I'm a giant idiot and now I need help
 

So long story short, I dropped my drain plug while I was changing the oil. I cleaned it off and thought that it would be no big deal. So I went to put it back on and it stripped out the pan drain. Turns out that when I dropped it, it bent the threads and those bent threads stripped out the drain hole.

So the drain hole is stripped and will not allow me to tighten the drain plug. So I'm an idiot. My question is, is it time to order a new sump cover, or can I tap out a new drain?

At some auto parts stores they sell drain plugs that are very slightly oversized that you can use to tap new threads as you install, and then it has a smaller plug in the middle that you can remove to change the oil, while leaving the larger outer piece that tapped the hole in place. But it hangs down a fair bit. If you are stock and not lowered it shouldn't be a problem. I had to install one on my son's van. You could also do a timesert or a helicoil fix. The only problems with those (and maybe with the one I suggested too) is that some debris from the drilling/tapping might get left up in the sump. You could remove the sump cover relatively easily (if you are doing an oil change the oil is already gone) and tap/repair it, then use Reinzosil to re-seal it up, following the guide on 101Projects.com for the .5 qt deep sump kit.

Maybe you could get a used one from a wrecked Boxster, maybe Woody has one or there are usually a few floating around on eBay.

I would replace the pan
Its just going to give you more trouble later

If you track the car, probably a good time to change to a deep sump

It depends on how trashed the threads in the pan are. If they are gone, then JayG's suggestion is your only option, IMO also. Try Woody for a replacement.

You will need to pull the pan either way. I would pull the pan and see if you can clean it up with a tap for the pan and a file for the plug. Don't forget a new crush washer. Best of luck.

Please post a pic of both parts.

Years ago I did the same thing to a motorcycle. The shop helicoil the threads and it was good to go.

helicoil,helicoil insert,helicoil inserts,helicoil kit, helicoil tap, heli-coil, helicoil tools

Alright, thanks for the advice. I'll look into a new sump cover. I'll check around for one, if not, looks like I'm buying a brand new one from porsche. This oil change has gotten pretty expensive. I'll post pics of the destruction later.

Hello cornontherob,

If nothing is broken out i would recommend to remove the oil pan and bring it to a machinery shop. They just should overbore the hole a little bit and thread the whole with a new thread, so you can use a bigger diameter oil oilpug.

if you want to use Helicoild, please note that there are different types of inserts: Thread technology HELICOIL®, AMTEC® ... - Böllhoff

If you want to do it yourself, there are oil plug repair sets on ebay.

Please always remove the oil pan to do the repair. Don't do the repair on the car.

Regards, Markus

What sealant should I use to reseal it when I'm done? Pelican parts has the mercedes oil pan sealant, is that the one to go with?

Hello cornontherob,

in combination with sealings i'm using Curil T.
in the case of the oil pan i would use Dirko HT.

Here you find data sheets: Data Sheets - ElringKlinger Qualitätsprodukte (please click on technical sealing compounds)

Don't know if these products are available in the US.

Regards, Markus

Okay thank you. So I just use sealant? Or a combination of materials?

As far as i know there is no prefabricated sealing for the 986 available for the engine oil pan. So you'll need a sealant that works without additional paper or cork seals. That's why i recommended something like Dirko HT for the engine oil pan sealing.

Regards, Markus

Corn,

There is a guy on the For Sale section that has a used oil pan for sale for $50

And regarding the sealant I had used the Loctite offered by Pelican, but be careful and use very little of it, otherwise you will have larger problems with sealant overruns ending on the oil pump.

Good luck!

you are not a giant idiot.. it happens to all of us

Yes, you are an idiot. Congratulations and welcome to the club!

From these situations.......
 

come information that will benefit many more who might do the same thing in the future. Fix it and move forward

So true... I have used the search function numerous times and it threads like this that are a big help.

That should help: http://qnuwm.rpstd.servertrust.com/v/vspfiles/instructions/R9095.pdf

or this here:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/12-ENGINE-deep_sump/12-ENGINE-deep_sump.htm

These are the very detailled installation instructions for the Brey-Krause deep pan kit. Simply leave out the specific steps for the kit and you have great de-assembly and re-assembly instructions.
The biggest pain in the neck psrt of the job to get absolutely everything of the old sealant off the.

Best of luck and welcome to the (very large and ever-growing) group of "idiots" (like me) who tried something and failed the first time and then got it right the second time. In my book that beats the people who sit in their armchair and pay other people to do that.