[SparkySteve73]

So, it's a beautiful day here in New England, and old man winter is on his way, so decided to do a quick oil change on the X..... Quick.... Yeah ok!!!

It's the first oil change I've done on it; Put it up on ramps (mostly to get the car level), and grabbed my ratchet and 17mm socket; Slid under the old beast, and immediately knew this wasn't going to be easy.

Whoever did the previous oil change gorilla'd the oil drain plug back on; I barely got the 17mm on, but I did, and then gentle tapped it fully home using a rubber mallet; The first turn told me I was i trouble; slipped right off. Tried a few more times in vain;

Also tried using various size locking wrenches - the problem here is the location of the drain plug; Managed to get a small one on, and had it on REAL tight, but not tight enough - just slipped off like the socket.

I considered a bolt remover, but I cannot imagine how I would drill into that (again, consider the right angle of the plug, and everything around it.

My fear is that I'm going to end up having to replace the pan; And even if I do manage to get the bolt out, who knows what damage the gorilla mechanic did - that said, I could always put a larger drain plug in, I guess.

I'm getting frustrated - I love my car, and bought it for just a handful of dollars due to the excess work it needed; I've completed the major work (recon transmission) and now down to a few issues (another thread will be started by me later today or tomorrow regarding the front end).

I'm attaching a picture or two for reference.

Any and all suggestions are welcome; I especially look forward to hearing from our regular contributors (habby and skirm to name but two).

Best wishes to all!!!!

Steve

 

[habbyguy]

Oooh... that's ugly. I'm not liking the way the bolt doesn't seem to be perfectly centered in the hole. Cross-threaded? Bent?

If it was mine, I'd probably order something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Bolt-out-Piece-Damaged-Remover/dp/B007C6KKAK/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1508357169&sr=1-1&keywords=Craftsman+Bolt-out+5+Piece+Damaged+Bolt%2FNut+Remover+Set

Hope that link works (it looks ugly in raw text). I'd have to guess that the tool would be able to get enough purchase on the bolt head (or what's left of it...) to get it out.

Other thoughts (if you don't want to buy more tools - something I can't relate to)... You could try heating the pan and then hit the bolt head with some aero-duster (turn it upside down for a REALLy cold spray). Also, it's possible that you could get a bigger pair of vice-grips (particularly a brand name) that might grip the bolt head flats a lot flatter than the one in the photos. I guess I should add that you might have more luck if you can hammer a 6-point closed end wrench onto the unfortunate bolt. They get a LOT more bite than a 12-point (or most sockets - particularly inexpensive or 12-point sockets).

Hopefully a new bolt (or even the old one after it's cleaned up) will still seal your pan after all the violence the previous gorilla did. Good luck!

 

[PTC DAWG]

Even if you have a new bolt, IF you get that old one off, and it’s badly cross threaded, you will be stuck in your drive until a new pan can be installed...do you have a good indy shop nearby that you trust? Are you comfortable installing a new pan? Having the shop take a look at it might save a tow.

 

[habbyguy]

I'm guessing that if the new bolt doesn't seal perfectly, it'll be plenty good to get him where he can get the pan fixed.

Or, this looks interesting - I looked for something similar (for a guy with a stripped drain plug in his differential) and don't remember seeing this, but I'm thinking it would probably work pretty well, other than maybe trapping a little more old oil in the pan every change...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0O7RB8/ref=psdc_15726101_t3_B000COCX0E

 

[doubleot]

Find a good local shop that has good reviews and let them take care of it. You'd be surprised how often this happens and they usually have the right tools to remove them without causing further damage.

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[SparkySteve73]

Even if you have a new bolt, IF you get that old one off, and it’s badly cross threaded, you will be stuck in your drive until a new pan can be installed...do you have a good indy shop nearby that you trust? Are you comfortable installing a new pan? Having the shop take a look at it might save a tow.

There are local shops around, but none seem to have a great reputation; Am I comfortable installing a new pan? My knee-jerk response is yes; I feel like I can tackle most projects with assistance from people such as those found here at mdxers.org

That said, I have no idea what is involved in it, and I know my limits.

I do have a back-street mechanic "buddy" that can fix most anything, but I'm a stubborn old git (from England originally), who likes to accomplish as much as possible without paying someone else to help out.

Oooh... that's ugly. I'm not liking the way the bolt doesn't seem to be perfectly centered in the hole. Cross-threaded? Bent?

That's likely just the angle(s) of the pictures; When I was under there, it looked pretty much in the right place; I really think this is a case of a mechanic with popeye arms, or a $19.99 oil change job. (It's $19.99 for a reason people!!)

If it was mine, I'd probably order something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Bolt-out-Piece-Damaged-Remover/dp/B007C6KKAK/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1508357169&sr=1-1&keywords=Craftsman+Bolt-out+5+Piece+Damaged+Bolt%2FNut+Remover+Set

Hope that link works (it looks ugly in raw text). I'd have to guess that the tool would be able to get enough purchase on the bolt head (or what's left of it...) to get it out.

Other thoughts (if you don't want to buy more tools - something I can't relate to)... You could try heating the pan and then hit the bolt head with some aero-duster (turn it upside down for a REALLy cold spray). Also, it's possible that you could get a bigger pair of vice-grips (particularly a brand name) that might grip the bolt head flats a lot flatter than the one in the photos. I guess I should add that you might have more luck if you can hammer a 6-point closed end wrench onto the unfortunate bolt. They get a LOT more bite than a 12-point (or most sockets - particularly inexpensive or 12-point sockets).

