Ok, so since i was really busy last time my Fit needed an oil change i took it to the local Firestone. They did the oil change and no problems. Yesterday i had some time so i decided to do the change myself with Mobil 1 0w-20 and OEM Filter. Noticed the drain bolt was insanely tight. They must have used an air wrench. So when i removed the bolt i noticed some metal threads on the bolt that came from the oil pan. My guess is the oil pan is stripped due to over torque. So i tried to place the drain bolt back on with a new 14mm crush washer and right when i get some torque on it it just spins free again. so i tried to put the bolt back on without the washer and it was able to have some torque applied to it and hold. Now I'm curious if its going to drip oil once and a while, or if the last remaining threads in the oil pan will give out over time. I didn't want to take it to Honda and have them waste all the Mobil 1 oil to tell me i need a new oil pan.

Any suggestions?

recap: its holding oil for now, i drove around for 20 mins and haven't seen any dripping. just worried it'll fall out on me driving 70mph on the highway and immobilize the vehicle far from my house.

 

I had an issue with my prelude just like this. The dealer told me the oil pan thread was stripped. He said there's no reason for it, it just happens over time. I said WHAT, that's BS. Someone overtighened it. They were like nope, wasn't us. Crappy dealer. I was at the mercy of the dealer that time so I had to get a new oil pan. I would have done it myself, but at the time I wasn't as good mechanically as I am now.

For now I would place something bright under the car after you park it. This will allow you to see how often and how much oil is seeping if any. A white piece of cardboard works well. Oil tends to leak when just sitting around as opposed to driving as it being pumped through the system.

If your getting dripping you can drive it day to day without the crush washer but I think you should eventually get it fixed. I think they make re-threading kits for oil pans.

If not that route, a new oil pan will be needed along with a new gasket/sealant. Probably better off ordering the pan and doing it yourself if you can.

 

I was afraid of that. Wonder why it holds without a washer but doesn't with it. I'm assuming rear threads are still ok. Must only be 2-3 threads or so. Hoping it holds till next change n then pay dealer ship to do oil change and be like fix it since you did it >: )

 

Yeah, it seems like its only 2 or 3 threads keeping it on. Who knows what they did at Firestone too.

 

First, I would go back to Firestone, call Firestone Corporate, etc. If that doesn't lead to satisfaction, there are repair methods, none of then really good. If this happened to me, I would probably get a Fomoto valve and J B Weld it in the drain hole.


In every car I get with an aluminum oil pan, I put a Fomoto valve in on the first oil change to prevent this.

Fumoto Valve | Qwik Valve™

 

If this happened to me, I think I might attempt a redneck repair by reaming out the hole a little larger and tapping it for a bigger drain bolt. I'd think one could do that with the pan in place fairly easily with a bit of care, and then clean any bits of metal shavings out by pouring the drained oil back through the engine to flush it. (A few small bits of metal in the bottom of the sump are generally unlikely to cause trouble, or so I've been led to believe. it just tends to benignly stay in the bottom of the sump. However, if one were concerned about that, the reaming and tapping could also be done with the pan removed, and things thoroughly cleaned up afterwards.)

You would presumably also need a different washer for the bigger drain bolt.

 

The quick valve looks good. But JB weld?! Has anyone done this before?

 

Dorman makes over size oil pan plugs. Look here:
Dorman Products - Search Results

I think yours is a M14x1.50, but verify that for sure. The oversize plugs come in single, double, and triple oversize.

Anyone that put a new oil pan on for this problem got ripped off.

Go to a good autoparts store and ask. Most auto parts stores sell Dorman products and if not in stock could order it.

If you end up having to re-thread it, which should not be necessary, try using a heli-coil. These are commonly used for stripped out spark plug holes.

https://www.google.com/search?q=heli...x-a&channel=sb

My daughter bought a Blazer once that a dealership mechanic put in a oil plug in with with an impact wrench. A friend of mine worked at the same dealership and saw him do it all the time to many vehicles. On this one he split the pan. The customer drove it that way and the oil leaked out. Needless to say the engine was shot. The customer did not want to pay for a new engine. GM wanted $5000. So my daughter bought the car cheap ($1000) and got a replacement engine from LKQ with 31,000 miles for $400. It took her about a week in the evenings after work to swap out the engine. She drove it for many years after that and just sold it about 8 months ago with about 170,000 additional miles on that engine and 210,000 on the car. She got $1900 for the car 7 years later.

