Oil drain plug stuck stripped bolt

[410Fortune]

want to end it in 3 minutes?

take grinder and extension cored with cresent wrench somewhere you can plug it in take a cheater bar that fits over the cresent just in case...

wear your eye protection!

 

[eXcali]

I agree with 410, find a buddy with a garage or anyone with a close enuff power outlet, use your grinder and extension cord and go to town! You can tell by how the rubber washer is puffed out that someone put it on WAY to tight.

 

[Noved1987]

you could try drilling hole through the head like from where one flat spot was to the other side of the head and put something long and hard in it to get it free then vice grips will work since tou got the torque off it.

 

[solitary ogre]

if you don't have a access to a grinder then use a big coarse flat file.

 

[parad1mg]

tried again a few minutes ago with the chisel method.. heated it for a few minutes then whacked it on the washer part.. heated it again for a few minutes then whacked it on the washer part.. heated it again for a few minutes then whacked it on the washer part..

well, i spent heating it and cooling it down for about 30 minutes and the pulg still wont budge..

tried a 7/16" irwin bolt extractor socket.. it gripped very well initially and i heated the bolt again after it cooled down gave the bolt some torquey tugs that the truck moves along with each attempt (didnt have the foot brake on) until the socket started slipping and the bolt head was rounded to a little smaller than 7/16"

i dont think grinding it flat on 2 sides and using a large wrench on it will do anything since the surface area to hold on to is small now.. probably end up finding a shop to weld a new nut on and let them figure out how to remove it.. any tips about welding it besides disconnecting the battery and letting it cool down within cycles? is there any danger to the trucks electronics while welding a part on the truck?

Thanks!

 

[2000LXS]

It seems you gave it your best shot I wish I lived closer I would love a shot at that thing. (thats my job working on rusty plow trucks lol) I have never used a welder thou and my father worked on submarines as a welder for years go fig.

 

[gijoecam]

Dumb question: Can you drop the oil pan on a 5.0L without removing the engine from the vehicle? If so, that's how I'd approach it.... Get it out on a bench where you can get on it straight. Use a die grinder if necessary to buzz the head right off it..... No welding, no sparks, no big deal. Odds are a left handed drill would take it right out, and of not, you could grind the head right down to the pan and spin it out by hand. Worst case, buy a new/used pan and slap it on and chuck the old one in a dumpster.

-Joe

 

[corkey]

3 days and still not out??

wow,, i would have just gone to a garage and paid the money and had it changed by now,, it might have cost a bit of labour money , but the frustration factor, and aggravation is worth a lot more to that as well as the stress ,



young grasshopper,, sometimes it is better that the people that have more experience fix some things,, it makes life alot easier that way

and is easier on the blood pressure, ,

 

[410Fortune]

LOL I would keep trying, but Im nuts about challenges and taking it in is a PITA

I dont think you can get the oil pan off a 5.0L in a Gen II without removing the engine pretty much completely, I KNOW You cant on a 4x4.

May be time to take it in and admit defeat, I will play the retreat song on the bugle as you take it in

as long as you disco the battery - neg cable there will be no damage to the truck
I had a shop leave my KEY ON and battery in when they put it on the lift

2 months later and about $900 it was fixed.

 

[Cobraguy]

Dumb question: Can you drop the oil pan on a 5.0L without removing the engine from the vehicle?

Not on a 4Wd. Ask me how I know... No, please don't.

But maybe if you dropped the front diff out? I'd have to look at that but it seems possible just thinking about it. That should be less work than pulling the engine.

Take the car to a repair shop or muffler shop and weld a big nut on there. One that just slips over what you have left of your drain plug. Try and use a fairly hard nut too...Grade 5. Then use a 6 point socket to remove it.

 

[410Fortune]

and for heavens sake take a replacement plug with you! LOL

dont want to put that sucker back in, but you can hang it in your garage as a nice reminder!!

Just think of it this way, at least it didnt fall out!!

When I bought a 96 spldoer from my older brother, I had to drive it from portland to denver, so he had the oil changed for me before I got there. WHen I got it back to denver I found a puddle of oil and the drain plug HANGING ON BY TWO THREADS

I have a 98 V8 in my garage right now I just put a junk yard engine in, because the guys kid drove it home from the oil change place and there was no drain plug

so yeah it could be worse! lOL

needless to say I do all my own oil changes

 

[parad1mg]

i LOVE challenges and i always make sure i do everything i possible can by myself before i let someone else do it for me.. eventually that's how we learn.. or maybe i'm just that stubborn..

truthfully it keeps my blood pressure down.. work already makes my BP shoot up and this truck is my calming factor..

i'd take the pan out if only i have a place to work on it and have a spare vehicle to take me around but after spending days underneath the engine i dont think it will be possible to take it out by itself..

And i already have a new oil plug.. it became a habit of changing it every oil change on my past cars.. its dirt cheap so why not change it too

go ahead and play the song... i'll be passing by the welding shop tomorrow to get a new (grade 5, i'll take your suggestion cobraguy) nut and get it welded on there.. or if the fabrication guys have a better/faster way of getting that nut out.. i'll update this again tomorrow night.

and yeah, if ever we get that bolt out i'm keeping it as a memento..

 

[410Fortune]

you seriously change the oil drain plug with every oil change? why?

Was this a new plug before this happened?

I think you need the fumoto oil drain valve!!

I change my oil at 3000K miles, on 4 different trucks.... thats like 12 drain plugs a year!!

 

[parad1mg]

you seriously change the oil drain plug with every oil change? why?

Was this a new plug before this happened?

I think you need the fumoto oil drain valve!!

I change my oil at 3000K miles, on 4 different trucks.... thats like 12 drain plugs a year!!

it costs $1.50 here and costs a lot less back where i'm from and it also helps prevent the situation i'm in from happening being a new pulg and all..

a fumoto is definitely something to have! i'll shop around for one..

 

[parad1mg]

IT'S OUT!!!! I FINALLY REMOVED THE DARN BOLT!!!

i took another whack at it after 2 hours of driving.. a friend had a set of snap-on bolt extractors and i managed to borrow it from him.. that thing gripped the bolt extremely well! used a chisel to trim down some material off of the base of the bolt head to fully sit the extractor and it worked!

first couple of tugs felt like it slipped but it actually broke the bolt loose from the pan and it just came out like a normal bolt.. only thing i noticed and perhaps the root of the problem is that there was no washer on it.. the plug had a metal like washer but it was part of the bolt..

here she is!!! and yeah, i'm keeping it..

it always happens to me, i mean things always goes my way every friday the 13th..

 

[seth247]

sweet action brother.

Oh hey your right, it was Friday the thirteenth.

No wonder I had such a crappy day.

 

[DeRocha]

Sweet indeed...

The last time I remove my Explorer's oil drain plug was in 1994. when I installed a Fumoto valve. I've installed one on every vehicle I have owned since. They are worth every penny..

 

[Turdle]

That shows how persistence will sometimes pay off. I'm glad you got it and didn't give up.

 

[2000LXS]

Great news and you won the war with that thing.

 

[muhl5443]

DAMN! nice job in getting it out. id just given up. n taken it to a place.