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Oil plug head stripped off
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Thebeas
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 11:13 am    Post subject: Oil plug head stripped off Reply with quote

I've seen multiple threads about threads on the plug being stripped out but I can't find one on my issue. I can't get my socket to grab.

Is this another one of those left handed drill bit fixes I have never had luck with???

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Otherwise things have gone great recently...just got my tune up kit from gowesty and this was the last step for me Sad
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djkeev
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 11:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh Boy!

This ones easy!

These stripped hex removal sockets are Da Bomb!

The more you pull, the tighter they dig in!

Sears, snap on, almost any decent tool store in various sizes.

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Heres mine, not industrial, a mix of Craftsman and Irwin but they work! Rarely used but insurance in the tool box!
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Dave
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Last edited by djkeev on Sat Mar 21, 2015 12:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Thebeas
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 11:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was hoping for an easy solution...you da man!

Thanks
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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 12:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can probably get it out with the tool shown above. You could try beating on a six point socket and that might do the job as well. If neither of the above work you can get someone to weld a nut onto the plug and it will probably almost spin out on its own.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 21, 2015 12:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sometimes these odd little Universal Sockets will pull you out of the Occasional tough spot as well......


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Thebeas
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And then when you get the socket kit and it still continues to just strip??? This is frustrating

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Wildthings
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have you tried Visegrips yet? You might take a sacrificial 10" curved jawed set and grind the jaws off at a bit at an° angle and do any other grinding as necessary to get the jaws a nice full bite on the plug. Waste out a real Visegrip set, most junk off brand sets aren't up to biting hard and holding on at a weird angle. An old tattered set of real vise grips shouldn't cost you much and once worked over a bit may serve you well in the future on other projects.

That neighbor down the street with the welder is probably just dying to help you out and tell you his VW stories.
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IdahoDoug
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's an old fashioned way, but I have also had good luck with a cold chisel and hammer. A couple hits break it loose and then you are off to the races. Yours is getting so distorted with loss of metal you may be ready to pound on a 6 point socket that is one size smaller. Often there is an SAE size (vs metric you are using) that is smaller and between the correct size metric you have and the next size down metric. Note you are also perfectly positioned for a trick I used once on a vehicle to use a floor jack to keep the socket from popping off. Use a breaker bar with the socket, and a small piece of wood under the breaker bar, and a floor jack to lift up and hold the socket on. Put a good bit of pressure upwards (maybe 100lbs) and turn - pop!
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Mulcheese
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 9:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Been there once before. Many years ago when I got the van I went to do the first oil change and bam. I was in your shoes and more. The more is I tried the multiple size scoket technique. Hammered on many different ones until it was round. Then out came the vise grip. You can imagine how that turned out. I then tried to cut, with a dremel, some sides to have a tool grab onto but that also didnt work. Soon there was little remaining of the original head. I figured what the hell. Nothing to lose now. I knew it was going to be drilled out at some point so I tried an easy-out.
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-10-pc-screw-extract...Redirect=y

I made sure that the head was as flat as possible. Yours seems still fairly good. Mine was much more mangled. Located the center as best I could. As close to center is key so that the easyout has enough material to grab on to. Tapped a hole correct for the easy out. Threaded it in with an adjustable wrench and damn. It came lose. Out it goes and upo to the parts store for a new plug and in it goes. You may end up pulling the threads out if it is that tight, then again maybe not. Go easy so the easy out starts to bore in to the bolt.


These are a must to have in the shop. Time to buy a new tool.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 10:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Never tried this so perhaps file it under 'straws, Grasping at' but...

I would be tempted to cut a slot with a Dremel that would accept a flat-blade screwdriver. Then use a screwdriver bit (a big one) in a ratchet wrench.

Harbor Freight sell a handy set of bits and adaptors:

http://www.harborfreight.com/100-pc-security-bit-set-with-case-68457.html
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djkeev
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 10:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ahwahnee wrote:
Never tried this so perhaps file it under 'straws, Grasping at' but...

I would be tempted to cut a slot with a Dremel that would accept a flat-blade screwdriver. Then use a screwdriver bit (a big one) in a ratchet wrench.

Harbor Freight sell a handy set of bits and adaptors:

http://www.harborfreight.com/100-pc-security-bit-set-with-case-68457.html


Not a bad idea ^^^^^ but........

Before you try a slot, drill a pilot hole into the bolt first.
Once you cut a slot, any hopes of drilling a hole in the center are pretty much gone!

If you do use easy outs..... They break easy..... Easier than you think and once broken off in the hole, they are a bugger to get out.

If you have a welder, weld a nut onto the buggered bolt head.

That thing must have been put in by some dime store oil jockey who wasn't going to have a come back for a loose drain bolt on his watch!

The chisel / center punch and hammer method does often work, an easy first try. The impact jars the tight threads which helps the head to turn.

Sometimes the easiest things are so difficult!

Dave
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Thebeas
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 11:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was just laying under the van and had the same dremel idea. I think i might got that route here in a bit.

I don't have a welder, nor do i know anyone that does. I wish I had a gear head buddy, but you guys are my best option.

I've never had luck with the easy outs....they break every single time.

I guess since the van is perfectly drivable I may just find a mechanic tomorrow before i do any real damage.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 11:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thebeas wrote:
...I've never had luck with the easy outs....they break every single time...


Me too. I had a stud broken off in an iron manifold. The shop I called said they'd take it out for 20 bucks -- IF I hadn't messed with it. If I broke an EZOut in there then it would cost whatever it would cost ($$$).
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 12:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can use a pretty large easyout on a drain plug, pretty minimal chance of breaking one that large. Also if you find the center well you can use progressively larger bits until you drill the head off the plug. Once the head is gone assuming the threads are good the plug will screw out with little force.

Multiple methods can be used at the same time if you have a buddy to help. Drill and start the easyout in and then while applying moderate force have your buddy use a chisel to help jar the plug loose.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 1:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wildthings wrote:
Have you tried Visegrips yet?


this would be my approach... get a firm bite, easier said than done perhaps. then use another pair of visegrips on the first pair so you have a bit of leverage and are less likely to twist the first pair off.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 3:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

atomatom wrote:
Wildthings wrote:
Have you tried Visegrips yet?


this would be my approach... get a firm bite, easier said than done perhaps. then use another pair of visegrips on the first pair so you have a bit of leverage and are less likely to twist the first pair off.


If you have a Demel, cut two flats opposite each other so the Vise Grips have something firm to grasp.......

Dave
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rubbachicken
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 3:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

how on earth did that get tight enough to do that, 22ftlbs i thought was what it should be
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 6:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know you're getting a million pieces of advice, but I urge you to try the jack trick. The reason the socket slips is because it is ramping itself up and away from the bolt - it's not tearing the points off the bolt, or distorting the bolt. So if you keep the socket from being able to ramp itself up off the bolt, it will provide normal twisting forces. If you don't have a jack, simply get stuff under it that holds the wrench up, then load a bunch of stuff in the van and it will work fine. Or let air out of the tires, or have a couple neighbors sit on the cargo sill, etc.

Its got to be the fastest of all the suggested methods.....
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 6:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you don't have one already, I'd get a replacement plug before you take that one out. If it were me, I'd take the van to a welding shop and have a nut welded on.
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 7:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's a really good point!
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