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Thanks for all the advice. I finally will have time to deal with this upcoming weakened instead of adding oil every 2 days. I got a m20x1.5 tap kit. I was wondering if it would be possible to tap it without drilling or if i need to drill the hole out first?
I wouldnt mind replacing the oil pan. I got a book from a buddy that works at a dealership and it looks like lower pan would be easy to replace except i cant find any oil pans for 2005 x5. Everything on ebay seems to be 2000-2003 or 2006 and up.
i'm also starting to consider just using plumbers tape to get it to seal for now while i keep looking for an oil pan.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex11 (Post 1077543)

... I got a m20x1.5 tap kit. I was wondering if it would be possible to tap it without drilling or if i need to drill the hole out first?

You should be OK just using the M20x1.5 tap in the existing hole - given that it's a torn-out M18, there's not much left to drill. :rolleyes:

The M20 repair should make your existing pan as good as new - no need to replace it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby (Post 1075914)

Seems to be 2 people in this thread with stripped drain plug issues when it was done at a valvoline or shop - maybe thats a clue to change your own oil and not deal with the headache

I had my first drain pan stripped a month after I got my license, took my car to a local indy shop because I "didnt have the time" - well they called me and told me the pan was stripped, must have been that way before they changed the oil - I said thats impossible I just changed the oil last year and always torque the plug with a torque wrench - They said well either its gonna drip and leak slowly or you can bring us the new pan ($250) and we'll only charge you half the labor to replace it

Long story short I've been changing my oil ever since

I've been doing all my work on all my cars myself my whole life because i am too cheap to pay labor and kind of enjoy it. oil was one thing i'd let someone else to do because i figured it's kind of hard to fuck up. Guess i was wrong....

one other thing i let "mechanics" fix was a broken control arm on my z4. i was having too much fun and hit a curb while sliding. control arm was more than my deductible by almost 800$ so i just let insurance deal with it. One day i am driving on a busy street with 50mph speed limit cumming up on a red light. I go to press break and it falls in completely. idiots that replaced the control arm didnt mount the bracket that holds break line right and break line was rubbing against an axle which resulted in a half inch long hole. Lost all break line pressure...

Quote:

Originally Posted by wpoll (Post 1077544)

Will do, thanks.

You will get nicer threads if you start with the correct size drilled hole (nice and straight, not wobbly). And less likely to break the tap. The correct tap drill for a m20x1.5 in Aluminum is 18.5 mm (close to 47/64 inch).

Quote:

Originally Posted by David.X5 (Post 1077553)

Totally agree with ya, David.X5 - but with a stripped out 18mm threaded hole, there isn't going to be much to drill out! :(

As long as the thread pitch is the same (and there are - 1.5mm) then the new tap should run up the remains of the old thread pretty cleanly. It might bite a bit too much, but use plenty of grease in the tap's flutes, both to catch any swarf/chips and to lubricate the cutting faces on the tap. Go slowly, in about 1/6th of a turn, then back out to clear the swarf.