Oil Drain Plug

Tiny
DIGGER110
  • MEMBER
  • 2002 SATURN SL2
  • 156,000 MILES
We have our oil changed by a local dealer (will with hold name out of courtesy to them). They have been performing changes regularly over the last 3 years. Today, they informed me that the drain plug was stripped sufficiently enough to leak and that the oil pan needed replacement in order to fix it. Is this a problem due to their negligence or is this a common occurrence? I was always taught (and the manual states) to replace the washer (if necessary), hand tighten the drain plug after cleaning, then turn with wrench 1/4 to 3/4 of a turn. But do not over tighten! Could the stripping and subsequent need for replacement be caused by any other thing than their negligence and over tightening of the drain plug? Need some advice here on my next plan of action.
Friday, September 7th, 2012 AT 8:36 PM

2 Replies

Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
I work for a Saturn for over 16 years and the only way I've seen the drain plugs get stripped out is over tightening. Especially the oil pan itself I actually torqued the drain plugs to keep the gaskets from being torn. Also we use to replace the gasket every oil change.
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Friday, September 7th, 2012 AT 8:42 PM
Tiny
SATURNTECH9
  • MECHANIC
  • 30,869 POSTS
Mostly what I have seen happen is the drain plug gets over torked and overtime or just the first time breaks loose the welded nut inside the oil pan. So then the nut will spin and the drain plug won't come out.
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Friday, September 7th, 2012 AT 8:47 PM

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