'06 Civic Stripped Oil Drain Plug

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Finz

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Changed the oil in my daughter's 1.8L civic today... Tried to anyway.

Noticed a lot of resistance when removing the plug but since this is our first OC on this new-to-us car, I didn't pay it too much heed.

Same going back in... Nothing smooth about it and I knew then I might be in for a long day... Sure enough, go to snug it down and it starts spinning.

Now I'm toast... Call a buddy-mechanic and he says to track down one of those plugs... Rubber plug with a nut & bolt thru the center that expands as it tightens. Call a local "old school" hardware store and he has a Marine Plug.... Withstands high temps, perfect size (M14) and we'll be fine.

Well I threw that $8 plug in there and it appeared to work at first but took a short test drive, got home and looked below only to see some weeping - not from the plug itself but from the tightening lever.

I pulled the plug, collected the oil and started over. Tightened the plug a little more (they are adjustable) and snugged it up. More oil.., started the car. No leaks. Another test drive and... No good. Now it appears to be weeping from the drain hole itself

Went to a Civic forum and someone with the same problem said they fixed it with... True Sert or something? Essentially, it's a kit that includes a tap, a sleeve and a new plug but the darned thing cost over $100

My question: Anyone have any experience with such nonsense? Although tight down there, wouldn't a regular tap , sized just marginally larger than M14, along with a new plug accomplish the same thing as this $100 "kit"?

And if I am forced to go this route (I'm losing faith with this rubber plug idea), what about all the metal shavings that will develop when tapping this new hole?

Been mulling this over all day... Am I really up the creek here?

To make matters worse, this car is needed daily

Thoughts anyone?
 
Probably referring to a Time Sert threaded insert which seems advanced from the old standby Heli Coil.

If all possible (and I don't know), how hard/difficult is it to pull the pan for replacement/clean time sert job.

Chance - long strip of oily rag worked through the hole, tap & sert it, fish out the oily rags in hopes to pull out as much shaving as possible... then strong magnet worked under the pan near the hole, work up to the hole to see if any shavings from inside show up

........ ah never mind me.... just wishful thinking on a whim. Better let the experience answer this one
 
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Time sert is what you were suggested. Helicoil is the same thing.
Or plug it solid until you can replace the pan and use a transfer pump to change the oil.
 
Thanks all...

That Doorman plug is along the lines of what I have in there already but more stout looking.

Taking the pan off would be ideal but requires removal of a portion of the exhaust... I may look into this further

Clevy... How to plug the hole? A pump thru the dip stick for future drains would stink but is doable... So plug hole with what?
 
Jb weld.
And the transfer pump is a dream. I haven't gotten under a car in months to change oil.
The one I bought was 8 bucks. Its a hand pump and comes with the right sized tubing to go in the dipstick.
I pump the oil into an old container. No mess whatsoever.
 
Be very careful with those Honda drain plugs from now on, because the oil pan is most likely aluminum so proper torque is critical.

I had exact same thing happen to my TL several years ago from over torquing & instead of spending 300+ for parts & labor on an oil pan, I had the drain bolt "welded" instead.

Bought a MityVac fluid extractor pump from Amazon, then simply pump the oil out of dip stick there after.

That MityVac turned out to be one of the best investment I ever made as I found many other uses for it. I use it to pump out transmission fluid for all my vehicles, pump oil out of my lawn mower, generator, bike etc. My neighbor borrows it from time to time to change oil out his boat.
 
Likely replacing pan is the way to go.

Depending how bad its stripped you may be able to seal it on temporary basis. I'd try wrapping the plug with teflon pipe tape.

http://www.amazon.com/LA-CO-Slic-Tite-Premium-Temperature-Thickness/dp/B004MYFPAU


Other alternative to create a plug is coat the appropriate portion of the the treads with some high temp pipe dope.

http://www.permatex.com/products-2/produ...-sealant-detail

http://www.idgsupply.com/item-detail/07934059231_loctite_592_thread_sealant_slow_cure_size_50ml
 
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When I worked at Sea Land shipping we would put grease in the tap voids to get it to catch the debris the tap was making. Worked pretty good.

With the new drain plug in place we would put a quart or two of varsol in the crankcase to check for leaks. If the repair passed, we drained the varsol and then ran the engine with used oil from another oil change in the shop for a few minutes then drained that and put in fresh oil and new filter.

This was in transport refrigeration generator units that had Deutz and Isuzu diesel engines. Saw and did a lot of crazy stuff in the 19 years I did that for a living.
 
I would highly recommend replacing the pan. You have to be very careful on the Hondas as from what I remember the torque spec on the plugs is low and since generally 17mm wrenches are long, the quickie lube guys hang on them.
 
If it is only weeping why even worry about it? many of us have older cars that drip... and they can stay dripping forever. It's not that big a deal.
 
I wonder if you could JB weld a nut over the existing drain hole? Then you would just need a new bolt for the nut.
 
Originally Posted By: SigQAEngineer
Be very careful with those Honda drain plugs from now on, because the oil pan is most likely aluminum so proper torque is critical.

I had exact same thing happen to my TL several years ago from over torquing & instead of spending 300+ for parts & labor on an oil pan, I had the drain bolt "welded" instead.

Bought a MityVac fluid extractor pump from Amazon, then simply pump the oil out of dip stick there after.

That MityVac turned out to be one of the best investment I ever made as I found many other uses for it. I use it to pump out transmission fluid for all my vehicles, pump oil out of my lawn mower, generator, bike etc. My neighbor borrows it from time to time to change oil out his boat.


My transfer pump is the same thing but its hand pumped.
I must say I love it. No more mess trying to pour oil from the catch can to the jugs for recycling.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
I would highly recommend replacing the pan. You have to be very careful on the Hondas as from what I remember the torque spec on the plugs is low and since generally 17mm wrenches are long, the quickie lube guys hang on them.


IIRC the spec on this engine is 29 ft*lbs or thereabouts -- somebody must've given it a pretty good tug.
 
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