oil plug bad

we changed the oil in our e34 and the plug came out real hard ,, i re taped the threads and used tape on the threads to help seal it up but its still drips a little ,,, any other ideas ??

thanks

Are you using a drain plug gasket?

Heli-Coil

i used the gasket that was on the plug with Teflon tape too ,, thought about looking into a ribber plug ???

Originally Posted by lilrobo

ribber plug ???

did you mean rubber plug?
and yea if the threads really are messed up you'll have to heli coil it. or buy a new oil pan but all it took to get mine to stop leaking was putting on the right drain plug gasket. got to get the aluminum one. works magic

Originally Posted by lilrobo

i used the gasket that was on the plug with Teflon tape too ,, thought about looking into a ribber plug ???

Not sure, but the above sounds like you used the old plug gasket . They are crush gaskets and are desinged for one use only. I agree with Mike. Use a new one if you did not previously. Also, they don't take a lot of torque to get them to seal. Hopefully that will work. If not, you will need a Heli-Coil or new pan.

Good luck,
Steve

Edit: Corrected above. "If not, you will need a Heli-Coil or new pain" Ha Ha. You can tall I'm a nurse and am used to typing the word "pain" a lot.

so i need to get one everytime i change oil ?? i'll check the parts house for one ,and get the alum one ??

thanks

Originally Posted by lilrobo

so i need to get one everytime i change oil ?? i'll check the parts house for one ,and get the alum one ??

thanks

the filter should come with the new gaskets in a little bag.

+1 on the 'do not overtighten', as this will possibly cause the crush gasket to distort and create a leak potential.


df

Are you buying OEM filters? I found that the ones at Autozone were about 1-2 mm taller than OEM, so I did not use them for fear of the cap not sealing well and causing a leak. Plus, its just better to use OEM filters as far as I'm concerned. I don't thiink that it's worth the $4-5 savings for something as important as the oil filter.

The little plastic bag that comes with the filter should have the following items:

• Large O-ring for the oil filter housing cap
• Small O-ring for the tip of the long bolt that goes through the housing cap
• Smaller copper gasket for the base of the long bolt that goes through the housing cap
• larger copper gasket (only slightly larger than the other one) for the oil pan gasket plug

Replace all of these with every oil change. Again, it doesn't take a lot of torque for the long bolt to make the gasket seal.

When I did my first oil change on the E34 I recently bought, someone had not removed the previous gasket at the base of the long bolt. I removed the bolt and found two gaskets and silicone Took both of the gaskets off, cleaned up the bolt and cap and did it the proper way. No leaks.

i 'll check out a filter kit from dealer and give it a try

thanks this might stop the oil leak

Great. Let us know.

Originally Posted by BMR_LVR

it doesn't take a lot of torque for the long bolt to make the gasket seal.

Truer words were never spoken.

Look what happens if you torque the drain bolt down too much!

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 ?)