Hopefully a new bolt (or even the old one after it's cleaned up) will still seal your pan after all the violence the previous gorilla did. Good luck!

Me.... not wanting to buy tools.... lol....

I'm gonna look around for the 6-point closed wrench tomorrow; if that's a no go, then to amazon I shall go!!!

 

[skirmich]

To avoid this in the future, Do not torque to Acura Specs ever again...
Do at most 27lb-ft, Hand Tight even works on these..

 

[SparkySteve73]

To avoid this in the future, Do not torque to Acura Specs ever again...
Do at most 27lb-ft, Hand Tight even works on these..

I appreciate the advice; I've done many oil changes in my ample years, and never come across anything like this. I am almost tempted to assume the mechanic (assuming s/he was a mechanic) used nothing but brute force to put the drain plug back in... that in itself leads to me question why. Stupidity, lack of knowledge, and fixing a bad thread are three things that come to mind.

 

[skirmich]

Perhaps he went with the Acura Spec all along...
I dunno why Acura specifies 31-32lb-ft for this drain plug, You can see its too much force by how the poor aluminum washer becomes a flat cake afterwards.

My TL-S drain plug also stripped because of this, I was too anal and did all by "The Book" and caused that.
I have been hand tightening my Drain Plugs on everything since then and Zero problems, For people that do want to follow some specific lb-ft spec I always recommend 27ft-lb which is around how "Hand Tight" should feel.

 

[SparkySteve73]

Perhaps he went with the Acura Spec all along...
I dunno why Acura specifies 31-32lb-ft for this drain plug, You can see its too much force by how the poor aluminum washer becomes a flat cake afterwards.

My TL-S drain plug also stripped because of this, I was too anal and did all by "The Book" and caused that.
I have been hand tightening my Drain Plugs on everything since then and Zero problems, For people that do want to follow some specific lb-ft spec I always recommend 27ft-lb which is around how "Hand Tight" should feel.

Hi skirmich,

How did you remove the stripped drain plug? I think the majority of MY problem is the awkward location on the MDX....

 

[skirmich]

I didn´t I replaced the oil pan since those were the threads that stripped..

 

[SparkySteve73]

Hey guys....... any thoughts on this product? Worth a shot?

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/VG_53911?interchange=1

Has some good reviews online... including, and I quote...... "I am so amazed that this worked on a completely rounded bolt on an oil pan. This was my last resort before taking it in to get hammered at a garage. Get it! It works the first time!"

 

[LeftOverParts]

Think that's the same/similar to ones in the set habbyguy mentioned. I've used them on painted-on and rounded nuts around the house successfully but never tried it on a car.

Because you normally need to hammer them, you'll need to be careful to not crack or damage the pan.

Probably would work better to use it with an 18 inch long, 1/2 inch breaker bar so you get max leverage.

 

[habbyguy]

That is the same kind of remover (but the cost for a single size Napa-branded tool is over half the price of a set of five Craftsman removers).

Bottom line, always get more tools! ;-)

 

[SparkySteve73]

I'm just looking at timing... the one habby kindly posted wont be in stock with the seller for 5 days, then add a few more days shipping yadda yadda.

I think I'm gonna grab these from Harbor Freight: https://www.harborfreight.com/9-pc-38-in-drive-metric-bolt-extractor-socket-set-67894.html

 

[doubleot]

I'm just looking at timing... the one habby kindly posted wont be in stock with the seller for 5 days, then add a few more days shipping yadda yadda.

I think I'm gonna grab these from Harbor Freight: https://www.harborfreight.com/9-pc-38-in-drive-metric-bolt-extractor-socket-set-67894.html

You should have no issue getting those off. Just hope the threads aren't stripped

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[habbyguy]

And remember - if there are no update photos, it never happened! ;-)

 

[T1TO]

Dam that sucks. Get a new oil pan and forget out the future headaches. I'd torch that bolt to get it out then try to see if it can be fixed but the best way is getting a new pan.

 

[SparkySteve73]

drum roll please......

Well.........

Grabbed a set of bolt extractors from Harbor Freight Tools this morning (pic 1), it didn't fit naturally so a rubber mallet took care of that for me (pic 2).... I really wasn't sure what to expect; Was I going to ruin the pan? Had the bolt already ruined the thread?

Here's a video of my second attempt to remove the bolt..... (hosted on dropbox, you do not need an account or need to sign in; if it asks you, just close that mini window).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/n9oi2tmwr7y9t75/Video Oct 19, bolt removal.mov?dl=0

The first attempt failed in as much as I could not get any torque on it; So I hunted down a piece of pipe ^_^

Pic 3 shows the old bolt after removal - what a mess!

Pic 4 is a side-by-side view of old & new bolt....

And just for closure, pic 5 is the new filter in place....

There was no (visible) thread damage to the pan, and the new drain plug went it without any resistance.

For notes: the old oil filter was removed without a wrench - it was tight, but hand tight - go figure!!! As for the new drain plug, I put it in hand tight, then put a quarter-of-a-turn on it.

Run the engine for 15 minutes, not one sign of a leak.

So, the moral of the story is..... bolt extractor sockets are FANTASTIC!!!!

Thanks everyone for the support and ideas! Another project COMPLETED.

And Habby...... you said you wanted pictures, so I gave you pictures; AND...... I raised you a VIDEO

 

[doubleot]

Glad you got it fixed! I'm going to go grab a set of those now lol

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