalooza]

I took my crx to jiffy lube to get an oil change and they say they can’t change my oil because when the were loosening the plug it loosened up then tightened again so they quit because they didn’t want to strip it out.

They told me they could not do it and I went on my not so marry way. So I get on the freeway and am on my way home, I stop off to get food and when I come out there is oil dripping down the front of my front bumper. I pop the hood and to my dismay I have no oil cap on my valve cover. I found it wedged in my fan, thank god I still had it.

I took it back to jiffy lube and told them to clean up the mess and put more oil in it. Hopefully it didn’t do too much damage.

Anyway so I was wondering how to do this whole oil plug thing. I took it to a place that said they could do an oil change for $40 plus the cost of fixing whatever is wrong with the plug, like tapping the whole so it has threads again. My question is how much is a new oil pan for a stock 1.6 crx and how much work is it to change the whole oil pan? I found a couple on ebay but should I get a used one? I need to replace the seal anyway it’s leaking so I figured if an oil pan was cheaper than getting the plug fixed I might as well just go get a new oil pan and change the whole thing out. Hope you guys can help.

Sorry about the gibberish I was on my way out the door and forgot to read over it again.

[TheSilentChamber]

I'm sorry, please refraim from speaking gibberish in all future posts. From my best efforts I concluded that they tightened the plug rather than loosening it?

[Riceboy891]

I had the same problem. The plug was sort of stripped, like you could feel it thread in and tighten, but then after a certain point it would pop and get loose again. I used a o ring type gasket and just put it on the plug before i thread it in. no problems since. I got the o ring at autozone for a few dollars for a pack of many different sizes.

[Riceboy891]

Oh and if you are going to get a new oil pan, just go to a junkyard, definately not worth spending the money on a new one. Unless you go ebay(beware of quality) i have seen new ones for 45-100 dollars.

[johnb16a2]

They make an emergency oil plug. It's made of rubber and has metal caps with a nut and bolt running throught it. I doubt it's a long term solution but it's available if you need it.

A new pan is like $170+ so the junkyard is the best option. However, as you probably know you have to take the exhaust manifold down and that might be a problem in a junkyard car. Just make sure you check the drain plug is good before you start. GL

[TheSilentChamber]

Or you could just do the easy thing and retap it or weld a new bung onto it. Yall people wouldnt know a simple solution if it crawled up your ass and jumped around.

[Sparsky]

I had that same issue with my truck oil plug. They told me they wouldn't do it unless i signed a waiver blah blah blah. Took it home, took the plug out, cleaned the threads on the drain plug with a wire brush and never had a problem again. Most places just don't want to take the risk just in case something MAYbe wrong.

[Figori]

Originally posted by TheSilentChamber:
...Yall people wouldnt know a simple solution if it crawled up your ass and jumped around.

Wow... That goes in my sig...

[Canabalooza]

yea, I was thinking of using a tap set like i said and just tapping new threads in there just have to find the right plug for it. Any ideas on what is a larger size plug to put on my pan.

[turtlecrxsi]

18mm (bigger than 17mm ~ 11/16")

[Canabalooza]

cool thanks

[EF You]

wow people, just wow

two things come to mind when i read your description. the first was that jiffy lube mainly hires idiots. i manage a quick lube shop here in louisiana, and ive seen nearly everything when it comes to shitty work done to oil pans.

the second is that maybe its not simply cross threaded. maybe the nut thats welded to the inside of the oil pan broke loose from the pan, and now the whole thing is just free spinning. that would explain how it felt like it got tighter and the loose again. ive seen it happen, especially on hondas and fords.

you should try taking the plug out, using a screwdriver to slightly pry on it as you wrench it out. keep in mind that if this works, and the nut on the inside falls into the bottom of the pan, you will need to get either a new oil pan, or weld a new nut on as mentioned by silent chamber, or get a "pan saver" bolt, which is basically a big rubber seal with a long threaded shaft that has a wing nut on the end. you put the wing nut end into the hole, and tighten the rubber seal end down to the pan.

if it is just cross threaded, all you need is a 14x1.5mm tap to clean up the threads. then get a NEW 14x1.5mm plug and gasket to replace it. if tapping it doesnt work, and the plug still will not tighten, you can put an oversized plug in it. look for a 14x1.5mm OS plug. that kind of plug will always have to be wrenched in and out because its basically forced in, but it will not leak.

if you need to know anything else about it, just ask

[1PhatCX]

just take it right out, those people are dumb, i do oil changes alot (daily) and everytime ones stiff i just keep turning it out regardless, inspect it, throw it back in, not a huge deal, hell, they coulda thrown a self tapping drain plug in there in worst case

[johnb16a2]

Originally Posted by TheSilentChamber

Or you could just do the easy thing and retap it or weld a new bung onto it. Yall people wouldnt know a simple solution if it crawled up your ass and jumped around.

I will concede retapping the treads is a simple solution but you still need a large tap... but wow, sorry didn't think welding on a new bung was in the realm of a simple solution considering most people don't know how to weld let alone have access to the equipment necessary. I suppose you could bring the car or pan somewhere for the welding...
I guess we need to upgrade our skill sets so we're in the same league as yourself. Shame on us!

[Canabalooza]

lol