any help would be nice

[Bulldozer]

my wifes 97 neon oil drain plug came out today she lost all her oil but the motor is fine it only hapend as she was puling into my driveway i got a new plug for it just to find out the hole in the oil pan is strip do i have to pull the motor to change the pan or is ther anyway i can quik fix this whitout taking the pan off?

[Tri-Z Pilot]

my wifes 97 neon oil drain plug came out today she lost all her oil but the motor is fine it only hapend as she was puling into my driveway i got a new plug for it just to find out the hole in the oil pan is strip do i have to pull the motor to change the pan or is ther anyway i can quik fix this whitout taking the pan off?

You might be able to clean the threads with a tap set or thread chaser, but if that doesnt work you can tap up to the next size but you have to get that size plug then. The downfall is you will have metal shavings in the bottom of the pan, you'll prob have to flush the pan a couple of times (without running the motor), and I would also get a magnetic drain plug. To be 100% safe though I would rmove the pan to do it, but I bet there is a crossmember or something in the way, I know those neons are pretty cramped. Hope this helps somewhat.

[Bulldozer]

the oil pan is aluminum so the magnet isnt gonna do much but if i put the next size up will it work on aluminum? will i have alot of metal shavings ?

[1985ATC250R#155]

You might try a Heli-coil thread repair kit if thread chasing doesnt work. If you end up with alot of metal shavings leave the plug out and pour a quart of oil in the engine. That should flush some of the shavings out.

[SYKO]

goto napa, they have a oil pan plug its an high temp expandable rubber plug, stick it in and tighten the bolt on it, it sounds like it would suck but I know people who have had them for years in there pans, this is mainly a temporay deal untill you can safely have it fixed correctly.

[Bulldozer]

i dont care much about the car we only use it to beat around the city for the winter i dont wanna put big money into it i like the rubber plug idea im going to look into it tomorow thnx for that info would jb weld or something like that stick to it good if i just put a bolt in the hole and glub that stuff on top of it to plug the hole so i can just seal it tilll summer time i have a parts car but its under like 4 feet of snow

[SYKO]

that plug should work untill summer for you, I wouldnt worry about it.

[PaTriker]

I have used a pipe tap and a plug. It worked great. You just have to find the tap with the drill that is closest.

[blue27]

Helicoil is the correct way. If you drill it to put in a helicoil or to retap to the next size , totally cover the drill bit with grease it it will catch most of the shavings.

[smokinwrench]

Goto a good auto parts store you know the one with the good ole boy that has been a parts man for 40 years.

Ask for a oil pan repair plug. It is a self tapping plug that will fix all of your probelems perfectly. Make sure you take the seal off before you start tapping the hole.

[firehart]

After you put in a new plug, just park the car on a piece of cardboard to check for leaks. If it doesn't leak too much, just keep the oil full and drive it.

[Erics350x]

They carry self tapping oversized plugs at all autoparts stores. Don't use a rubber plug, they leak like hell.
I ran a tire and lube shop for years and that was the best and cheapest fix we found.

[Dirtcrasher]

There are a few magnetic self tapping plugs out there. NAPA has them and other parts stores have the "HELP!" section which also has them.

If you do buy a tap and or helicoil it, just coat the heck out of the tap with grease and it grabs most of the chips. Then I spray carb cleaner in the hole and it drains out the rest. Thats the BEST fix.

I worked at "ACE quick oil change" for 2 years. At least a couple cars a day would come in with those rubber plugs. In our case, most of them worked very well and didn't leak. It is a quick easy fix and cheap. Try it out and just keep an eye on it.

[Bulldozer]

thnx guys for all your help i got the self taping oversize plug 20$ for this bolt its not cheap but seems to work atleast its not leaking i used my shop vac with a small funnel tape to the pipe stuck it in the hole to suck wtv shaving was in ther and gave it a good flush i hope i got it all