Engine grease is essential for your vehicle’s smooth function and proper durability.
Once its seal gets stuck, knowing how to remove an over tightened oil plug will help you avoid further damage to the engine components.
Although a stuck lubricate bolt is a common issue and can be solved effortlessly, it is quite hard to recognize without regular check and can result in long-term damage.
Thus, consider the solutions and preventions available in this writing to handle this problem.
Causes Of An Over Tightened Oil Plug
Definition
An oil plug is a stopper that prevents the liquid in the oil pan from leaking or draining.
The grease lubricating various components of the car is contained in the oil pan. The draining process of an oil pan is important as the oil in your vehicle needs to be changed periodically.
When the plug is overly tightened, it poses a certain risk to the vehicle, which is not as serious as the risk of driving without an oil cap, but still requires attention.
Causes
Sludge
After each time of changing the oil, there is a certain amount of the lubricating liquid that exceeds staying around the plug.
The high temperature from the engine of the vehicle then makes that excess oxidize.
During this process, the engine grease’s molecules break down and stick to the dirt mixture released from the combustion. Particularly, the mixture includes fuel, water, carbon, and metallic particles.
This combination builds up a sticky sludge, which explains why you can’t loosen oil drain plug.
Over-Tightening
The second reason is more simple; the plug is extremely tightened after opening.
This cause is undoubtedly common as the amateur drivers or newbies in the mechanic shop do not have enough mechanical skills and knowledge while doing regular maintenance.
Over-tightening leads to a bad effect on the crew pitch. As a result, you are required to swap the oil pan in whole.
Check the surrounding areas, do necessary maintenance and apply a new plug at its relevant position.
Rust
If the stopper is not regularly removed or you leave it untouched for a long period, there will be rust building up.
This phenomenon mostly happens to vehicles without proper maintenance or getting old after long use.
Effects
When the oil stopper is overtightened, it will damage itself first. Then, it even ruins the rubber gasket as well as slices your threads.
Although the plug is used to seal the greasy liquid used for your engine lubrication and function, your oil change gets more complicated when it is tightened immensely.
How To Remove An Over Tightened Oil Plug
Instructions To DIY Remove
Preparation
Here are some pieces of equipment required for the oil plug removal and safety insurance:
- A wet cloth
- A small piece of cardboard
- Safety glass
- Hammer, socket wrench, gator grip, rust remover (lubricate), and other tools available.
Guidance
Option 1: Warm up the engine. This step takes advantage of the high temperature to loosen the bolt.
Keep in mind that you expect the engine to get warm, not extremely hot. Start the car and take a short drive, even if you use the vehicle every day.
However, should you prefer not to, you can start and leave the car idle for a certain amount of time.
It is advised that you should park in an even area to lift your vehicle with the support of the hydraulic jack.
Get below and put a drain pan to prevent making a mess, then remove the plug to discharge oil. Once the process finishes, use a wrench to turn the bolt clockwise until it is loosened.
Heating is considered the simplest method of stuck oil drain plug removal.
Option 2: Apply the lubricate or rust remover. If the first solution does not work, there is a possible rust buildup or the sludge on the bolt.
Apply an amount of rust remover or lubricator equivalent to the sludge and wait for the product to dissolve the sticking.
After a while, use a wrench or any tool you have in hand to remove the oil plug.
The quality of the lubricator directly determines the effect of this process. You should go for the expensive products with guaranteed quality.
Option 3: Taking a socket wrench. How to loosen oil drain plug when the lubricator is not effective enough? It means you need support from other tools.
Take the equipment called a socket wrench. This tool has a long handlebar that gives you extra torque. Choose the right size of the socket wrench to fit the bolt.
Option 4: Hammer tap. If you need more power, you can go for a hammer of medium size.
Gentle tapping will loosen the plug. Remember that hitting hard will not progress the process and even damage the component.
Make it slow and turn the bolt clockwise with the socket wrench. Using a hammer is also the last technique you can apply at home.
Take It To A Mechanic
When you have gone to the last resort of DIY removal, and the oil bolt won’t come off, you’d better take it to a professional.
Not to mention how skillful the expert is, the mechanic has better conditions and more advanced equipment to deal with this issue.
For instance, the mechanic will heat the plug’s surrounding area with a gas flame. You can not use this tool at home as it may pose a risk if you do not have enough experience.
