Frozen oil drain plug.

MarcM · Post by **MarcM** » 04 Oct 2015, 18:55

Went to change oil after 75 mi of driving with 1/3rd bottle of Seafoam. To my current horror... the drain plug is seized. The ol' steel vs aluminum oxide syndrome. I currently am putting liquid wrench to it (PB Blaster is AWOL) every 30 min and will have to drive it another 55 mi to work and back.
The previous shop or DIYer must've either hung off the wrench or failed to use nickel anti-seize. Anyone else have a fix other than replacing oil pan? My fear is taking the threads out with the bolt.

Post by **abscate** » 04 Oct 2015, 19:39

Get it up on a rack where a full tool set and true torque can be put on it.

Make sure you aren't turning it the wrong way...easy to do when you get twisted.

This is probably the number one reason to change your own oil.

MarcM · Post by **MarcM** » 04 Oct 2015, 22:49

I agree. Had the car about 2 weeks and realized how retentive I am. Had system flushed and stood there nitpicking the guy's work. I do all my own work with 2 exceptions I can think of.
Lefty loosy, righty tighty. LOL. No problem working backwards here.
I wish I had a lift. 40 yrs of 'open air garage' work.

mrscullini · Post by **mrscullini** » 05 Oct 2015, 08:13

if you're using a ratchet, then you got lefty loosey, righty tighty before crawling under the car. i would suggest using a shallow 6 pt socket, get maximum grip on the hex. i've experienced them sticking before. my method is the hold/press the ratchet socket with my palm to the bolt. this puts axial force so the socket does not want to twist off as you try to turn. then with my other palm i whack the ratchet handle to give an impact. will take a few whacks, it will break loose. then use a new crush washer.

Post by **abscate** » 05 Oct 2015, 09:39

I wasnt trying to be a Richard. 40 years of driveway auto mechanics and I caught myself turning a fastener the wrong way yesterday.

Six point, high quality socket
Make sure you apply pure torque - its good to brace the end of the socket with the heel of the opposite hand in a heavy glove to counter the 'pull down' force

Last resorts
Chisel on the point to get it started, then replace
Weld on a rod and torque it off, replace
Drop oil pan and drill it out, replace. You can also do this with pan installed but most won't like the idea of all those chips in your oil plan (they are fine actually)

Post by **vtl** » 05 Oct 2015, 10:35

PB blaster and heat up the sump near bolt with a lighter, that may do it.

Post by **oragex** » 05 Oct 2015, 16:32

Locking pliers come in handy. They can be tighten real tight and a cheater bar over the pliers can be pressed somewhere on the subframe to create a good lever

MarcM · Post by **MarcM** » 06 Oct 2015, 15:35

PB Blaster, running it a few days. Hit it again with PB. 1' breaker bar and some light pressure. Chuckleheads who did oil change last apparently lost gasket or was bad so used the 'just make it tighter' technique. New drain plug w/gasket, filter/oil change... All is right in the world (other than overheating/next to no heat in cabin)