Stripped Oil Pan Drain Hole!!!

[motordavid]

JCL & Seth are right on: for pans, Time-Sert is the deal, imo.

[ECS Tuning]

Which motor does your X have? I can have one of my parts guys find the correct oil pan and gaskets to help you out.

Originally Posted by FSETH

I went to perform the first oil change on my M3 the other day and and found out the previous owner over tightened the drain plug which in turn stripped my oil pan. I can say that I was completely off the mark in my prior post where I said the oil pan should be cheaper than the filter housing. I was quoted from about $500-$650 for the pan itself and $1,200-$1,700 for parts and labor! Needless to say I am going to have my shop try the Timesert first. At $175, it seems like a no-brainer. FWIW, all of the indy-BMW shops I spoke with recommend the Timesert over the Helicoil.

On the M3 I would DIY the oil pan and reuse as many old parts as a can. HERE is a link to a new oil pan for the E46 M3 and HERE is a link to a selection of oil pan gaskets for the M3.


ECS Tuning

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by ECS Tuning

On the M3 I would DIY the oil pan and reuse as many old parts as a can. HERE is a link to a new oil pan for the E46 M3 and HERE is a link to a selection of oil pan gaskets for the M3.


ECS Tuning

Thanks for the links. That is the best price I have seen on a pan yet. I attempt some DIY projects, but I am going to try the Timesert option first. If that doesn't work, I may try to source the pan and have my indy change it out. My M3 is a daily driver, so I don't have the luxury or taking my time on it. DIY is the last option for me in this particular case.

[FSETH]

Had a Timesert installed in the drain pan for $175 by my indy and after two days I have not seen any drops on the garage floor. Hopefully this did the trick. Will report back if it fails.

[JAXX5]

Noticed after taking delivery of a dealer maintained X that the oil drain plug was tight when removing. After resnugging, I bought a fluid extractor and that is how ive been draining my oil for the passed few years. Well I took a chance on replacing the plug this weekend and now of course it wont tighten. Question is what kind of an effort is it to remove the oil pan to do a timesert repair? Or is the recommendation to do with the pan still on the car.

[squidzilla]

Originally Posted by JAXX5

Noticed after taking delivery of a dealer maintained X that the oil drain plug was tight when removing. After resnugging, I bought a fluid extractor and that is how ive been draining my oil for the passed few years. Well I took a chance on replacing the plug this weekend and now of course it wont tighten. Question is what kind of an effort is it to remove the oil pan to do a timesert repair? Or is the recommendation to do with the pan still on the car.

This is the main reason why I bought an extractor for all of my cars. I seriously doubt the dealer used a torque wrench on my oil changes when I had them do them. And with the average mileage of my used cars at the time of purchase being a 100k, I have no idea how many were tightened to much.

[David.X5]

The threaded part is in the very lower section. Not a bad DIY. It does not require removing/replacing the upper section of the pan. Worst part is probably removing the big metal stiffening plate to get access. You will need a new gasket.

[JAXX5]

Originally Posted by David.X5

The threaded part is in the very lower section. Not a bad DIY. It does not require removing/replacing the upper section of the pan. Worst part is probably removing the big metal stiffening plate to get access. You will need a new gasket.

Thanks! I looked at it and still don't wanna believe it is that easy. I need to order a timesert kit this week.

[JAXX5]

so I was surfing stripped drain plug fixes and stumbled upon this guy... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaNls0uuOUs. Ericthecarguy. I tried it and I've at least held off the timesert repair. I'll find a more convenient time to do that job. Drove around for a few and an hour later no drip from custom drain plug.

[wpoll]

I recently made this repair to an alloy oil pan (on a Golf) by tapping it out to the next size up, with a kit for this exact task. Worked well.