Technical 2004 2.0 JTD 16v sump oil drain nut.

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Technical 2004 2.0 JTD 16v sump oil drain nut.

Zog

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This came out easily enough but was stiff to turn just about the whole way.

Is this normal?The sump is made of alloy.

When screwing the thing back in it did not seem to go suddenly tight when it was home, and so I stopped turning it when it seemed fairly tight (hand on spanner near sump nut not on end of spanner).

Do threads strip easily on these? I'm a bit worried.

Anyone?
 
This came out easily enough but was stiff to turn just about the whole way.

Is this normal?The sump is made of alloy.

When screwing the thing back in it did not seem to go suddenly tight when it was home, and so I stopped turning it when it seemed fairly tight (hand on spanner near sump nut not on end of spanner).

Do threads strip easily on these? I'm a bit worried.

Anyone?
Hi Zog.

I don't have much experience of Fiat aluminium sumps specifically as I pretty much mess about with Seats Skodas Pandas and my boy's Punto. But, I do have extensive experience of aluminium sumps right back to the times of the old BMC brands (Austin/Morris/etc) and latterly VW stuff. I'm sorry to have to say that no, the plug should slacken easily. If in good condition you would be able to spin it out with your fingers (after initially slackening it with a spanner). The "stiffness" when removing the plug is a sure sign the thread is damaged and the fact that it wouldn't tighten properly further supports this. You need to keep a very close eye on it now as it's likely that even if it's not leaking at present the vibration and heat cycles it will experience in use will encourage this to happen. It's less likely that it will actually drop out in the road but I'd be a fool to promise it won't.

This is a very common problem these days and stripped threads in ally sumps are often encountered. The good thing (if one can say it's a "good thing") is that because of this there are a number of options for repair. Most manufacturers/main dealer workshops seem to favour replacing the entire sump which can be eye wateringly expensive. Thankfully the entrepreneurs amongst us now produce kits which allow you to tap out a new thread one size bigger than the standard size and supply a suitable new plug to fit it. Or you can use a "helicoil", (other makes are available) thread repair insert and use a new standard plug. You can buy these kits at very reasonable prices on eBay. If you have good hand skills and access to the hole is reasonable you can probably do this successfully yourself but it's quite critical to keep the new thread running true with the old one, if you get it "squint" the new plug won't compress the sealing washer evenly and it'll leak (believe me, I know! Plumbers white tape works wonders!). If you can't do it yourself there's bound to be a competent independent near you who will be doing one or two a week and won't charge you a fortune.

From experience I can, depressingly, tell you that it's likely the next time you remove it you won't be able to successfully reinstall it. - sorry! But, when you do remove it, have a good look in the hole with a bright light. Just occasionally, (and this is a long shot), the plug will be shorter than the full depth of the thread in the hole so you may find that there is undamaged thread still there further into the hole! If so, as most thread forms are now standardised, take your sump plug to a good motor factor or engineering suppliers and get a set screw of the same thread form but longer which will then hold on the undamaged threads left in the hole - BE GENTLE TIGHTENING IT! A lot of workshops will now only tighten sump plugs using a torque wrench - even the most experienced technician can have an "off day" or be in a hurry and damage one of these. I always now use my torque wrench on plugs in ally sumps.

So, my most sincere condolences! However it's not the end of the world and you should be able to get this rectified at a reasonable expense.
Good luck with it
Regards
Jock
 
Blast. Thanks for the reply. I looked previously up second-hand sumps, which are available, and thought about helicoils, which I remember from mororbikes long ago. There's also a thing called a "Time-sert", but it looks as though that needs the removal of more metal from around the stripped threads' hole. Helicoils are pretty strong.


Having the flipping thing drop out while travelling would be a nightmare.
 
Blast. Thanks for the reply. I looked previously up second-hand sumps, which are available, and thought about helicoils, which I remember from mororbikes long ago. There's also a thing called a "Time-sert", but it looks as though that needs the removal of more metal from around the stripped threads' hole. Helicoils are pretty strong.


Having the flipping thing drop out while travelling would be a nightmare.
Hi again.

It's been some time since I looked at repair kits for this so I just googled sump plug repair kit and there are lots to choose from. Looks like most are under £20 here in UK. There are temporary ones but they would not give a long term solution. I'd want to look very carefully at a used sump, not just at the drain plug threads but also for impact damage and condition of mating faces and any other threaded holes etc.

In my opinion the Wurth time-sert is a superior product but quite expensive and can be difficult to source. My oldest son learned to drive in an Austin Allegro which only lasted for a short while before we had to scrap it. He bought a cheap diesel Skoda Fabia to replace it which had been serviced before he took delivery (3 months guarantee) it drove very nicely and the engine ran quietly. Although we gave it a quick once over when he took delivery it was about 9 months later before we gave it a good checking over and a service. Everything was going well until we came to change the oil we just couldn't believe what we saw - a spark plug in the place of the sump plug! The sump plug threads had obviously been stripped (ally sump) and repaired by installing a spark plug helicoil and a spark plug then used as a sump plug! When I thought about it I realised that as there was nothing wrong with the helicoil the simplest thing was to make a sump plug by smashing out the ceramic and welding a metal blanking piece over the hole where the ceramic and electrode would have been. I found a soft copper washer to fit the thread diameter and act as a seal. He kept that car for many years and the makeshift sump plug never gave any problems!

Good luck with yours. Kind regards
John
 
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