I only relate this story because you never know what goes on in these oil change and dealership places.

 

You think dealership would fix the threads? Or automatically say I need new oil pan. Basically, I'm curious if they strip a customers car, wouldn't they rather use an oversized bolt than have to eat the price of a new oil pan n install?

Thx for everyone's help btw...

 

It all depends on who is paying. If the dealership did the damage and were accountable they would call down the street to the autoparts store and get an over size plug. They would replace it and probably never even tell the customer.

Now if the customer was paying, then they would replace the pan.

I would get a single and double oversize plug. Try the double and if it is too tight then try the single. Return the unused plug to where you got it for a refund. Obviously if the double oversize seems too loose then go to the triple.

It is a 30 minute job including draining and replacing the oil.

 

Stock bolt is 14mm-1.50. What size would I try?

 

See my previous posting. I was editing it as you posted your new question.

Also are you positive that the pan is stripped and not the drain plug?

If it is the plug stripped replacing it with a standard size plug would do. If you are replacing it with a Dorman oversize plug just ask for a 14x1.50 single and double over size replacement. Be real careful not to cross thread or get it cocked at an angle when starting the new over size plug for the first time. Also put a new sealing compression washer on whatever new plug you use.

You are probably going to spend more time getting it up in the air to work on it and draining the oil than you are actually are going to spend doing the repair.

 

You could try one of two things as a temporary fix.

You could either... get what's referred to as a "Time-Sert kit" which bores out the drain plug's hole so a Heliocoil can be threaded in and serve as the replacement threads for the drain plug... OR if you have some threads left in the oil pan you can try using a longer bolt that can reach the remaining threads in your oil pan.

Either way, its a temporary fix and I would be mindful that the drain plug likely won't as secure as it was prior to your threads stripping.

 

Have you put a valve on your fit yet? The way that it sits against the oil pan, is there a way that it may get hit if the car is too low? I was thinking of doing it for my first oil change.

 

If you're anywhere near a pick-n-pull, go out to the lot and find a Subaru. Bring a 17mm wrench with you. Pull the drain plug out of the Subaru's pan. The Subaru drain plugs are MASSIVE. Borrow a tap and die set form Autozone and get the threads right and form a new hole in the drain pan.

Its kinda a bass ackwards way to fix it, but it will work. I've done it before in a quickie to make it through a racing weekend on a GM crate motor oil pan.

jeeves

 

Years ago. My Fit is an '07, purchased in June of '06 when they first came out in the US. Can't say how the pan is on a second or third generation, but on the first generation the drain plug faces the rear of the car. The valve does not stick down, but back. I use a fuel line hose clamp for extra security against it accidently opening, but it is not necessary. The valve requires a little force to open, I use a screwdriver to "pry" it open on changes. looking at the website I see they now have a security clip available to hold the valve closed. Like I said, this is just extra security.

 

so an update today, drove about 25 miles to work on the highway and i made it lol i didnt notice any oil on my driveway when i left my house. I might leave it as is for now and monitor my oil level. Next oil change if it makes it, i will take it to honda and see what they say when they attempt to put the plug back in. fingers crossed. I ordered 2 Fumoto valves for my S2000 and my wife's CR-V. Didnt get one for the fit since the threads are messed up. I might look for a longer bolt as well just in case.

 

Go to your local Honda dealership and just get an oversized drain plug. Don't tell them why because they would just tell you bs that your oil plan needs to be replaced, blah blah blah. When I used to work for the local dealership here, this is what we usually do in situations like these. Unfortunately with aluminum/cast oil pans, these things happen if and when someone does not torque the plug properly.

But before doing anything, I would suggest getting back at Firestone and give them shit for it.

 

i tried with Firestone, and nothing. They just said theres nothing on file saying they had to bore out or rethread the plug, and they dont even have plugs on site. That if they needed to replace the plug it would have needed to be ordered. Sounds like BS to me.

But as far as my Fit, seems to be holding and yet to drip any oil out. Maybe i playing with fire here, but if i can make it to the next oil change, i will be happy. Ill take it to the dealer and act oblivious when they tell me its stripped out. Hopefully theyll fix it or put a larger drain bolt in for me. Just pisses me off that the idiots at firestone torqued the shit out of this bolt.

 

dealers torque the shit out of drain bolts and lug nuts too. i wouldnt be surprised they strip it completely.