help for a stripped bolt

[bmorebuick88]

okay so everything finally seems to be going great with my car, and i figure hey i had it for almost three months, how bout i change the oil. so i go to autozone and grab everything i need. so i get under the car and find the right ratchet piece(9/16) to loosen the bolt on the oil pan, but it wont catch and turn right, so i decide go grab an open end wrench to see if that catches the bolt any better. no luck, its just slides around. and then i grab a pair of grip plyers, but they dont work either. so im not the strongest fellow. about 170lbs, so i ask my father, about a good 220 lbs lol, to see what he can do, so he gets under the car and has no luck either. and then he tells me that last person who changed the oil before i got the car must have did it with an air tool, because it was on so tight, and the severity of how the bolt is stripped. well now im kinda worried, because my oil is pretty black, and ive drove about 4500 miles since i first got the car. are there any tips that you guys can give me to help loosen up a stripped bolt, or should i just take it to a shop, and let somebody charge me an arm and a leg to loosen up a bolt


one other thing, my car says its supposed to take 5w-30 motor oil, but when i went to the store they only had two bottles left, so i just bought 6 bottles of mobile one synthetic 10w-30 oil, is it ok to use that on my car. when i was getting the oil, the man at the register said the last time the oil got changed did you use synthetic, and i told him it was my first time changing the oil, so i dont really know what he meant by that. is synthetic bad on older cars, my car is an 88 and has a little more than 97k on it

[HotZ28]

I got an idea! Take the car to Jiffy Lube for an oil change and go sit down in the waiting room. In a few minutes, one of the Techs will come in to inform you that the pan plug is stripped. You can politely reply; "how could that be possible, I always get my oil changed at Jiffy Lube"! I would be worth it just to see their response!

Seriously, if the plug is that tight, the threads may be stripped in the oil pan. If so, if you ever get the plug out, it may pull the threads from the pan with it. Did you try channel lock pliers, or vise grips? Vise grips would work better, however you may need a cheater bar with them. If the bolt ever moves, turn it back & forth several times while loosening. Sometimes this will save the threads. You will need a new drain plug for sure. Get one at any auto parts store before you remove the plug!

As far as synthetic oil in an older engine that has never used synthetic oil before, I would be hesitant to use it. It seems to soften the seals that are old & hardened and may cause valve stem leaks. I had to replace the valve stem seals on my 92 Ultra for the very same reason! We also have had some reports of front & rear main seals leaks caused from using synthetic in an older engine. You be the judge!

[bmorebuick88]

update: i went to jiffy lube on tuesday to get the oil changed and see what they could do about the bolt, after like a minute in the waiting room the mechanic comes to me and says the bolt is really messed up and he doesnt want to force it because it could break but then he said i could go to pepboys because they specialize in this type of problem, and the pepboys was only like five minutes away, so i went there, told them about the problem, they said they couldnt promise me anything but they would try. i waited like 20 minutes in the waiting room and voila they said i was good to go and i think they put a new bolt on.


so thats good, and it feels like my car is hovering now, its great

[xs03mich]

Sounds great, next time change it yourself....use regular 5/30 weight oil, not synthentic.