Broken oil plug!:banghead:

I was a little impatient this time while screwing my oil plug back in and paid the price. Now the bolt is resting on the bottom of my oil pan. I was woundering If it is possible to get the oil pan off the engine enough to slide my hand (or a magnet?) in to get it out. And if it is at all possible to do so without removing the suspension? also can I remove the oil pan and put it back without replacing the gasket?

One more question where can I find a oil plug for a 330ci around town on a Sunday? (Autozone?)

PLZZZZ Help!!!

Originally Posted by josenar145

I was a little impatient this time while screwing my oil plug back in and paid the price. Now the bolt is resting on the bottom of my oil pan. I was woundering If it is possible to get the oil pan off the engine enough to slide my hand (or a magnet?) in to get it out. And if it is at all possible to do so without removing the suspension? also can I remove the oil pan and put it back without replacing the gasket?

One more question where can I find a oil plug for a 330ci around town on a Sunday? (Autozone?)

PLZZZZ Help!!!

What did you actually do? If you just stripped the head off, the "stud" is still in the hole and you should be able to extract it with an extractor bit.

just checked it out. No Im sure it fell in cause I just stuck the end of a zip tie in the drain and it went all the way through. I want to try to lower the pan like an inch so I can get one of those telescoping magnets in to get the bolt out.

BTW your dog is awesome!

Originally Posted by josenar145

just checked it out. No Im sure it fell in cause I just stuck the end of a zip tie in the drain and it went all the way through. I want to try to lower the pan like an inch so I can get one of those telescoping magnets in to get the bolt out.

BTW your dog is awesome!

Erm, it's threaded to fit INTO the hole, it will never come out with a magnet; unless it's in pieces. Dont waste your time trying; drop the pan.

The shaft of the drain plug is hollow so sliding a zip tie through does not mean that the bolt shaft is in the pan. In fact - I highly doubt it is. Go to Sears and get some screw extractors and back the bolt out. I had the exact same thing happen to me 2 weekends ago. I bought a smaller version of the set that KrisL pictured and it worked like a charm.

EDIT: This is the set I bought from Sears.

Originally Posted by colnago1331

The shaft of the drain plug is hollow so sliding a zip tie through does not mean that the bolt shaft is in the pan. In fact - I highly doubt it is. Go to Sears and get some screw extractors and back the bolt out. I had the exact same thing happen to me 2 weekends ago. I bought a smaller version of the set that KrisL pictured and it worked like a charm.

EDIT: This is the set I bought from Sears.

Yea, +1. You would have to really try to force that bolt into the pan. I just don't see how that could be the case....

Thank you everybody for your help. You were right. I ended up extracting the bolt and just bought another plug at NAPA. Problem solved

I am 99.99999% that what happened is the head of the bolt stripped off, and what is stuck in your pan is the stud, which is hollow on most if not all BMW's. That is why you are able to stick a zip tie through the hole.

Go to your local autoparts store and buy a bolt extractor bit, stick it as far as you can in the hole, and twist, it will come right out. Don't forget to buy a new bolt while you are there to replace it. It will help to take your old bolt head with you.

Also, pick up a qaurt of oil as well to pour down the motor to make sure all if any shavings get out of the motor, and just let that oil drain out, it's a waste, but it's worth it.

I know all this because it happened to me a couple weeks ago

Originally Posted by josenar145

Thank you everybody for your help. You were right. I ended up extracting the bolt and just bought another plug at NAPA. Problem solved

Good to hear, ignore my post above this, you posted right as I was posting mine

Aren't you glad BMW engineers decided to use hollow bolts on the oil pan's? Can you imagine how much of a PITA it would be if it was solid?

Originally Posted by e36m34life

I am 99.99999% that what happened is the head of the bolt stripped off, and what is stuck in your pan is the stud, which is hollow on most if not all BMW's. That is why you are able to stick a zip tie through the hole.

Yep, happened to me too. Only I took it to a shop for extraction. Ah, the $300 oil change...

Let this be a lesson to all of us......You don't need to make your oil drain plug what I call "a$$ tight". Go till it stops, then 1/4 turn more and you are good. It isn't a head bolt for crying out loud!

Glad you fixed the problem!

Originally Posted by smolck

Go till it stops, then 1/4 turn more and you are good. It isn't a head bolt for crying out loud!

Smolck's rule will save you the hassle that THESE people had by NOT following Smolck's golden rule!

Someone broke their oil drain plug today and he couldn't find any references on the topic, so I search for him (and found these which I'll post here as a cross reference).

Here is the search result for broken oil pan drain bolts:
- How not to change your oil in your E39 (stripped drain plug)
- Broke the plug....
- Oil Plug Stripped! Now What ??
- URGENT: engine oil drain plug broke
- Broken oil plug & Broken oil plug!
- I Literally Want to Cry....
- Broken Oil Plug 0n E39 1998
- Magnetic oil drain bolt broke in half

Here is the search result for stripped oil pan threads:
- Drain plug / oil pan stripped on 2.8 Z3
- oil plug bad
- '92 325i-- oil drail plug stripped HEEEELP!
- Oil pan stripped (use level sensor as a drain plug)
- Oil pan stripped (weld plate over hole)

Here is a good cn90 DIY on changing your oil the gravity feed way:
- DIY: E39 Changing engine oil made simple

And, read this BEFORE you select a vacuum extractor:
- DIY - BMW E39 Oil & Filter Change (vacuum extraction method)
- Why I don't recommend the Motive Vacuum Oil Extractor ...

Note the bevy of potential solutions:
- Use a 6mm wide screwdriver to spin the broken half out
- Use an EX-4 screw extractor (aka easy out) to spin the broken half out <-- recommended
- Reverse drill the steel broken half out of the aluminum oil pan
- Retap the stripped threads in the aluminum oil pan (but generally the bolt breaks before the threads strip)
- Wrap teflon tape on the threads of a new bolt and screw it in abutting the broken bolt half
- Heli-coil the stripped threads in the aluminum oil pan
- Drop the E39 V8 il pan to access the bolt if it fell through (dropping the E39 I6 oil pan is a nightmare)
- Weld over the hole and use the MightyVac oil extractor from the dipstick forever more
- Weld over the hole and use the oil level sensor as the drain plug instead
- Access the broken bolt inside the oil pan through the leveling sensor opening
- Buy an aftermarket oil drain bolt (e.g., EAS Tuning magnetic, or ?)