Changing Oil

[CMoon]

To anyone who can help,

We need to change the oil in the '69 Morris Mini.  We are having a hell of a time trying to get the oil plug off. 

My brother (who owns british cars) suggested heating it up, but that didn't work either.  Now, Andy is afraid he is stripping it.  Any suggestions?  We'd really prefer to do it ourselves rather than take it to a shop.

Cheryl Moon

[John W]

Is it like it has been over tighten? Who changed the oil the last time? Did the plug go in smoothly by hand or did they have to use a wrench?

John W.

[CMoon]

Hi John,

Yeah, it does seem like it's been overtightened.  I guess Jake was the one who changed it last time, since I don't think we've had it done before. 

I guess I should try to e-mail Jake.

Cheryl

[John W]

Try a breaker bar and slow easy torque.

[Angel]

I don't think Jake would have changed his own oil. I think he used to have Kip Motor Cars service the Mini.

[John Lieberman]

If it takes a lot of effort to loosen the drain plug, Cheryl, it was probably just over-tightened on a previous oil change and a breaker bar, as suggested, should do the job.  However, if you can turn the plug but it won't come out, somebody before you may have stripped the threads in the aluminum sump on a previous oil change.  If that's the case, you're going to have to lever a couple of screwdrivers under the head of the drain plug and then force it outward while turning it.  Once it's out, you'll have to drill out the threads in the sump, re-tap the hole, and install a heli-coil to get the drain plug to fit properly again.

JL
 

[CMoon]

Thanks for the help guys.  The breaker bar worked like a charm.

Cheryl

[John Lieberman]

Gotta love it when a plan comes together!  Glad to hear that you were able to get it out without having to re-invent the wheel!

JL

[John W]

Yep Breaker Bars and Large Hammers always work ......

[DStein]

Yep Breaker Bars and Large Hammers always work ......

+1 for Large Hammers...

...also, it helps if the tool exactly fits...for instance, a six point wrench might work fine on a tight hex bolt where a twelve point wrench would round it off...