Once the bolt is loosened, the threads are examined. The expert will replace your previous oil pan or upsize it when they get damaged.
Find a trustworthy address to ensure the professional does the repair safely and keeps other components intact.
How To Reinstall And Avoid An Over Tightened Oil Plug
Instructions To Reinstall
After knowing how to remove stuck oil drain plug, are you confident that you can reinstall the stopper properly? Follow the guidance below to avoid making mistakes.
Step 1. Choosing the best tools. If you want to DIY reinstall, you should purchase bolt extractor equipment to make the process less challenging.
These tools will remove the sludge, rust, rounded, and effortlessly tighten the stoppers in a couple of minutes.
Go to a mechanic market; bolt extractors are available in a wide range of sizes.
Choose the most fitted ones based on the requirements of your automotive bolt. For long service, investing in a bolt grip extractor made from high carbon steel is better.
Step 2. Locate the position. Numerous amateurs find it confusing to determine the location of the plug. Generally, it is a big nut lying in the area where all the grease rests.
Particularly, it is at the oil pan’s lowest point underneath the engine. As a result, the draining amount is at its maximum during oil exchange.
You can either crawl the car’s bottom or lift it using a hydraulic jack to find the bolt.
Step 3. Reinstall. Use a piece of wet cloth to clean the teeth of the lubrication pan and replace it with a new gasket.
Use a socket wrench to tighten the gasket for repositioning. Do not make it hard or over-tighten.
Tips For Success
- Use a high-quality engine lubricate to reduce the possibility of sludge on the bolt.
- Ensure that when you insert the stopper into the drain nut together with a new washer made from metal, the component goes straight instead of an angle.
Tighten it by hand with the female threads on the aluminum grease pan. If the plug goes in an angle, the threads on it will damage the threads on the hole.
- Go for a torque wrench, socket, or box spanner to tighten. Set the tool to the suggested torque that will be found in the brand’s manual.
- Do not offer too much power or pressure during the tightening process even when you have known how to loosen oil bolt properly. Open-ended spanners are also not a good choice for loosening or tightening the grease stopper.
- Remember to follow the recommended intervals for oil changing. Or else irregular changing will lead to common issues like sludge buildup or dirt sticking.
FAQs
How Can I Remove A Stripped Oil Drain Plug?
Although having a stripped oil seal is annoying, don’t worry, as this process just requires a simple technique. You can even apply various methods to deal with this issue.
Firstly, prepare a screwdriver with a flathead and a hammer. Take into practice the Sheer Force theory by tapping on the head of the plug with the screwdriver.
Put on extra pressure with the hammer. This is the popular method used by professionals.
Meanwhile, heating is also another helpful solution based on thermal expansion. The high temperature will expand the metal properties, including the lubricate bolt.
If you have enough experience and skills, use the heat guns to reduce the effect on the surrounding components and return the plug’s original shape quickly when it cools down.
The heat will break the rust buildup and facilitate the loosening.
How Often Should I Drain My Oil Pan?
The short answer is that you’d better drain the oil pan whenever you change the liquid. Having periodical maintenance helps improve the durability of the components.
Normally, the drivers should get their oil changed every 7,500 to 10,000 miles of driving or six to eight months of use. When changing, remember not to let the liquid spill, or there will be unpleasant burning oil smell through vents.
This schedule aims to avoid long-term damage to your vehicle. The oil lubricates the engine components.
The more you drive, the thicker and more contaminated it gets. As a result, the liquid turns dark and sludge forms.
If you do not have the oil changing in time, the contaminated liquid will ruin the engine seriously.
The elements would be clogged while the substances from outside can easily enter the engine. This process will decrease the performance of the car.
Conclusion
Hope that you have gained useful knowledge and tips to deal with the stuck grease bolt or the dirt buildup on it.
Following the instructions for how to remove an over tightened oil plug will help you get a good preparation and effective removal.
Besides, you can avoid wasting time and money purchasing unnecessary repair tools.
Although it is not complicated to loosen the oil stopper, it is advised not to let this issue happen repetitively.
Once over-tightening keeps recurring, the intense pressure will ruin the oil pan and surrounding elements. As a result, you have to pay a great amount of money for a replacement.