Oil Plug Stripped by Shop

Completely false. The key words you used “excessive torque” . Install and tighten correctly and it won’t strip. Pretty simple actually. 5 Toyota’s all over 350k never replaced a single oil pan plug.

 

This right here ^

 

Whatever. I've only been an auto technician for 25+ years.
Go back to sleep.

 

Maybe you should reread the O.P.s first post.

 

Wow your mechanic would rather lose your business than fix his screw up.

 

I agree, the only way to strip a drain plug is by excess torque. But there are two ways... either a little extra torque over decades time (death by 1000 cuts), or one real big ugga dugga will do it also. Proper torque will never strip a thread, not that I have seen anyway.
Also it seems hard to say for sure that the mechanic did this damage. He probably sees abused drain plug threads all the time and in his mind he is not responsible for what they do at the quicky lube. Kinda like wheel lugs -- the tire shop will never say their machine (or their new "technician" kid) messed up the threads and you can never prove that they messed up the threads... unless you have a receipt in hand for brand new lug studs bought yesterday LOL.

 

This is the best post in this thread. Seems that Uncle Pete was referring to many of the participants in this thread.

 

In normal use you don't over torque.

Excessive torque could strip one in a single time. And you are doing it wrong.

 

Maybe we can keep this thread going until friday

 

This had me rolling. I don't ugga dugga, I get a bigger ratchet, when necessary.

 

I also had an uncle who was a mechanic. I've still never met another smart as he was. Like any, he made mistakes but always fessed up to it. I remember him telling me of his most embarrassing moment. A woman complained of difficult to shift transmission. He test drove it & told her is actually shifts very smoothly & asked her to try it. She proceeds to use her left hand to shift, he tells her well you're supposed to use your other hand just as he notices she's handicapped with a tiny right hand.

Any time I make a mistake, I always tell the boss if it's something I can't immediately correct and make it good. Also I let the customer know. In most cases they're glad you were honest about it. But some people just gotta be a jackass about it.

Yeah that shop failed big time, and tried to cover their mistake with a gob of silicone and lies, stoopid. If you have time to spare, you could take them to small clains court, and probably win. If you do, hopefully you have pictures, and save all documents.

 

I had this happen (different vehicle long time ago), anyways, took it to Wal-Mart, they stripped the plug screw seat threads (not the screw) like OP.

It does happen, but only by accident or negligence. In my case,, even Wal-Mart fixed the issue when I brought it back.

Talk to the mechanic once again. If he doesn't make it right, you might consider doing the following :

1. Take it elsewhere (after you get him in writing admitting to denying liability). Try e-mail, if he has one (why, will come into play later).
2. Get it fixed at another shop (assuming you go nowhere with step 1).
3. Just because he deserves it, take him to small claims court to be reimbursed. Not a winning option, you'll lose a day of work, but have "some" satisfaction, since, he will also lose something. Sometimes just seeing others suffer is enough despite having to suffer yourself.
4. Set up a nice spot in front of his shop, with copy of your legal settlement in hand, and exercise you right to free speech, and start talking to all customers that start to turn into his shop. You can even use a big sign if you don't feel like approaching people. Just make sure you don't block access to his business.

I know #3 & 4 is somewhat extreme, and will likely cost you again in time, so...

Do like anyone else, find another mechanic who will fix the immediate problem, buy a small wrench set, and torque wrench, if you're nervous about using your self-calibrating arm-torque abilities, and do your own oil changes.

The irony of this is that he would want to lose a customer over a very cheap/simple fix. Hell, he could have just dropped the oil plug, and inserted a 2 cent heli-coil, swap plug with a 10 cent oversized plug and been done without you ever knowing anything. Fifteen minutes job.

IDK, Business must be very good for him, oh he doesn't make enough money on Tocomas to keep them kinds of customers...I can hear it now, "Damn...here he comes again. Just oil changes...only oil changes!!! Clogging up my lift from doing better types of work. F*ing Tacomas, can't make enough off of them..."

 

That’s funny. I was a Toyota tech for 20 and never stripped a drain plug. 25 year tech and stripping drain plugs, glad you’re not mine technician.

 

At least toyota makes a good drain plug. You break it loose and then you can spin it all the way out by hand.

Fords are complete trash. You have to turn the bolt with a wrench all the way out to the last thread, it fights you the whole way, oil dripping into your armpit by the time it lets go. Those are the ones that really do start wearing out threads from the first removal. Cheap ass garbage fasteners bumper to bumper. Chrysler minivans are terrible too with the rubber gasket molded around the bolt flange. The pan metal gets bent, tiny little 13mm bolt head rounding off..

I won't allow nylon washers in the shop, those metal ones with the squishy rubber in the middle suck too. Give me a nice selection of soft aluminum crush washers and I'll replace them on every oil change

If all the techs in here can rally around our hatred of a domestic brand we should be able to keep this thread going till friday

 

I NEVER said that I stripped a drain plug.
I've seen it many times.

Oh, what's a "mine" tech?

 

A mine tech is a person skilled in testing land mines or underwater mines. They usually have a very short career.

 

i never stripped an oil drain plug or oil pan drain threads. but my wife (before we got married) used to take her car in for oil changes to a shop. when i sold ger car, i took it to a shop for a prepurchase inspection and i was surprised when the tech asked me who brazed the oil pan drain threads.
i guess the shop buggered it and didn't tell her.

 

I have never seen a stripped bolt stay in place especially one with a bunch of hot oil on top of it. There would be oil everywhere, you would have not been able to drive your truck home and see some oil in your driveway. Am I missing something?

They probably didn't replace the crush washer. There is a soft washer on the drain plug bolts. Sometimes copper, sometimes aluminum that forms a seal on the plug. If this is to worn and not replaced you get a leak. I keep a bag of them in my garage for when I change my oil.

 

He didn't strip the drain plug. He cross threaded it.

He tried to cover his mistake by over tightening it. It didn't work. He tried tightening it more, then he stripped it.

I can't believe the place won't own up to their mistake. Small price to pay to keep you from being unhappy.

As for crush washers,. They don't do anything to prevent techs from stripping the plug hole. They only prevent oil seepage.

In addition, they are very overrated. I've never changed one in 30 years.