Help! Trouble removing oil drain plug!

Filling out your profile with detail of the year and model of your car, or put it in this thread, would help in offering suggestions.

 

I'd get a jar cap, fill it up with PB Blaster, put it up agaist the plug and let it soak for a week or so. Then loosen it with an impact wrench. Just my 2 cents worth.
Ciao,
George

 

Frank,
You could be in for a very big job. Patience is a virtue in these situations.

First of all order a new plug because that one needs replacement.


Numerous things you can try. I have had sucess with a center punch on the face of the screw. First you need to make a dimple with the punch then tilt the punch and try to drive in the CCW direction.

The plug should be acccesable with vise grips. If you can lock vise grips on to it try tapping with hammer. I believe impact is the key in these situations.

Or a combination of both these techniques, if you can get the vise grips on it have a freind appy pressure while you tap with the center
punch.


One more piece of advise: before the socket in the bolt gets totally rounded off get a 1/2" allen wrench and taper it slightly with a file or grinding wheel. If you do a good job you might be able to tap it into the hex socket and get some torq on it, again impact is the key.

 

Chris is right. Order your replacement plug tonight.


Now, the *easy* stooge way to remove it is to JB Weld your allen wrench (long end so as to minimize future turning radius) into your old, stripped plug. Let the JB Weld cure overnight (preferably in a climate-controlled garage).

Now you can turn that allen wrench like a MoFo!

Yeah, you've got to throw away the old allen wrench and stripped plug, but you got them out with a minimum of hassle the Stooge way!

 

Some good tips here already.

My advice......

I would weld 1/2" nut on that old plug so I could get a socket and breaker bar on it.

Throw that old plug away and use a new one. I have done this MANY MANY times before.

If you do not have a welder at home and cant weld, then drive the car to someone who can. I am assuming you still have engine oil in the engine!

 

Nice tips!

 

Works GREAT ND!

Did the other day work again.

 

NoDoubt has a good way to do it but that way and Paps' ways are last resorts. Heat the plug up with a propane torch. It will expand and break up any stiction between the casing and the plug. Let it cool and put a allen wrench on it and it will come right out. If it is still subborn you can cool the plug and heat the case and then unscrew it right out. In am my years of wrenching I have always broken nasty bolts with nothing more than a can of propane and a judicious use of force.

Lefty loosey righty tighty OK?

 

Yeah, my method is rather extreme!

I have used heat before, but I dont really like heating sump areas with 'continuous' heat that a propane torch or oxy torch has.

Alloy sump 308 may be ok with that heat, but normal tin engine sumps can distort the threads if too much heat is added to them.

Welding a nut takes around 5 secs to tack it on (with some high heat there of course), but its quick and you can cool it down straight away.

If he has access to a propane torch, yeah give it a go. Ya never know.

 

+1

Hitting it with the plumber's torch and gronking with either the allen wrench or sharp-nose vise grips (on the plug flange / rim) has always worked for me. It's definitely the easiest thing to try before resorting to any of the other good methods already mentioned.

Also, when you do install the "new" plug, smear the threads, the contact surfaces of the plug, and the contact surfaces of the copper gasket with Hylomar ---- you don't need it for sealing purposes, but it provides a nice film barrier against the galvanic corrosion. So, next time, the puppy will come out of there without all the drama!

Let's see... "Aluminum" sump cover, "steel" Heli-coil insert in the threads, "brass" plug, and a "copper" sealing washer... Ferrari, what in the world were you thinking???? They must have been day dreaming about getting into the battery making business - LOL!

 

Priceless!

 

Don't get too excited.

PAP is actually referring to a "liquid" bar!!! Thah's how he takes a breaker!!!

 

Lol! +2!!

 

From another thread 1st mentioned by another F-Chatter............

Try TIGHENING, yep you read that right, TIGHTENING. What you have to do is "break the weld." I have found that often times tightening the object even further "breaks the weld" and it can then be backed out. It only has to move a fraction of a millimeter to "break loose."

Often times you will have to tighten, loosen; tighten, loosen (more), etc. and "rock it out." Prime candidates for knowing yo may have to apply this method are any bolts/nuts where: rust, dirt or any kind of corrosion are anticipated. All your pan plugs would qualify. Had to use this method on my oil dipstick tub to remove it.

Give it a try, as you have nothing at this point to loose ..... or is that ... lose?

Good Luck.

 

Now you can take PAP's suggestion about a "bar"!

 

My allen plug is a bit loose so I wrap my allen wrench tip in tinfoil, tight as a tick and no worry of rounding the hole out.

 

Just how tight is that?

 

You ever picked one of those big mama ticks off your dog because it got so big it's rear end was proud of the dog's coat?

That's tight.

 

No for only one reason.

I don't have a dog!!!

So then how can this apply when one says he's really "tick"ed off?

 

OK.

This thread's officially HiJacked.

Questions been answered already so I guess its just as well....

I looked thru a bunch of "HiJack" pics and for some reason this pic was amungst them, couldn't pass it up.. So in lieu of a "hijack-thread" pic:


Note; Moderators, feel free to delete the last several posts.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

"EWE" chose the right picture!!!

 

This is exactly what I did to get my plug out the first time. McCann's Ferrari Parts sells the new plug for $3 and the washer for $1. The allen sockets are cheap enough to replace. It still amazes me how many dumb*ss technicians there are out there... a little reseach shows that only 25 ft/lbs are needed with a little anti-seeze. I've never had a problem since. I am now fighting the gear oil fill plug... hopefully I can break this on loose this weekend (got a lot of good tips from the gang on this forum).