Another Dealer Service nightmare - stripped oil pan threads

Sure, I would like to have that pan and have my dad's friend experiment with it. I have the M13x1.25 kit from Amazon and would rethread it and take pictures to post here for everyone to see. A also have the new pan from Amazon and would like to compare it with the OEM side by side including weighing both to determine the quality of the Amazon replacement. I have found that these pans will fit inside a Priority Mail flat rate padded envelope that can be ordered at USPS.com. Please let me know, so I can send you a private message and have from my dad's friend send you $10 from his Paypal account for the cost of shipping. Thank you in advance,

I also have hardened M12x1.25 8.8 grade J.I.S. flange nuts, so if the rethreading doesn't work, I can mill out the spot welds on the pan's threaded adapter and braze on the nut in it;s place as an additional repair.

I also have special 111 Viton o-rings that require less than 10 ft. lps. of torque on the plug to seal, so you will never strip out the threads, again. I could send you ten of them even if they can be reused again and again.

 

Easy,

Coat the tap with grease to capture the cuttings. Use a magnet to catch any loose steel pieces. Run a half quart of strained old oil through the engine and have it drain through the newly tapped hole. Lastly, install a magnetic drain plug with a neodymium magnet.

Any residual pieces, if any, will be caught in the oil filter.

 

For those who have done a head gasket repair, it would be a good idea to remove the pan and clean out the residue from any head gasket sealant or other residue that failed the head gasket.

Like I said before, I wouldn't use the RTV seal, I'd use a regular gasket like this one sold on Amazon. It's even cheaper than the Toyota RTV sealant.

FEL-PRO OS 30829 Oil Pan Gasket Set

 

You can't go wrong using what Toyota says to use on their engines...

 

RTV applied by a robot is a lot cheaper than positioning a gasket, placing bolts and torquing them in.

Replacement of the oil pan has totally different logistical parameters. Waiting 3+ hours on a job that takes an hour with a physical gasket is nonsensical.

 

Well, maybe to you... Everything is easier at the factory.
You can't go wrong using what Toyota says to use on their engines...

 

Not bad, in CDN $'s for me:

 

Nothing. It would be easier not scraping off the silicone, if the oil pan and pickup needs to be cleaned especially after a head gasket change.

Check out this pan replacement video. He left a sizable quantity of that yellow gunk in the engine.

 

While I do agree that would work. Would a dealer really do that?

REVVL V+ 5G ?

 

No, a dealer will keep your car for 3-5 hours, charge you for scraping and cleaning the old gasket, for a new pan and the RTV.

I'd buy the new aftermarket pan and the gasket, change it yourself (easy access with ramps) or take it to an independent shop, which will charge you about a hour labor, and you're out the door.

The gasket and replacement pan can be had for about $40 off of Amazon. The dealer would not install anything but a genuine Toyota pan for $100-150 just for the pan.

All Toyota owners should get this temporary plug to seal the drain plug hole and change the oil pan with the next oil change. It could be used for the oil change you do or the oil change place, including the dealer if they claim that the threads are stripped and try to sell you a new installed replacement pan for $200-300.

Dsnaduo Universal Oil Drain Plug 1/2 inch Replace 65200 (Pack of 2)

 

I've been using these 111 Viton O-Ring, 75A Durometer, Round, Brown, 7/16" ID, 5/8" OD, 3/32" Width

instead of the Toyota crush washers for the past three years. I torque them to no more than 10 ft lbs. They fill the void between the welded on thread adapter and the sheet metal of the pan. The same washer has been good for six oil changes so far. Like a rubber gasket or o-ring on a hydraulic line, the seal is completely leakproof.

At 10 ft lbs instead of 27, the tension puts only 1/3 of the strain on the threads in the oil pan. That way, the threads will last longer than the car.

 

Everything that goes into my car's engine as well as coolant and stored gasoline going into my car is filtered through these cheap paint strainers that can be had cheap at either Home Depot or Harbor Freight.

TRIMACO 5-3/4 in. Cone Strainers (4-Pack) 11101 - The Home Depot


125 Micron Paint Strainers, 100 Pk.

 

If you look at the pan on the car, it's not the same as it is on the ground.

 

You cannot step into the same river twice.

 

Using my years of experience in the aerospace production and repair industry, I am now thinking that an old 1960's standard 1/2x20 fine threaded SAE drain plug with the widely available 1/2x20 fine threaded tap will allow repair of the stripped threads in the Prius Toyota M12x1.25 threads that have been stripped out.

The 20 threads per inch is very close to the metric 1.25 thread pitch. 25.4mm / 1.25 = 20.32 threads per inch, where 25.4mm = 1 inch, and the metric thread pitch of the original thread in the oil pan plug hole is 1.25 mm between the peak of each adjacent peak.

The threads of the 1/2x20 tap only increases the diameter of the threads to 12.7mm which takes only an increase of no more that .35 or approximately 1/3 of a mm off what wr69 measured as 1.5 mm thick at the wall.

This method would be a good option if you already have a 1/2x20 tap. You would only have to purchase a 1/2-20 drain plug for a nominal $4 available at any auto parts store.

If you do not already have access to a 1/2-20 tap. this set would be a better option, as the threads would be a little stronger.

Best Q M13 x 1.25MM Oil Drain Plug Tap Thread Repair Kit Oil Pan Screws Rethread Tool

 

Good news!

wr69 was kind enough to send me his stripped out oil pan, which I received.

The threads of the hole were stripped, as he posted in his photo. He did not send me the deformed drain plug.

I attempted to screw in a new drain plug with no success.

Then, I moved to an M12x1.25 retthreading tha from this kit off of eBay.

Lang Metric Rethreading Tap Set Thread Restore 6pc 6-12mm Made in USA | eBay

Lang Metric Rethreading Tap Set Thread Restore 6pc 6-12mm Made in USA

It worked like a charm and reformed the threads.

A new drain plug tightened to 27 ft lbs with a new Toyota crush washer.

To avoid stripping out again, I'd either use a Viton or HNBR o ring (used by Ford and other manufacturers including Harley Davidson) and tighten it to no more than 10 ft. lbs.

 

No problem, wr69, I started this thread so that the solution is not buried into your long running thread.

The absolutely cheapest and easiest way to make a long lasting repair on a stripped out oil pan

The absolutely cheapest and easiest way to make a long lasting repair on a stripped out oil pan | PriusChat

It could save someone some money and aggravation, so they would not have go through the same experience that you had.