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Heres a link. what were you using to round of the head? You will also need a new drain plug and crush washer.
You may try an auto part store for the rounded bolt tool. good luckC8-)Is there enough ‘flat’ left to use a 6 point socket?
If it’s really that rounded, and you need some big leverage, I’d go to a pipe wrench next – it’s not like you are going to reuse it at this point.
That’s the first I’ve heard of being able to tighten an oil drain plug to the point that it strips the plug head and not strip the oil pan first. Maybe it leaked and someone used red locktite on it?
Yeah it surprised me too. I thought just a quick oil change piece of cake, And then what I thought was going to be an easy job turned into the worst oil change ever. I’m not really even sure how I managed to do it, I was just using a 1/2 inch socket on this 1/2 inch plug and I noticed it wasn’t giving so I put a little more strength into it and it slipped right off the plug and then it did it again and got worse until it didn’t grab it anymore. It really shouldn’t of been on that tight but maybe I got the wrong socket it could of been metric possibly but I remember it felt like it fit it properly before it stripped. I’m looking into the damaged bolt sockets college man posted they look like they might work but I don’t know maybe I should take a picture of the head of the bolt I’m trying to figure out if I either want to just cut the head off and I dont think its safe to drill the bolt because theres oil in it right so it can ignite maybe? Or use those sockets because if those work it’ll be a lot easier and I could use those sockets in the future. But ill get a picture of it I think. But if I just have to replace the pan I will
This might sound real stupid because I have actually done this- are you sure that you are on the correct bolt? I found myself tugging on one of the chassis bolts that was right next to and looked identical to the oil pan bolt. Visibility can be limited under there for us home mechanics.
I have the tool kit College Man posted and Johnzcarz idea with the pipe wrench is excellent.
Are you sure your turning the bolt the correct direction to loosen it?
The torque specification’s on the oil drain plugs will vary from vehicle to vehicle but the majority are hand tight and thats it.
I’m turning counterclockwise I’ll try the pipe wrench and then if it doesn’t work ill grind off flat edges on the head and try it again some way some how I’m going to beat this thing. actually now that i think about useing a dye grinder i might be able to grind it back further to make more surface area that the pipe wrench could grip onto ill just have to make sure I don’t screw it up and it could work I think.
Honestly, if there’s still oil in the car, you may want to take it to a shop that can weld a nut onto the end of the drain plug bolt and just remove it for you, unless you have welding equipment yourself. I’m not a fan of using a die grinder etc, because it seems like the chances to dig into the pan or threads are fairly high. I’ve also done oil changes on cars that had helicoils installed in the pan, and they didn’t seal very well. Just throwing another option at ya. Good luck.
is it possible to weld a cheap wrench to it to get it loose? like a box wrench that’s maybe just slightly too small for it and melt it to the plug? I don’t know i dont have a mig welder but I actually am getting one in 3 days just coincidentally. so maybe it will be useful here.
Welding a wrench to the drain plug will make it worse, since you won’t be able to turn the plug enough times to get it out of the pan before the wrench runs into something. If memory serves, the drain plug is a 13mm.
I could weld a socket to it then the plug has like a washer like surface around the head so it wouldn’t touch the pan and damage it. Or maybe i could find a nut to weld onto it like beefy said that sounds like the best idea at this point I think that’ll work and save me some time. I’ll just have to wait till I have the welder in 3 days.
Hold up don’t make this so difficult and I don’t recommend drilling because you’ll end up with a bunch of metal in the oil pan. For me I would try a hammer and punch in the same way I show the use of the air hammer in this video. An impacting action is usually best to break tough fasteners like that loose, I often use an air hammer however the same could be done with hand tools.
Finally got it out and oil changed. The socket set for rounded off bolts ended up working eventually, just had to get it on there really good.
great that it worked out. a new drain plug and crush washer and good as new. thanks for the update.C8-)
Quoted From college man:
Heres a link. what were you using to round of the head? You will also need a new drain plug and crush washer.
You may try an auto part store for the rounded bolt tool. good luckC8-)I’ve got this tool and it is a good investment. Used it to remove some rounded bolt heads from my exhaust manifold at the gasket connection to the exhaust pipe. I also try and use 6pt sockets whenever possible to try and reduce rounding the bolt heads. Don’t own many 12pt You may want to try some heat on it before you try and get it off
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