Weird drain plug - what to do?

[deprivation]

I went to change the oil on my new (old) '86 Westy today and saw that the PO had put a weird drain plug in. The size of the head makes it impossible to get a socket over the bolt.

Too shallow to get a box or open wrench in.

How else can I drain the oil? God only knows how old the stuff in that crankcase is. Also, how the hell am I going to get that plug out?

I hope the pics come out.

THANKS!!!!!
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1986 Westy 2WD auto a.k.a. "The Old Girl"
www.kittenfart.com

[jmfoust]

Try a 12 point socket. Get a really cheap, and I mean cheap socket. Sometimes the crappy tools are thinner walled and will work. I've had to do this with some stuff in the past. Call P.O. to see what he was using, maybe he'll include the tool.

[McVanagon]

God, do I dare suggest....

- Needle nose vice grips?
- Drill and EZ out?


My next suggestion might be helicoil, but we'll wait until your next post......

~Mike

[deprivation]

The needle-nose vice-grips idea intrigued me mostly becuase it involved something I already have. I modified your idea by filing ridges into the business end of a cheap crescent wrench - just enough to get me a little bite into the bolt.

And what do you know? Ancient, stinky oil everywhere!

Next up, some 20/50 synthetic. Mmmmm...synthetic....

THANKS!!!!!!!!
_________________
1986 Westy 2WD auto a.k.a. "The Old Girl"
www.kittenfart.com

[ChesterKV]

Good job and synthetic 20w-50 oil is the SHIZZLEPHAT
_________________
1984 Wolfsburg 7-passenger stock sunroof
1992 Subaru Legacy EJ22 boxer motor installed.... van is now sold.... currently playing with a 1987 Toyota MR2 with 1.6 liter twin-cam motor. Better than the Subaru boxers....... I'm impressed. Well, okay, in an "apples and oranges" kind of way.

[deprivation]

[McVanagon]

Is that bolt you pulled out a self-tapper?

[?Waldo?]

Use an extra copper washer on the way back in "for next time".

Andrew

[deprivation]

[tencentlife]

Whoever installed it made it into a self-tapper, by filing grooves into the first few threads. That's an old trick to make a thread chaser, but you usually use a fresh bolt for the final install.

For thin walled sockets, either get the cheapest tools, which will break, or the most expensive. Snap-on sockets have extra thin walls to fit into those tight places, but somehow they almost never break. There is something to those high prices and lifetime guarantee: exceptional metallurgy.

[ratfarmer_vw]

When I was looking for a Vanagon to buy I looked at one that the owner had made as he called it........"improvements."

The one thing that stands out as actually being a "good improvement" was his oil drain plug.

He took a nut just a little smaller than the oil plug and then welded it right to the plug.

[Yellow Rabbit]

That's an oversized thread cutting plug. The last guy probably stripped the threads in the motor. They work fine to solve the problem. Mine's been like that for two years without any issues. The new hole made by this style plug is still smaller than the hole required for a Timesert, so if there is a problem you can still fix it the right way. That was my plan, but like I said I've had no problems with the oversized plug.

[bucko]

That plug looks like the replacement "slightly oversized" ones sold by NAPA.

I almost went that route when I had a small drip from my oil drain plug. I did not want to overtighten it and strip it's seat, so I thought an oversized was needed, thinking a previous owner had stripped the seat out. However, it ended up being that the previous owner(s) forgot (perhaps they were too cheap) to install a copper washer.

Why not replace that oversized head oil drain plug with a correct "stock" one? I see everyone is talking about modifying a tool to remove it, but now that it's out, get the right one to re-install.
_________________
Current VW drives: 1984 Westfalia

Past VW drives: 1967 Beetle, 1973 Beetle, 1977 Bus, 1971 Military Type 181

[Terry Kay]

<<That plug looks like the replacement "slightly oversized" ones sold by NAPA.>>

<<Why not replace that oversized head oil drain plug with a correct "stock" one?>>

No Can do Kevin.

Once the drain hole has gone oversized, It'd be tough to back to the stock diameter plug.
It is an oversized plug ---The OS stamped on the top of it is the indicator.

Personally I'd rather go with a first sized over plug than use a heli coil, or any thread replacement .

It's more positive, and won't work loose--

It"s a better deal in the drain plug hole.

What happend here is somebody chose a oversized plug with too big of a head--that's all.
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T.K.

[j_dirge]

[Terry Kay]

<<I have been using 10-30 for over a year now. Air temps seldom over 70... usually in the low 60s.>>

Well there ya go---

Every owner's manual, tech book, VW publication I've ever seen suggests using 15/50, 20/50 at temps above 50 degree's.

You must be preparing for a trip up north to share the ride with the ice road trucker's, where that 10/30 will be a better oil selection for your engine.

10/30 is way too light an oil.
_________________
T.K.

[tclark]

[tencentlife]

Me too. I've gone back to plastic and nylon ones, and they seal, with less torque needed on the plug. With copper ones, there's always a drip.
_________________
Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/

Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.

[Perales]

The ones I have been using seem to be aluminum. They seriously get crushed at the recommended torque but don't seem to leak. I like the idea of nylon with less torque. Where do you get them?
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-- 1987 Westfalia automatic (Captain Vino)

[tclark]