Oil Drain Bolt Problem

[Sudesh]

I was doing an oil change this evening, everything went fine up until I tried to re-install the drain bolt. It just wont tighten!! I have the torque rench set correctly but the bolt just doesnt tighten up. Upon inspection of the bolt there doesnt seem to be a whole lot of thread on it, just a bit towards the head where the new washer is. If I take the washer off the bolt will tighten but I dont want to tighten it up too much just incase I damage something. Anyone ever come accoss this? Does anyone know if the bolt is supposed to be threaded all the way or just a bit?

[simonprelude]

The bolt is supposed to be threaded pretty much all the way.

[Sudesh]

I;ve stopped working on it now as I dont want to damage anything. Been looking closley at the bolt which seem's to only have 1 thread on it and that doesnt look the best either! I also had a look and feel of the threads on the oil pan which seem ok, so hopefully its just the bolt as I dont fancy buying a new oil pan!!

[dan the man]

yeah the bolt wil always be softer than the pan. get new bolt!

[Sudesh]

Is there any reason why the bolt threads have disappeared? From looking at the bolt it almost looks totally smooth! I just purchased a new mangetic type of erick on prime:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94319&highlight=kics+project

http://www.nsxprime.com/photopost/data/500/11497102_6636_copy.jpg

[simonprelude]

The usual reason is that it has been cross threaded at some stage.

I'd be tempted to put a thread chaser through the sump and run some cheap oil through to flush the swarf out.

[reg]

I;ve stopped working on it now as I dont want to damage anything. Been looking closley at the bolt which seem's to only have 1 thread on it and that doesnt look the best either! I also had a look and feel of the threads on the oil pan which seem ok, so hopefully its just the bolt as I dont fancy buying a new oil pan!!

Buy a stock sump plug, its prolly the same as a Civic. It gives me the hump all these anodized bolt ons, the magnet isn't a bad idea but how many NSX's have run 150K without them, save the money;) If the worst has happened and you think the thread in the sump has stripped then all you have to do is find the thread pitch on the plug and run a tap through the boss. If then you still cant recover it then it is always possible to remove the pan and get a local engineering shop to weld a new boss into the sump....depends on the price of a sump you may be surprised.

[Sudesh]

Yeah I'm going to get a OEM bolt too so I can see if there is any success with tightning plus the one from erick will take 7 to 10 days to arrive anyway. I was also looking at the prices of the oil pan new which wasnt as bad as what I thought it would be, around £190 from Honda and I get a good discount too from my dealer! although I would buy a good used one if worst came to the worst.

[britlude]

no thread... it's been cross threaded at some point, basically the tread gets 'smudged' off the bolt, do it a couple of times, and the tread will become detached, and all you are left with is a smooth bolt except for where the washer is, as that part hasn't been crossed.

[DAVEMAT]

It probably is the same as a Civic, I required on to be drilled and tapped for my oil temp sensor, and they had one on the shelf for about 6 quid.

[dan the man]

spoon do magnetic ones too.

[Sudesh]

So would I be right in saying that if the oil pan threads are bad too, its quite a simple enough job to re-thread it again?

[simonprelude]

Quite possibly, however if they have had it then I'd be tempted to get a new pan. You would be best removing it to add a new thread if needed, by the time you have gone to all that effort I'd put a new one on to be safer.


So would I be right in saying that if the oil pan threads are bad too, its quite a simple enough job to re-thread it again?

[Sudesh]

Came accross this article:

http://www.artsautomotive.com/HondaOilPan.htm

[Sudesh]

Got my new magnetic plug today from erick on prime and joy!!! It tightened right up ok!!But I'm a bit weary of using the torque wrench to torque it up anymore as, I have it on quite tight by hand and a turn with a spanner, I then tested it with the torque wrench which didnt click off but rather would tighten it up even further. So I think I'll just do it old skool and leave it be and keep a close eye. Out of interest the manual says to tighten to 33lb/ft which seems quite a bit?

[forumadmin]

You always have to use a new crush washer when installing the bolt. The washer is soft and compresses. This stops the bolt overtightening in the pan, and stripping threads. Norton Way told me the most common problem caused by DIY mechanics is them not using a new crush washer.

[Sudesh]

I was using a new washer at the start! But the bolt itself didnt have any threads on it.
So when I got the new bolt, it came with another new washer, and this time it worked fine. I've taken the car out for a 20 miles run and checked it again for any leaks and so far so good!! Will keep a close eye on it thought.