Joined
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19 Posts
I was changing my oil for the spring. Unscrewed the first screen bolt, no problem. Unscrewed the second...wouldn’t move. Like an ignorant noob, I didn’t stop. Instead, I grabbed a bigger wrench and got it out...along with 2 threads worth of aluminum from the oil pan. Should have stopped, refilled the bit of oil and warmed the engine all the way up. Instead I got impatient and aggravated.
I decided to just replace the oil pan rather than Helicoil the threads. I really didn’t want to risk thinning the pan and winding up with a crack around the coil. After I replaced all of it, I’m pretty sure there is more the enough metal there to have done the Helicoil repair. All is good, but don’t be like me.
1. Make sure you don’t over torque any of those bolts...Ever. Even if you don’t over torque, the soft threads can still gall.
2. Get the engine fully warm, like operating temp before you remove the bolts.
3. If things don’t move with relatively light torque, STOP! Heat is most likely your friend...DON’T grab the big wrench for anything on these engines :wink:
4. I used a little anti-seize this time around and likely now on. I hate galled threads.
Side note. If you ever pull the oil pan off, there are 2 screws in the center of the bottom for the pressure plate area. If you have middle aged eyes like me, your dumb ass won’t see them while you’re lying on the ground up close, until you’ve tapped on the pan for 20 minutes with a wooden mallet and it doesn’t drop off.
I decided to just replace the oil pan rather than Helicoil the threads. I really didn’t want to risk thinning the pan and winding up with a crack around the coil. After I replaced all of it, I’m pretty sure there is more the enough metal there to have done the Helicoil repair. All is good, but don’t be like me.
1. Make sure you don’t over torque any of those bolts...Ever. Even if you don’t over torque, the soft threads can still gall.
2. Get the engine fully warm, like operating temp before you remove the bolts.
3. If things don’t move with relatively light torque, STOP! Heat is most likely your friend...DON’T grab the big wrench for anything on these engines :wink:
4. I used a little anti-seize this time around and likely now on. I hate galled threads.
Side note. If you ever pull the oil pan off, there are 2 screws in the center of the bottom for the pressure plate area. If you have middle aged eyes like me, your dumb ass won’t see them while you’re lying on the ground up close, until you’ve tapped on the pan for 20 minutes with a wooden mallet and it doesn’t drop off.