Oil Change - Let down by mechanic!!

fred246

Mechanics can wreck your car in any location.

mr_stripey

shaun_from_Africa said:

I would suggest getting a trusted mechanic to have a look at it. By "not fitting correctly and allowing it to leak", I wouldn't be surprised to find that what he actually meant was than when refitting the sump drain plug, he managed to cross thread it and now it's either jammed solid or the sump itself is damaged and will need replacing (or an insert fitted if this is possible).
If it was simply a worn thread on the plug, this would have cost a few £s and a couple of minutes extra work once he had bought it.

this seems very plausable; he's cross threaded it, realised he's cocked up big time and it's going to cost him a lot of dosh to rectify and has bailed out (minus his axle stands).

Not sure where this leaves the OP though....

AdrianC

flusteredmotorist said:

Not sure what people are getting at but I do wish that I had taken the car to the main dealer for the service as I doubt this would have happened.  I've now got a car I can't use and an oil stained driveway.  

I presume the only option I have is to find a garage that can recover the car and repair the sump?

We're just taking the mickey out of our friendly local monomaniac, Fred, who swears blind that all garages are utterly incompetent and criminally mendacious - and, if by some bizarre reason you don't want to do all your own work (tutored by youtube), a mobile mechanic is the only possible solution for any sane person.

You know how you can sometimes screw the lid on a bottle "on the wonk"? That's cross-threading, and it's almost certainly what he's done with the drain plug. It's buggered the thread in the sump (the bottom of the engine) and on the plug. It's not the end of the world. Somebody competent can sort it quickly. Speak to your local garage - they can pop round, have a look, and probably sort it there and then.

Remember, though - servicing doesn't stop with changing the oil and filter. That's the absolute bare minimum.

Robisere

This is what happens when you employ a 'mobile mechanic'. Working mobile because he cannot afford premises, probably has basic tools, may not be employable by a garage. Works on his back from the floor with limited room to see and carry out the work. That's why the sump plug was cross threaded. As has been said, it now means that the sump will probably have to be removed and the sump plug taken out. Possibly the drain hole threads will have to be recut, or a thread insert put in. Then a new sump gasket, after which oil can be refilled and new filter applied. How complicated this might be, depends upon the make and model. It may even mean a new sump.

It is significant that the 'mechanic' made an excuse and even left his axle stands when he disappeared.

roddydogs

When I did this many years ago I had a "helicoil" fitted are they still around?

AdrianC

Robisere said:

As has been said, it now means that the sump will probably have to be removed and the sump plug taken out. Possibly the drain hole threads will have to be recut, or a thread insert put in.

It's very likely to be doable in situ - with luck, just a tap up the threads to clean them, then a new plug. They don't have any great stress on them, and don't even need to be done up tight at all (given the thread diameter, the torque is minimal).

shaun_from_Africa

AdrianC said:

Robisere said:

As has been said, it now means that the sump will probably have to be removed and the sump plug taken out. Possibly the drain hole threads will have to be recut, or a thread insert put in.

It's very likely to be doable in situ - with luck, just a tap up the threads to clean them, then a new plug. They don't have any great stress on them, and don't even need to be done up tight at all (given the thread diameter, the torque is minimal).

One very important bit you left out.
After tapping, use a good amount of flushing oil to make sure that every trace of swarf has been removed from inside the sump as even a tiny bit left behind could lead to serious engine damage. I know that if done slowly and correctly, the cuttings should all come out with the tap but there is no way to guarantee 100% that this will happen.
To be honest, to avoid the risk, I think getting the sump pan off the engine and doing the job on a bench is far safer.

AdrianC

Bit of grease on the tap, and remove to clean regularly. Nothing's going into the sump.

shaun_from_Africa

AdrianC said:

Bit of grease on the tap, and remove to clean regularly. Nothing's going into the sump.

Once any part of the tap goes beyond the end of the thread into the sump, it would be quite easy for a small bit of swarf to be left behind and with a modern close tolerance engine, a small bit of unwanted metal could do an awful lot of damage.
I've re-tapped a great many threaded inserts and anchor nuts in my time and it's quite easy to have a small amount of metal ending up on the inside.
If it does need tapping out, it's unlikely that the OP will be doing this themselves and if paying someone to do it, I would certainly hope that they would remove the sump pan before carrying out the job.

peter12345678910

Do a flush, get a new sump plug. Have a look at the thread of the old plug - maybe use some plumber tape as a temporary fix.