Help With Oil Pan Drain Bolt

Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Ford SportTrac Forum

Help Support Ford SportTrac Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
M

Memphis Gus

Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2019
Messages
19
Reaction score
4
Location
Memphis, TN
Folks I need some help removing the engine oil drain plug from my 2007 Sport Trax V8 4X4.

I recently purchases this truck and noticed it was leaking a tiny bit of oil from drain bolt. Looks like the person that did the last oil chain did not put the gasket on.

I went to change the oil and the drain bolt was very hard to get moving. When I finally got it going it moved out a bit then just started spinning like maybe it was cross threaded.

Talked to a couple of local shops and they said if it is cross threaded the oil pain would have to be replaced, because its steal they would not tap it. Because its a V8 its a big job. Need to remove a lot of the front drive train to get to the oil pain out.

Has anyone run across this issue?
Any suggestion on how to get the bolt out?
Has anyone had to replace the oil pan? Is it a big job, how much did the labor cost.
Can you tap the treads?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated!!

Thanks - Gus
 
Try vise grips. Pull out ward as you turn it. It might catch the threads. If it does it will still be hard to turn.
You can buy replacement plugs. That are larger or different thread. They are designed to re-tap the threads. As you screw it in.
 
They make oversized drain plugs and taps. Like Eddie said, you need to pull or use a fork and pry outward on the bolt and you remove it.
You "Might" get lucky and be able to re tap with the right 14mm tap, OR if you can clean the threads up, put in a oil drain valve with silicone as a back up and run that in there.

I have also seen shops weld on bungs and do other creative things to save the pan from being removed.
 
EddieS'04 said:
Try vise grips. Pull out ward as you turn it. It might catch the threads. If it does it will still be hard to turn.
You can buy replacement plugs. That are larger or different thread. They are designed to re-tap the threads. As you screw it in.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice.
I ordered a new factory plug just in case its the bolt threads and not the pan thread.
Should be here tomorrow.
I will try to use combination of vice grips and pry to remove this weekend and give an update on how it goes.
Any suggestions on where to look for the re-tapping replacement plugs? What to put in the search?
 
Like Todd suggested, try to apply pressure to the backside of the bolt head by using a screwdriver or curved metal lever against the pan.Then the good bolt threads may begin to engage enough to get started. Take your time, apply a good deal of pressure and give it a shot.
Vise Grips may be too big and clumsy to get a good feel for the initial, worn good threads to engage (light hand on to wrench, strong hand on the lever). I never had good luck pulling back with pliars, etc. to engage stripped threads, but have been somewhat successful using a lever. If an impact was used to install the bolt you may be out of luck.
The only way I would reuse that pan is if it could be successfully retapped.
 
Last edited:
If a screwdriver isn't thick enough to wedge, wrap some tape around the tip. Enough to create some tension while wedging the screwdriver and.. Best of luck.
A stripped bolt, especially an oil pan bolt, is very frustating, often somebody elses mistake and does not make for good weekend entertainment.
 
and on the V8 there is about 3 inches of room to work... it sucks !!! remove the splash cup to help...
 
Many thanks to EddieS'04, Toddz, & Artie for their tips.
I was able to get the old, thread stripped drain bolt out and replace with new OME bolt/gasket.
I started with vice grips pulling/turning the bolt out far enough to get a screwdriver behind it.
Then worked it out with a hand wrench and pressure from screwdriver.
It was slow going with oil poring out the entire time but I got it out.
You can see in the pic the treads at the top of the bolt are all gone.
I threaded the new bolt/gasket 98% of the way in by hand, last 1/4 turn with a socket.
New bolt went in smooth, no damage to oil pan threads, no leaks.
I dogged a bullet because new V8 oil pain is $198, and best quote I got was 5 hour labor to replace.
 

Attachments

  • DamagedEngineOilPlug.JPG
    DamagedEngineOilPlug.JPG
    29.6 KB · Views: 109
Glad you got it..... I still would have installed a drain valve and you never would have to worry...… But hope its good for a while !
 
Good to hear it. I'm just now getting back to you. Had to restore my computer.
It really sux. When your sys back up don't work. Then when paid AV/Firewall program wont load.
The reps at the chat room don't know what they are doing. Took 3 days before a specialist stepped in, for the fix.
 
Memphis Gus said:
Folks I need some help removing the engine oil drain plug from my 2007 Sport Trax V8 4X4.

I recently purchases this truck and noticed it was leaking a tiny bit of oil from drain bolt. Looks like the person that did the last oil chain did not put the gasket on.

I went to change the oil and the drain bolt was very hard to get moving. When I finally got it going it moved out a bit then just started spinning like maybe it was cross threaded.

Talked to a couple of local shops and they said if it is cross threaded the oil pain would have to be replaced, because its steal they would not tap it. Because its a V8 its a big job. Need to remove a lot of the front drive train to get to the oil pain out.

Has anyone run across this issue?
Any suggestion on how to get the bolt out?
Has anyone had to replace the oil pan? Is it a big job, how much did the labor cost.
Can you tap the treads?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated!!

Thanks - Gus
Click to expand...
I visited a small town in Oregon and all they had was a Walmart for oil changes. I was due and had them do it, thing what could they scew up?
When I got back to California and months later, it was time for a another oil change. Itook it to dealership for the change, the dealership called me and said my oil drain plug was stripped. All I could think of was $$$ to replace the oil pan.
I asked what could be done and they said they had a plug that was specifically for that problem.
Not sure if it was them or Walmart but rhe drain plug the put in is fine and never leaked, not a problem with it and 50 oil changes later.
Sorry for the long story, but I see what your going through. You may want to try the dealer for that kind of replacement plug. Back then it was cheap, like 7 dollars. Hope that helps and can be an easy fix...
 
Speaking of Fumoto valves, I was given a brand new one the other day for my F-150.
 
I have the fumoto valve. K&N filter, makes it easy to remove with the nut. I have an old screw driver ground to a point, to poke a hole and drain the filter.
No mess's and I know the job is done right. In less time, than waiting on the garage.
 

Latest posts

Top