Tech / Special Interest → Automotive > Oil drain plug rotates but won't come out

Oil drain plug rotates but won't come out

Howdy fellow DSLR'ers....

I took my 2005 Honda Accord LX in for an oil change today, but the shop was not able to get the drain plug out. It rotated counterclockwise but just refused to come out. The techs at the shop tried some stuff to get it out, but it still wouldn't budge, so they said I need a new oil pan to the tune of $420.

Is there anything that can be tried to get it to grab the threads and come on out? Maybe an air wrench in reverse with a flat head screwdriver? If that (or some other trick) fails, would it be possible to just drill another hole in the pan somewhere else and install a second drain plug and leave the original one intact?

Or is a pan replacement really the only solution here? A pan replacement isn't something that I could DIY since it is necessary to take out the engine mount stops and bolts, remove the left driveaxle and some front suspension parts, according to my Haynes book.

My Accord has the 2.4L four cylinder engine.

Mucho thanks in advance for any info/help/advice you can give!

I wonder if there would be any harm to (or ask the shop to) to pump the old oil out through the dipstick tube instead of the usual way?

if you turn it clockwise does it tighten?? Also, when turned counter clockwise does it leak??

Has the drain plug started leaking oil? Reason I ask is because if they have a nut spot welded inside the pan, the spot welds could have broken when they tried to remove the plug. It should have then lost some of the seal and have even a small leak.

A "redneck" and by no means a correct fix!, could be to drill small holes next to the plug through the pan and spot weld the nut back. For a correct fix the pan needs to be removed and correctly welded the nut if that is the problem. That would at least save you money on a new pan.

I think that this may be the shop's fault, the more I think about this. If the drain plug nut welds inside the pan broke loose, that would be caused only by overtightening the drain plug, right? The shop I use now and the Honda dealer I bought the car from have been the only ones doing my oil changes and I haven't been to the dealer in a while (a year or two I think) for any service.

I knew this would be a Honda before I opened the thread.
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I have seen a few Honda oil pans replaced for this.
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It can be repaired, but probably no cheaper than just a new pan if it's being done by a shop.

Same thing happened to me, I drive a 98 Civic. And it also has the same pesky aluminum pan.

My solution: a new oil pan from eBay and a Fram Oil Drain Valve.

It's been in my car since I bought it four years ago. It's just starting to leak a little bit so I may have to buy another drain valve and have my guy install it. But it beats buying a new pan every time I strip the threads.

Reckon I'd better drop in here with an update...

Last Monday morning (9/23) I went back to the first shop. They quoted me $420 (or was it $440?) parts and labor the previous Saturday, but then came back and then came back and said "sorry, we misquoted... it really should be $539". I did accuse them of stripping it though... (wrongly or rightly, not sure). They offered to knock 5% off of either the $420 ($440?) or the $539 (can't remember which).

I would up leaving it with the corner garage closer to my house and let them do the work. They charged $468.xx. and got it done 2 days later.

So far so good. My steering seems to have a bit more play than it did before, but not sure if that's related to this repair. (or maybe I just got spoiled by the super duper tight steering in the '05 Taurus with only 25k miles that I used while mine was in the shop).

Hopefully I can get another 3-5 years out of 'er, or at least make it to 200k, before the next big repair. I just dropped about $570 (or so, after rebate) on a set of four new Michelin Defender tires back in June, so this oil pan thing smarted a bit.

The last big repair was a ~$330 coolant temp sensor about 5 years ago at the Honda dealer where I got 'er new. My big expenses have been brakes and tires and a battery about 2 or 2 1/2 years ago or so.

Thanks all for the help, pictures, info and advice!