2007 2.7l oil pan removal help

hi I have a 2007 Tacoma 2.7l 4x4 with a stripped oil drain plug. I was wondering if the front diff had to be dropped to remove oil pan like the first gens. to me it looks like you can remove the three mounts and diff will drop a few inches to allow room for oil pan to be removed. just wondering if it had to be dropped or not thanks.

 

bump

 

More than likely it will have to be dropped. Plus you will need to be able to get a sander in there to clear away all the old gasket or your going to have a leak on your hands.

 

no need to use a sander, just use some lacquer thinner and razor blade.

 

I don't like razor blades because it's possible to gouge the aluminum block with one of you get impatient with it

 

Aren't there other ways to repair rather than replace the oil pan?

 

Oversized plug. Butterfly valves. Some welders can weld a new drain plug bung on the oil pan.

 

you could also heli-coil for a temporary fix

 

wont be enough to hurt anything, that's what the gasket is for.

 

True but I'm always cautious when dealing with two aluminum mating surfaces. Plus with the pan removed off the truck I can clean it out completely with the parts washer and possibly paint it.

 

Not with the pan full of oil... OP, why not just weld a nut onto the stripped plug and thread it out easy peasy. Try that first, should be wayyy easier than dropping the freaking whole pan

 

That's exactly what I said. I said have a welder weld on a new bung. Common sense dictated the pan would have to be off the truck and for it to be off the truck it would be drained.

 

As for extracting the drain plug if that's the issue just use a twist socket.

 

Yeah but why all those troubles if he just wants the stripped bolt out? Don't need a new bung for that, just tack weld a nut on the stripped bolt head and thread it out with the pan still in place

 

I believe he means the threads for the plug are stripped out, someone over tightened or cross threaded the drain plug

 

Maybe this is a miscommunication. If the theads are stripped inside the pan that's a rotten bit of luck. If the drain plug is stripped then that's easy. Get a twist socket and take the stripped plug off and replace it. If the threads in the pan are FUBAR then he has a few options
1 replace the whole pan
2 helicoil if possible (not permanent)
3 oversized plug ( not permanent)
4 butterfly valve.
5 weld in a new bung
6 leave it alone and never change the oil again ( do not reccomend)

 

word of advice... don't ever strip your BUNG

 

You mean your bungholio

 

take a nut. weld to old drainplug. remove. as for the threads either retap for current size, retap to bigger size drain plug. taking off the pan should be the absolute last resort