Can't get oil pan drain bolt off

Last service was dealership, the 20K service, I am trying to get it off with 30ft and its not coming off, scared to ruin the threads on it.. I assume it was over tightened or something

Any ideas? before i go pneumatic

 

I’d either take it to them and and tell the service mgr about it, might get a free change and I’d bet it won’t be over tight again….or…..go get a new one from the dealer making sure to tell them why and why they will never see your truck again, then impact away and hope the threads are still there after.

the pan is steel, so better having to do it that way on the pan than anything else which is mostly aluminum.

I don’t get why this is done. Spec is 30 ft-lb…. using a torque wrench, one will find that is nothing. The washer is really doing the work.

 

Don't understand what you mean by "I am trying to get it off with 30ft"
You shouldn't be using a torque wrench to undo a bolt.
Use a 1/2" drive wrench or if necessary use a long breaker bar. A 2,3 or 4 ft. tube or pipe over a ratchet wrench to give more length and leverage works too.

 

Even when torqued properly at change time, the bolt can become difficult to remove. I would suggest eating your spinach and you should be fine.

 

I'm not sure it's possible to strip a thread while removing a bolt UNLESS YOU ARE TURNING IT THE WRONG DIRECTION.

I've stripped plenty of threads in my mis-spent youth, but always during the tightening phase...never while loosening.

 

Sometimes you can try to see if you can tighten it any.....at least it breaks the bolt free.
or tap on the head with a blunt object.

To the torque wrench comment....
I'm not sure why torque wrenches go in reverse considering I've always been told NEVER use it to loosen bolts.

 

Torque wrenches are to be used for measuring and setting torque on a bolt or nut.
There are plenty of other types of wrenches for doing regular actual work.

 

Wrench on, one sharp hit with your palm, loose….Ive never had to do anything beyond that to get the bolt off with it torqued to 30 ft-lb.

The crush washer is doing the work, absolutely no need for anything more than that. Never had a leak.

 

For the rare occasion when tightening a left hand threaded nut or bolt, I suppose

 

I wouldnt tighten it anymore...just make sure the ratchet is set to loosen, tap ratchet with a hammer.

 

Are turning the drain plug the right way? Counter clockwise, 14mm 6 point socket, on 3/8 drive rachet?

 

Ok i was able to get it off, the oil filter housing was also tight, but got it off. Rain started and I think few drops got in the engine fill when I was pouring oil, hopefully no issues just few drops

 

Thankfully engine oil is designed to handle small amounts of moisture. Its fine.

 

Careful with the drain bolt washer. Amazon’s OEM blue version let the drain bolt loosen two changes ago. It was only finger tight but no seepage. Had to run to the dealer in my wifey’s car to get a handful of legit washers.

 

^^ For sure.
I also learned my lesson trusting the OEM washers on Amazon. My didn't come fully loose, but it was obvious that the washers were inferior aftermarket. The adhesive holding on the blue felt oozed out and the drain bolt was barely snug. I've decided to just use plain aluminum washers on everything now so that I don't have to worry about that anymore. Not really sure what the point of the blue felt is anyways... Toyota is the only one I've seen with it.

 

Well actually that's the one I used.. one from AMZ that's blue. I got filters from dealership but not washers. I will watch and see if it comes loose

 

This is where the beauty of the fumoto valve comes in. Never remove your drain plug again.

 

I just have a bag of aluminum crush washers and swap them out every couple of oil changes, never any issue.
WTF is up w/ toyota and their 14 mm bolt heads, everything I've ever owned was 10/13/15/21 and I am constantly holding the wrong wrench when it comes to working on this truck.
Best oil change tool I have is my flex head long handle craftsman 3/8 ratchet.

 

Last time I was near the dealer I bought 4 OEM oil filters and while I was there I got 8 drain plug washers. Hell, they were only $1.15 each. My next oil change will be the last with OEM Toyota oil then I’ll switch to, ummmm, not sure yet. Maybe Mobil 1 or Castrol ( yeah I know Toyota oil is Mobil 1 ). Additionally I don’t trust scamazon for so called OEM products.

 

Agreed. Definitely worthwhile!