screwed! up the oil pan

[chris88]

ok, im a noob when it comes to the toyota pickup world...this community looks like it will be able to help bigtime.
   
the car is an 88pickup EFI RWD i got for free from my grampa it has 81k on the original 22re but is still sturdy

heres the problem, i changed the oil about a week ago and noticed a leak, i tightened the drain plug and noticed the seal from around it all broken up, it was old and i forgot to change it...so when my dad and i went out to buy one and changed it but it still leaked, i got new and different seals every time i changed it. i went through this process about 4x, i never actually used the official OEM seal so i dont know if thats my problem...but it still leaks

my father wanted to be a hero so he went off and used a self tapping bolt on the pan  :chair:, thinking the original threading was stripped...so now i have an oil pan with a non OEM bolt or seal...and it leaks, i REALLY dont want to have to replace the pan and fork up more money than the car is worth for swapping it, if ANYONE can think of a way to deal with this i would be very grateful :bowdown:      pre-thanking anyone that helps out

             

[DeathCougar]

Did the thread of the self tapping bolt match the old thread style?

If not, and you re-tapped the tapped threads, then your only correct option is to start over with a new oil pan. Otherwise you are just going to fight and fight with it, and just make a mess of the whole thing.

[chris88]

yes...my father did re-tap the threading with a different size...now your saying its all gone from here on out? theres no good that can come from this? little explaining why? i dont want to face the fact that i might have to change that oil pan, although i did see one on ebay for $40 and a 30 day warrenty. theres nothing i can do to stop this leak? i mean its coming right from that stupid plug...thanks anyways

[881stGenRunner]

ya man your going to have to replace that oil pan for sure. Especially since he tapped the old threads with a different pattern.

[chris88]

DAMN IT lol, jeeze, so tapping a thread with a different pattern will promote leakage, i mean i didnt condone him doing it but i didnt realize it would F up everything, i cant even imagine how its ALL ruined

[DeathCougar]

well tapping threads means you have to remove material....if the threads are already there, and the plug is similar in size, all he did was make it easier for the oil to leak out past the threads.

Just replace the oil pan with a new or used one, and chalk it up to a learning experience.

btw how the hell does an oil pan have a warranty? I think thats just gibberish meant to entice you into buying it lol.

[chris88]

ha ha ha...well they "claim" a garenteed 30 days of normal use, so im expecting it to not have the same problem as mine, by the way, does anyone know i fair price to get this thing swapped out, just labor wise, i was looking under the truck and it seems difficult, i live in CT if demograpics have any affect
but if i tapped a new thread with a bigger size wouldnt that make more contact area, as in the plug having to sqeeze itself in to fit, making for a tighter fittment? i really dont know im just coming up with theories to aviod the reality

[chris88]

sorry for double posting but...
any additional info ppl? i need to get this truck up and running ASAP, so far you posters have been very helpful, ill have to visit here more often from now on...cant believe this BS, i dont think the truck is worth the effort i've been putting into it? my question from above still stands. thank you so far again i appreiciate it

[91_4x4runner]

Replacing an oil pan is as simple as can be... You remove every bolt around it, pry off the pan, put a new gasket or sealant (not all engines have oil pan gaskets) and re-bolt it. You don't have to touch the oil pickup or anything. If you do decide to swap it, you're probably looking at 1-2 hours labor + part, depending on the mechanic.

[chris88]

really? are we on the same page here? im talking about my 88 pickup, theres alot of stuff running perpendicular underneath it, looks tricky. i was reading into another read with a fellow having to remove his oil pan. in short he speaks of having to remove cross member and a load of other hoopla, im not that mechanically inclined, but if all it is is unbolting and torquing them back up i think its possable...i just want to clarify things, either way thanks

[chris88]

UPDATE, and its not a good one. i took it to the shop today and had them take a look at it...turns out that the pan it self is dented right next to the plug. while underthere they also figured out my tranny mount is shot, which would explain the sounds that are being made. either way its a unfortunate situation, they ended up charging me $120 for a use pan! $40 for the tranny mount, and around four hours of work, totalling up to about $600 tops, I'm not even sure if the truck is worth that much. any input is appreciated

[MTL_4runner]

It's hard to say without looking at it but you can almost always find a larger bolt to tap out to. The mistake IMHO was using one of those self tapping drain plugs (they almost always leak after as you found out). Heck you could even tap it out to a pipe thread size if you really wanted to do a MacGuyver style repair. I know they sell fairly large drain plugs but make sure who ever does it next uses a real tap instead of a self tapping plug. Now this isn't the "correct" way to repair it but given the value of the truck you mentioned it might be worth one last try before you plunk down your $600 to do it right.

