alright, i just bought a 91z, and i was going to do an oil change yesterday. i decided to use some of that engine cleaner that you add to your crankcase. well i put it in and let it run, then i jacked the car up to change the oil and some MORON that had the car before me screwed up the oil drain plug. its stripped to a circle and it looks like someone welded it to the pan. it wont come out. its a 305 and ill be doing an engine swap in a little less than a year. it just has to make it till then, but should i drill my own hole and put in a self tapping plug? i dont have the time or money to put in a new oil pan. dont have 6-8 hours to put a new one on, and i dont really want to pull that 305 and put it back in. what should i do??

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beau-t-ful yellow 85 iroc

 

drill a new hole.

 

If you drill a new hole, I don't think a plug will stay in it due to the fact that the pan around the plug has a thread insert for the plug to go into, the rest of the pan is just sheet metal. Really thin stuff. Its really tough to get set of threads to "take" in stuff that thin.

You might get lucky, are you sure its welded??

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

R.I.P. #3
My favorite quote about D.E. "He can see air"

 

he has no other choice besides pulling the pan.
he could use J-B weld, or a MIG.

 

True, true.

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

R.I.P. #3
My favorite quote about D.E. "He can see air"

 

so if i drill a new hole and get one of the oversize self-tapping plugs you dont think itll hold?? what about an insert with threads?? i need my car, so i need to get this taken care of soon. thanks for the replies so far.

 

Grind off the welded plug and excess weld bead. Remove the stripped plug, and replace it with an oversized drain plug, available at most decent parts houses.

I've replaced several stripped plugs, but havent seen one that's welded in place. Whoever did that must have taken the "no maintenance" theory a little too far.

I would advise grinding the plug with the pan full of oil to prevent overheating and annealing the sheet metal any more than necessary - don't try to pump/drain the oil first.

If you have a heavy grinder, the whole thing shouldn't take more than 30 minutes.

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Later,
Vader
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"I'm'a do Things My Way - It's My way or the Highway."
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what should i use to get it out after i grind it off??

 

Pat,

Once the weld is ground away, you can try to turn the bolt out. If that doesn't work, center punch the bolt head, drill a pilot hole, and let the oil drain out. When the oil has stopped, drill a hole for a 1/2-20 tap (21/64", I believe) and tap for a new drain plug.

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Later,
Vader
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"I'm'a do Things My Way - It's My way or the Highway."
Adobe Acrobat Reader