Quote:
Originally Posted by SlumsToMills
Thanks for this post! Mine had same issue today:
Did an oil change today on my used 2013 335i that I just bought last week. Drained everything out fine and then went to go put back the drain plug.
I even made sure I put it in straight and hand screwed it in slowly.. Then finally when it got tight, I used a torque wrench set for 18.4 ft/lb. Kept torqueing but it never got tight and just kept spinning... then I tried to pull it back out, it kept spinning too and stuck.
welp... looks like its stripped. Took some vice grips to spin the drain plug and pull down but it would not come down. After about an hour of trying that I just gave up and fill up oil to see if anything would leak.
Turned on the car and let it run for 10-20 minutes to cycle oil and create pressure. NO leaks! I will keep monitoring everyday as I drive.
At some point I have to do something about the bolt so I may try this technique you posted, although seems kind of scary if somehow metal shavings get cycled through the engine from the tap process.
Currently, I am stuck still trying to figure out how to get the bolt thats stuck though  |
Sorry this also happened to you I know how frustrating it is. I would definitely try and get that stripped drain plug out again. You don't want to have your oil start to spew out on your engine undercarriage cover, believe me it's a horrible mess that took a gallon of degreaser, my pressure washer and several hours to clean up, because of the idiots that serviced the vehicle before me. You might have to buy a new set of vice grips to get the job done, just make sure they are not the needle nose type you need the original style vice grips in a large size. That's what I used to really lock it down tight on the drain bolt's head, the extra length of the larger vice grips give you enough leverage to back it out of the oil pan. Just make sure to spray the drain bolt's head with some brake cleaner and clean it with a shop towel first to remove any oil on it before locking down the vice grips. It wasn't easy it, it took enough force and around half an hour of trying and me dropping a few f bombs during the process but it possible to back it out of the oil pan. What also helped me is I had the M235i on rhino ramps which I have been using to change the oil on my vehicles for a few years now because they are convenient and it give me extra space underneath to work comfortably when changing the oil. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me, hope this helps you out a bit.