If you have the receipt showing you paid to have the oil changed as you did, I would take this to small clain court. The oil drain plug on my 2012 Grand Cherokee with the 5.7 Hemi is absolutly frozen. If this seems to be the case, or if the plug feels loose, it’s best to take your vehicle to a qualified mechanic who can decide whether the drain plug socket needs to be re-bored, or if it can be fixed using a chemical sealant. Probably not, but it's tough to just give up having drained a lot of money from savings. This is my 1979 Harley Davidson Sportster, it's not quite a harley davidson museum piece, but it's bought and paid for. My local dealer could not rermove and said I had to replace the pan. A plastic drain pan with a brass plug seat and a aluminum plug. Today I noticed a small puddle of oil where my car had been parked. I tried tightening it to just postpone the oil change til tomorrow, but it won't tighten. Then 35 days later a long trip gets it really warm and the plug gets loose and falls out. Step 2. An improperly installed, very dirty or loose oil filter can cause leaks. Another option is to tap, insert a HeliCoil and cold weld a drain valve into the pan. site design / logo © 2021 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under cc by-sa. Tried a Wrench, no go, 4ft breaker bar, nothing. However, as manufacturers look to reduce costs and weight, more drain plugs are made of soft metals like aluminum that strip easily if you or your mechanic aren’t careful during even routine maintenance. The Honda dealership that last performed the oil change doesn t … Applying light pressure to bend them back into shape is acceptable as long as the retaining tabs properly engage the retaining groove in the oil pan. General everyday driving will not make a oil plug screw come loose. In the video, 1A Auto shows why you should never over tighten a drain plug. Oil drain plug... loose? Step 1. Your car’s oil drain plug has a very important, if often underrated job. Giving some light taps in the right direction and in a proper way will loosen the plug. In fact, you can usually undertighten it quite a bit and it will hold for a year without problems. 3. There would be no way to. The other plugs on the oil gallery rails are the oil rail end plugs. If you notice a leak coming from the plug, it’s never OK to ignore it. Then undo the old plug, plug the hole with your finger, then swap to the new plug. I've seen countless loose drain plugs on vehicles back in for an oil change, even several that were almost out, so it's feasible that an improperly tightened drain plug could last 4 months. All Rights Reserved. You need AAA. So YOU never visibly seen the oil drain plug missing before the vehicle went there. Option 1: Use a Rubber Plug as a Temporary Repair. Place a catch pan under the oil pan, near the drain plug. But a loose drain plug didnt cause that. They’re a temporary fix. If you are in a tight spot and you don't have time to repair the threads in the oil pan, you could install an rubber drain plug for the oil pan. I received a call from the dealer today that the issue, they think, was a loose oil drain plug and that I was down 2 quarts (after adding 1.5 since last oil change only a month ago). How to calculate charge analysis for a molecule. I m going through the exact same case right now with my 2013 Honda Civic. Damaged threads on a drain plug or leaving one improperly tightened does not have a set rule on how long it takes to fall out. It was a PITA to remove...had to use a freakin breaker bar to get it loose. The Oil Drain Plug At the base of the oil pan is a drain plug, accessible from the underside of your car. A plastic drain pan with a brass plug seat and a aluminum plug. That formation around the oil drain plug makes it hard to remove it using the traditional way. The rubber plug is used as a temporary fix, and it's not meant to be a permanent fix. With a number of short journeys, the oil wouldn't have gotten warm enough to heat the metal plug and make it pop out. My last oil change was 7 months ago and I ve driven 2200 miles since. Better be safe than sorry, a quick loss of oil through your drain plug … Never count on a rubber plug for the long term. ... Metal plate for the drain plug that's spot welded inside pan has broken loose... Got to come off for repair or replacement. What are they going to do, perform forensic analysis on my drain plug to see whose wrench last left tool marks on it? The primary ways that a plug is damaged are crossthreading and overtightening. 3 years ago. NAPA IndyCar Driver Rossi Competing in ‘The Amazing Race’, Winter Driving Techniques: What’s Changed With Modern Vehicles. shops inspected and said whole engine needs repalced), and I'm just left wondering if it's even worth fighting in small claims court. 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