Oil pan woes - requesting unbiased opinions!

I have oil changes done by a mechanic I've trusted for 5+ years. Late last year he told me there was an issue with the oil pan and I needed to replace it. Unfortunately, it's proven impossible to find one that fits. Hoping to find another solution, I asked him specifically what was wrong with it; he said: "The drain plug has damaged threads."

I asked him how and he replied: "The threads of the drain plugs can be damaged at any time. There is no specific reason why they could be damaged. Removing and installing the same plug and for so many years, it is normal for the threads to become damaged one day."

I talked with a few mechanic friends about this and they said this doesn't happen (and suspect someone incorrectly threaded the plug and forced it). That said, I'm handy, but no mechanic; and my mechanic friends *are* friends, so I'm curious if this "sudden failure" of oil plug threads is an actual thing others have experienced?

fwiw, the truck has received regular oil changes 3-4 times a year (so, 100ish times) without issue.

I appreciate your thoughts!

 

30 year old truck has gotten… 90-120 oil changes? Every time the plug is tightened it puts stress on the threads, which there aren’t really a whole lot of. I would think that this is something that could happen over time, especially if your mechanic puts a little too much muscle into it.

 

Someone mis threaded the drain plug. Threads don't just fail.

 

Shouldn't happen. Torque specs exist for a reason.

 

Drill and tap it up one hole size...I do at least 1 a week

 

Yeah, they do not wear out. But, shit happens. Might be best to just remove the factory pan. Drill out the old plug and weld in a new bung. Maybe pickup a super cheap torque wrench and gift that to your mechanic friend when you pay for it and tell him those keep those threads from wearing out.

 

Or this. Probably a better option. LOL...

 

This is actually the plan at this point, but I don't have the skills to do it myself. In looking for someone who can, would you be comfortable giving me what you consider a reasonable price range for the work? Feel free to DM if you prefer. And thank you!

 

Haha! I like the way you think! To be clear, the thread-ruiner in question is my professional mechanic, sigh
Appreciate the tips on a fix, too!

 

I would have thought he would have suggested drilling and tapping it. The cost of the material to do it is only a few dollars. It is the labor everyone charges now. I would say expect to pay for 1 hour of labor and probably $50 in shop fees and supplies though they will only actually cost $5.
The main thing when doing this is to make sure you get all the shavings out of the pan. It can be done, several tricks to do this but does the person at the shop care. Why I suggested removing the oil pan to do it. It is not hard to do yourself if you have the time and a place to do it.

 

Sure..I have a Time sert kit for Honda's.but I dont use the the Inserts on those repairs.Just use a Drain plug that fits the Tap.
I think its like 50.00 here to do it..thats drain plug,washer,and drill and tap.

 

1. Maybe he did? His estimate was to "rethread oil pan plug" (I'm guessing that's what he meant?) and doing that, with new oil, is going to cost $650 (which seems insanely high to me -- especially for something his shop likely did).

 

After 30 years of oil changes, it's quite possible the threads have been torqued to the point they are about to strip.
You can install a piggy-back plug, which is not pretty and I'm sure there will be some opinions why this is a bad idea. The alternative is to find a new (USED) oil pan and pay for that and the install, assuming it has good threads. Or never change the oil again and just send it.
I have used the piggy-back plug before and it worked just fine for over a decade until the vehicle was sold. The threads were so buggered up, I had to weld it in.
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...nhHIBEJ4OJKd9XRRYJP5GkcflF99Vt2xoCac4QAvD_BwE
Google says there is no shortage of new pans. What is special about your 3.4 V6?
https://www.google.com/search?q=96+...EwNTQwajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

Thank you for the information, I appreciate it.

The issue I've had in getting a new/new-to-me-pan is that my truck is a V6 3.4L 2WD -- all of the pans I've found are for the 4WD. I found a dozens of those on eBay and reach out to the sellers directly, but no one has a pan that will fit in the space on my truck (as I've been told). I contacted Toyota and they discontinued the OEM part years ago.

At this point, though, I think I need to find a new mechanic and either get confirmation of why the other pans won't work or get a fix for this one.

 

That was his "I do not want to do this price". Though, it is hard to get out of any shop for less than $500 now.

 

A lot of the old stamped pans do not leave a lot of meat to drill and tap. I suspect you can. Worst case is removing the pan. In that case your options are to drill and weld in a new bung. If you are paying someone it is normally cheaper to have a new pan so they can just remove and install. That way you do not have to pay for the fab work. To drill and tap on the truck you just drain the oil. Pack a little grease inside the pan to collect the shavings, drill, tap. Use a pick to pull the grease out. Run a magnet around inside and flush the used oil back though it.

 

It's prolly the oil pickup tube location, although that can be changed too with the new pan.
I have no experience with the 2wd, but it's just a pan.
Pull the pan, 2wd is super easy, prolly needs a new gasket anyway, and have a friend weld in a new drain bung and motor on.

Edit: there are a lot of good ideas being tossed around in here, any one of them would work.

 

Fumoto valve with a generous helping of marine tex epoxy holding it in. I think that about covers all your options. LOL...

 

Agree! I am always impressed with the help I get in this forum - can't thank everyone enough!

 

https://www.partsgeek.com/y28gjlb-t...html?msockid=1902ba9e6c96619221dbaffb6de360f8