VW Oil Drain Plug Repair

The oil drain plug of a VW is located on the oil pan, which is beneath the vehicle and below the engine. The oil plug is loosened whenever an oil change is perfrormed and tightened afterward. Due to the amount of times an oil drain plug is removed and replaced, the oil drain plug can be over-tightened, becoming stuck in the oil pan or stripped of its threads. Learn how to repair an oil drain plug on a VW.

Things You'll Need

• Bolt extractor set
• Hammer
• Ratchet and socket set
• Bench vise clamp
• Bolt diameter gauge (metric and standard)
• Thread pitch gauge (metric and standard)
• Penetrating lubricant spray
• Rethreader kit (metric and standard combined set)
• Tap and die set (metric and standard)
• Replacement self-tapping oil drain plug replacement (if necessary)
• Oil drain receptacle

Instructions

1. Pound on a bolt extractor to the oil drain plug with a hammer, and use a suitable-sized wrench to remove the plug if the plug head of the oil drain plug is damaged. Allow any excess oil to fully drain into an oil drain receptacle.

2. Inspect the oil drain plug threads for shards of metal or stripped threads. Remove the old oil drain plug gasket and fasten the damaged plug---by the plug head---into a bench vice clamp with the threads pointing upward.

3. Measure the oil drain plug's diameter with a bolt diameter gauge in both the standard and metric units to achieve the tightest calculation. Measure the thread count per inch with a thread pitch gauge.

4. Choose the correct-sized rethreader die based on your measurements. The rethreader should clean and cut your new threads simultaneously.

5. Spray penetrating lubricant on the shaft of the oil drain plug.

6. Place the rethreader die on the top of the oil drain plug shaft and make sure it is flush with the oil drain plug threads. Turn the rethreader with a socket wrench in a clockwise motion the full length of the oil drain plug shaft.

7. Match your newly threaded oil drain plug to an appropriately sized tap to rethread the oil pan hole.

8. Place a new oil drain plug gasket on the oil drain plug, and hand-tighten the newly threaded oil drain plug into the oil pan hole. If you cannot seem to get a tight fit or if the newly threaded oil drain plug is re-stripped, purchase a new self-tapping oil drain plug or bore a larger hole in your oil pan.

Tips & Warnings

• An oil drain plug with a damaged head should be replaced. Take your old plug to the nearest auto parts store and purchase an exact-sized replacement oil drain plug.

• If rethreading your VW oil drain plug does not work, purchase an exact-sized plug that is self-tapping and bolt it into the oil drain pan. Make sure to use the new oil plug gasket, which comes with the new self-tapping plug.

• If you over-tighten the newly threaded oil drain plug, you could end up with a stripped plug again or damage the threads of the oil pan. A new drain plug costs only a few dollars, but replacing your oil pan or tapping a new plug hole could be costly and time-consuming.

References

• Virginia Wind: Repairing Stripped Bolts
• Auto Inc: The Art of Extraction