Messed up my gf's 2007 Denali when doing an oil change - HELLLLP

[jbluemke]

Well, I'm apparently an idiot. She's been having nothing but trouble with this truck since she got it and I was giving it an oil change. All was seemingly fine until 3 to 4 weeks later when the "low oil" light came on.

I don't know if it was me or the drain plug I ordered off amazon that "fits your 2007 denali" but doesnt.
Needa 653096US M12-1.75 Oil Drain Plugs and Gasket for GM
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NYMUWI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

She took it to a place to get another oil change or to see what was wrong with it. They said that the drain plug was stuck/misthreaded/cockeyed (I forget) and they would have to replace the whole oil pan for like $400-$600 - so now I feel like a POS.

Is there ANYYYY way to fix this??? PLEASE say yes!! I feel so bad. Thank you for the help!!

 

[Bill 1960]

Without a first hand examination of the threads, I won’t hazard a guess. Lots of times thread damage can be corrected with a tap or merely by screwing the correct bolt in at the correct angle.

Or perhaps you did too much damage.

It’s also possible the damage preceded you. What caused you to buy a new drain plug to begin with?

If I was a gambler, I’d say the odds of a non tech savvy consumer being sold a new oil pan in these circumstances are damn near 100%. And the odds of the selling service writer putting a new oil pan on their own wife/girlfriend’s car near zero. They’d tap it or put in a helicoil.

You might want to read about helicoils if you’re not familiar.

 

[jbluemke]

Okay thanks a lot! It seemed like an excessive "fix" to me as well.

I will look into helicoils.

Without sounding TOO stupid (probably too late) how would I go about tapping it?

I might just give the old plug a try as well.

 

[Geotrash]

Okay thanks a lot! It seemed like an excessive "fix" to me as well.

I will look into helicoils.

Without sounding TOO stupid (probably too late) how would I go about tapping it?

I might just give the old plug a try as well.

Yes, try the old plug first.

Is the truck still in their shop? If you have it back home, you can get yourself a metric tap and die set with the proper size tap for the threads on the drain plug, and screw it in and out of the hole a few times to "chase" the threads and get them back to spec.

 

[Bill 1960]

With respect, repairing threads is a job where experience and having the muscle memory for what’s right vs wrong matters. Not having that experience got you in hot water with the GF. Don’t keep digging when you’re in a hole. Pay a trusted mechanic for ten minutes of his time and come out a winner having saved the day with no more mishaps.

 

[91RS]

You can try and helicoil but they usually don’t stay for drain plugs because they keep getting removed and reinstalled. Generally when you fix a bolt it never gets touched again. Just replace the pan and know it’s fixed for good. Look around online and see if you can find a used pan or get one from Rock Auto or GM Parts Direct.

 

[FrankU]

Try NAPA on line , they have a kit to repair stripped out oil drain plugs.

 

[George B]

With respect, repairing threads is a job where experience and having the muscle memory for what’s right vs wrong matters. Not having that experience got you in hot water with the GF. Don’t keep digging when you’re in a hole. Pay a trusted mechanic for ten minutes of his time and come out a winner having saved the day with no more mishaps.

This is sage advice.

 

[wjburken]

You can try and helicoil but they usually don’t stay for drain plugs because they keep getting removed and reinstalled. Generally when you fix a bolt it never gets touched again. Just replace the pan and know it’s fixed for good. Look around online and see if you can find a used pan or get one from Rock Auto or GM Parts Direct.

This is sage advice.

Agree completely. This reminds me of a saying I heard once, “When you dig yourself into a hole, the best way to get out is to quit digging and ask for a hand up.”

 

[Just Fishing]

Oh man, this one time i drank too much beer before doing a real basic automotive task.
Swapping out my winter thermostat for a summer one...
one of the bolts was slightly stuck in there, and had i been 100% sober i'm pretty sure I would have noticed the bolt was not budging.
that turned into a broken bolt.
then an attempt to extract it turned into a total mess.

luckily the intake was super cheap, and i had a backup car to drive for a week while i waited for the replacement.
It was also good to update the intake gaskets while i was there...


I now have a strict rule of no beer until after the job has been completed.


..... If you were 100% sober and you managed to cross the threads so bad that the plug was in there crooked, pay someone to fix it.
Learning to tap threads is not something you want to do for your first time under a truck.