Club 80-90 Forums

Yes grease is good as a cutting agent also thats what i did but as you say be careful, i removed the tap about half way and cleaned it off and started again
material is about 10mm thick at the sump plug, if you dont have something to practise on let me know and i will send you something
Worth fitting a coil to the test piece also so you are comfortable with the whole process before doing it for real, you only get one chance
snap the tang off with long nose pliers rather than punching it so you dont loose it inside

14.25 is actually an imperial size 9/16 but i think best to drill under size as by hand the hole will always end up bigger so 14mm is good, if the old thread is stripped you wont be removing much just hold it very steady van needs to be jacked

as said by obg 1/4 turn tgen back off to cut the swaft is best practuce but id get a full turn in first to start it, just make sure its straight from more than one angle

If you need a cheap black smith drill get on eBay. I needed 14.5mm for an oil pressure switch housing. Got it off a drill specialist for about £4 next day delivery. If you need any info I can find the name.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLACKSMITH-DR ... 3cc25a6b48" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's the exact company I used.

Thanks for that, I just ordered one (14mm)

I will include it in the return package as I doubt I will need it again

I tapped mine for a 14mm thread insert with the supplied tap kit, slightly ground to make it a 'starter' tap - ie more tapered at the start.
It was a bit awkward but doable!
The sump where the plugs is is not very thick!
For all sump plugs I also always use PTFE tape (plumbers tape or the thicker gas tape) and tighten very lightly.
Just don't wrap the tape all the way to the end of the plugs thread, leave at least one thread uncovered. This is to prevent tape entering the sump.
This stops minor weeping and lubricates the thread.

croc wrote: The sump where the plugs is is not very thick!

10mm as said above, plenty

sciroccotune wrote:Just an FYI once you repair it you may want to think about using a pump like a pella to remove the oil via the dipstick hole. I purchased on some years back and it saves so much hassle when doing a n oil change

.??? I must be missing something here. How is pumping liquid (I doubt you'd extract all of the sumps contents anyway) any easier than undoing a sump plug? I'm intrigued but like I said, I'm probably missing something.

One note on the helicoil method, there's a good chance the metal tang (the bit that is supposed to stick into the sump casing) will snap off and remain eternally in the sump. It may drain with the oil in the future but I'm not convinced as the helicoils are longer than the thickness of the sump. I'm not too fussed about the one in mine as it would never get picked up by the pump and distributed around the engine anyhow. And I doubt very much that the swash is going to throw it either. Mitch.

itchyfeet wrote: snap the tang off with long nose pliers rather than punching it so you dont loose it inside

Garages suck oil out
no argument about stripped sump plugs then

Genuinely didn't know that!

I have a pump already fitted to my boat engine - it's a bit difficult getting underneath it!

I must admit I didn't know the dip stick tube ran to the bottom of the sump. I assumed it ended higher up.

Re the tang on a Helicoil kit. I had my local(ish) T25 friendly garage near Chester (Flintshire Auto Gas) do a Helicoil job on a spark plug thread a few years ago. Apparently (and the instructions mention it) you are supposed to break the tang off, and extract it with long nosed pliers under such circumstances, same as with a sump plug. I now have the full "kit" to hand (thanks Itchy), including the 14mm "Blacksmiths bit", but I am considering letting my garage use it. I don't want to "cock" it up as it's likely a "one shot only" job. If I do, I might ask them to give me the tang so I know it's not rattling around in the sump !

Yeh why not John if youre worried get them to do it

bloke in the local runs a garage, he gets alot of false claims for vehicle damage so videos all the work
some people claiming sump plug was damaged come in for an oil change only and even supply their own oil and filter... he sees them coming, when they come back complaining he damaged the plug thread ( same day why would you go home and drain oil to check it?) he offers to show them the video of sucking the oil out

itchyfeet wrote:Yeh why not John if youre worried get them to do it

bloke in the local runs a garage, he gets alot of false claims for vehicle damage so videos all the work
some people claiming sump plug was damaged come in for an oil change only and even supply their own oil and filter... he sees them coming, when they come back complaining he damaged the plug thread ( same day why would you go home and drain oil to check it?) he offers to show them the video of sucking the oil out

Haha, would love him to make a fly on the wall video of their faces when he discloses that he never touched the sump plug! Robbing bar stewards.

ghost123uk wrote:I must admit I didn't know the dip stick tube ran to the bottom of the sump. I assumed it ended higher up.

Re the tang on a Helicoil kit. I had my local(ish) T25 friendly garage near Chester (Flintshire Auto Gas) do a Helicoil job on a spark plug thread a few years ago. Apparently (and the instructions mention it) you are supposed to break the tang off, and extract it with long nosed pliers under such circumstances, same as with a sump plug. I now have the full "kit" to hand (thanks Itchy), including the 14mm "Blacksmiths bit", but I am considering letting my garage use it. I don't want to ""cock"" it up as it's likely a "one shot only" job. If I do, I might ask them to give me the tang so I know it's not rattling around in the sump !

That's how I felt when I first did one. Because the sump is ally, it's really easy to drill and coil. Unlike steel, you don't have to apply any pressure or speed with the drill/bit. A scrap piece of ally isn't something many of us have knocking about to practice on unfortunately.