Well, I�m kinda ashamed although I didn�t mess it up.... I started to change
the engine oil yesterday for the first time on my 2.1 l wasserboxer and I
had wondered before why the oil plug had a four-sided head only and not a six
sided (I think you call that six-point?). Well, the answer came when the oil
plug came out to be an ordinary pipe end plug, with no rim or sealing ring or
the like, but with some silicone attached.... I have no f...... idea who did
this, but I am sure the PO had no idea either (he�s about 80 years old) but
was screwed by some stupid "mechanic". Well, the not so "bad bad" part is that
at least the jerk who did it had the decency to cut a new clean thread
(helicoil would probably have been the better option) instead of wrenching the
plug into the old thread with sheer force. However, they�ve been cutting a 5/8
thread and now I�m screwed. There are 5/8 oil plugs out there, but their heads
don�t fit into this ring which is on the engine casing around the oil plug
hole, therefore I could not tighten the plug.

I was planning to get a new engine from Boston Bob in late fall (I�ve been
talking to him a couple of weeks ago and I must say I have rarely gotten more
detailed and friendly advice) and I planned to use this one as an exchange -
dunno whether Bob�s gonna accept this one now. Now, there�s the possibility
to exchange the engine right now, but I�d rather not spend two weeks vacation
to do this but rather do it on dark winter weekends. Therefore I�d like to
plug the hole again and could obviously use that pipe plug again, which has
probably been used for some years now and seems to hold the oil), but I do trust
that someone here has a better idea what to do. Would it make any sense to
use a tapered brass pipe end plug (the one used now is not tapered and AFAIK
the original plugs are not tapered as well)? I would think it widens the
thread with any use and makes it worse only, right?

Frustrated like I�ve rarely been before
Chris

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