Yeah, I stripped my freakin' oil plug hole the other day. Must have happened when I drowned my Rube in WV and had to change the oil in the gravel parking lot at the campground. My question to everyone is what is my next course of action? I am thinking of getting an oversized plug with self-taping threads and trying that first. If that does not work I guess I would need to tap it out and start over. Has anyone ran into this problem before or have any suggustions?

 

The best way to fix a stripped drain bolt is with a time-sert kit. Its what we use at the dealership, it will look factory when your done and you'll be able to use the original drain plug. A time-sert is a solid insert that is different than a heli-coil, is stronger and permanent. You can't just buy the insert however, you need the whole kit (drill, countersink, tap and insert tool) to install it. We charge 1/2 hour labor for this job, any decent dealer should be able to do it for the same amount of time. Well worth the small price IMO.

 

I did the exact same thing to mine about a year ago. The plug is 12MM so I just bought a 1/2 inch plug and stuck it in there. I am sure I will have to do something eventually but it was a cheap and easy fix to get me back up an running. For the people that may not know 1/2 inch is just slightly larger than 12MM [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

And welcome to the forums NCJoker [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I appreciate it. I think I am going to buy an over-sized self taping plug and go that route first. Worse thing that can happen is all of the oil leaks out...so I need to keep an eye on the oil light. Thanks for info...

 

FYI, that is not a low oil level light on the dash, it is an overheat light that is triggered either by high water or oil temperature. You won't know you are low on oil until it is too late. Also, the Hondamatic tranny unit part costs about $1200 alone, then add on top of that the other damaged engine parts (piston, cylinder, cam, etc).