[chris88]

thats what i was planning on doing, or having the mechanic do. but he brough me over to the lifted truck and we both looked at this dent right next to the plug, so even if he did re thread it, the area of the dent would cause the seal to be pinched on to and loose on the bottom, causing the leak...I'm pretty beat out of options here.

[MTL_4runner]

You might be able to seal something like this onto the pan permanently:
https://ssl2.adhost.com/fumotovalve/graphics/valve2.JPG

http://www.fumotovalve.com/

If you have a pic that would help alot to know what we're dealing with regarding the dent.

[chris88]

yea i was thinking of one of those earlier, but it would still have an insufficent seal. hmm now that i think of it,could i just put on of those on and like weld it shut?...the car is at the shop as we speak so i cant get any pics up right now, its a pretty obvious dent located right underneith the hole...im kind of fustrated over the whole thing, especially not know where that dent came from, its not like the oil pan is asking to be hit, something big would have to get under there to hit it like that...we'll see

[MTL_4runner]

What about just having them clean off the area really well (needs clean bare metal to bond properly) and JB weld it into place. You'll still need to helicoil the area to give it some threads to bite into (ie you don't want nothing but JB weld holding it in place.....just use the JB weld to create a permanent seal), but once it's on there, you just use the valve to change the oil.

The other option if you know a good welder is to have them weld the correct size nut for a stock drain plug onto the outside of the oil pan. Again these methods are seriously redneck, but given the value of the vehicle, they may be appropriate.

[chris88]

thats the kind of idea was thinking of, it seemed to be reasonable. i called the shop were i have it and they already ordered the new oil pan for over night shipping, i suggested the idea and the guy replies " not that'll never work, beside it will take up just as much time prepping the area as it will to replace the pan." he also mentioned " the metal of the pan is to thin to weld on" a giant load of BS if I've ever heard any, but of course he'd say that, hes not the one about to lose $600 bucks. I'm really not familiar with the forum of welding techniques so i have no clue what a JB weld is either. thanks for all these ideas.

[MTL_4runner]

thats the kind of idea was thinking of, it seemed to be reasonable. i called the shop were i have it and they already ordered the new oil pan for over night shipping, i suggested the idea and the guy replies " not that'll never work, beside it will take up just as much time prepping the area as it will to replace the pan." he also mentioned " the metal of the pan is to thin to weld on" a giant load of BS if I've ever heard any, but of course he'd say that, hes not the one about to lose $600 bucks. I'm really not familiar with the forum of welding techniques so i have no clue what a JB weld is either. thanks for all these ideas.


The guy is full of crap.....take it to someone else or even just do it yourself.....he's obviously making up excuses to keep the work. I'd just try and find someone that could really weld and have them try and stitch an approprite size nut onto the pan. Then just clean up the nut with a tap and hit the area with some paint to keep it from rusting. That should cost about $100 max with a pro welder.

Here's JB Weld (it's really a high strength epoxy):
http://jbweld.net/products/jbweld.php

[chris88]

wow that JB stuff looks awsome, now the problem is the size, the idea u had with pro welding a nut on would be the best plan of attack, i should have done that the 1st time...goes to show that thinking a problem through and doing research will give you the best results. my father tends to be a stubborn jerk so he'll just have them swap the pan. but thanks for that advice it was great, you really were a good help. nice community you guy have here.

[Intrepidyota]

I have a spare oil pan with plug hanging around. I don't know where you are located, but if you want it, I will pull it, clean it out, and ship it down. $30 plus shipping if you are interested. Might save you a couple bucks. Also, I would do it yourself, just take your time and go. Maybe get a Chiltons or Haynes manual. The tranny mount should also be pretty damn easy to do yourself. I would not be paying $600 for those two things.

[chris88]

thanks for the offer but i just got it all done, $588, and they used a brand new oil pan, it was a high cost, but i didn't do my research before getting into so now i am paying the price. the only thing I'm upset over (beside the money) is that now my shifter, its an auto, sounds almost like its grinding, they told me it has something to do with the linkage and they'll tweak it if i bring it back. they'll be seeing me soon, but b4 i go, any suggestions?