

| Subject: | Re: oil drain threads stripped |
| From: | George Wietor |
| Date: | Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:31:52 -0800 |
Just try the slightly oversize plug designed for this exact application. As I recall, mine was cheap at NAPA. That way, you have some time to plan your next move, no harm done, etc. Buy a spare in case a fellow busser has this happen. George in watery Grand Rapids. > > The other thing I considered was just retapping the hole, > installing the > heli-coil, and then using a "suction" method to > extract oil for future > changes and never have to open that drain plug again. I > don't know how > practical this is with the WBX motor; it is the recommended > way to > change oil on many modern engines (probably in part to > avoid this exact > problem). > > Allan > > > Ken Wilford <kenwilfy@comcast.net> writes: > > > Allan, since oil is such a critical component of > engine life, a > > permanent and proper repair is in order. I use > Time-cert threaded > > inserts for my repairs and they work very well and > eliminate the > > possibility of this happening again (you will have to > strip out a > > piece of steel instead of aluminum). However the > Timesert kit costs > > over $100 so it is not very economical for a single > repair. In that > > case you can buy a heli-coil kit from Harbor Freight > for less than > > $30. What you are looking for is 14mm with a 1.5mm > thread pitch. The > > kit comes with a couple helicoils and the tools to do > the job (you may > > have to buy a drill bit the proper size though). Once > you do this > > repair the right way you will never have to worry > about it again. > > Losing your oil drain plug going down the road is a > nightmare > > scenario. Don't let it happen to you! > > > > If you need any parts please let me know. > > > > Ken Wilford > > John 3:16 > > www.vanagain.com > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------ > + To unsubscribe from the Vanagon List send an e-mail to > + listserv@gerry.vanagon.com with SIGNOFF VANAGON > + in the body of the message. > ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ + To unsubscribe from the Vanagon List send an e-mail to + listserv@gerry.vanagon.com with SIGNOFF VANAGON + in the body of the message. ------------------------------------------------------------
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