On an oil pan the threads are the only items that can wear. They are meant to last through the warranty and the required oil changes and as such are generally not really all that strong. On a steel pan they are not a part of the pan when it is built, instead they are an added piece of steel that gets spot welded to the inside of the pan like a nut. Just like most fasteners, repeated use will cause wear, the threads are the only item that will wear. What you could do is try an experiment, go get a copper crush washer to use between the pan and bolt. Now screw the plug in and gently apply torque/ Now remove the bolt and look at the contact area the bolt and pan left on the washer. Is it an even pattern all the way around? If not then somewhere along its life the drain plug was cross threaded, that will do more damage than 50 oil changes because of the way it crushes the threads. In the thin materials used it is also hard to correct unless you remove the damaged threads and cut new ones that are oriented at 90 degrees to the pans surface. The aluminum ones are easier to do that with though as they have longer thread runs. The steel pans can be difficult if you don't use a guide. For them there are kits that use an oversized tap but have what is essentially a large nut with the new threads in it, you screw the nut on the tap and then use the tap to thread the pan with the nut acting to keep the tap at 90 degrees to the surface.
Sunday, January 26th, 2025 AT 8:44 AM