Hi all. On doing an oil change on a recently bought 2009 A6 2.0 TDI, I found the thread on the sump drain hole has stripped. I've replaced the plug to no avail. It screws in fine but won't completely seal, so there's a very slight leak. Any suggestions as to a fix? Self tapping plug that's a size up? Or will I have to go down the helicoil route? Many thanks.

Hi,

You could try thread tape, it's worth a try.

Brian.

Um!? I certainly wouldn’t try the bodge of thread tape. 
Self tapping plug? Never seen one. A correctly retapped new thread and oversized sump plug would be one way, but you will first have to go down the route of finding a suitable ‘oversize’ plug, then buying (expensive) the correct thread tap for it. 
Hellicoil? possible but depends on what wall thickness you have around the current plug socket. 
Ease of removing the sump pan on your model? Safest bet is to renew the sump. OK, could be expensive, but cheaper than an engine rebuild if the current plug decides to leave home. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

Cheers for the advice. I'm thinking of maybe retapping it in the first instance, if there's a chance of repairing it. 

4 hours ago, SwaitsySG said:

Cheers for the advice. I'm thinking of maybe retapping it in the first instance, if there's a chance of repairing it. 

Hi you can re tap  the hole if you have a tap/die set but I would be inclined to contact your local mobile thread repair service they can supply the right size bolt and is all you need is a copper washer to fit, the last one I had done was a tin sump on my mondeo so  fitted  a slightly bigger washer on the plug thread side so is all I ever did after that was fit another washer every time, thats why I am a fan of the little electric oil pumps that suck the oil out through the dipstick, also the thread recovery people do the job without removing the sump, one of mine I did I used an old spark plug with the top snapped off as a temporary repair until I got a suitable 19mm bolt, if its an alloy sump they are even easier.

Steve.

Steve. 

Cheers for that Steve. I'm not sure if there's a mobile thread repair bunch where I am in Falkirk but I'll have a look.

49 minutes ago, SwaitsySG said:

Cheers for that Steve. I'm not sure if there's a mobile thread repair bunch where I am in Falkirk but I'll have a look.

Hi no worries I am sure you will find one, Ford wanted £300 for a new tin sump so £80 for threadworx was a no brainer, let us know how you get on.

Steve.

Few videos on it.

 

Sorry for the late reply. Cheers for the help chaps. I will admit I've gone down the temp repair road and for now it's holding. I've done several hundred miles so far with barely a weap. So with that in mind, and as it'll soon be due, I'm going for a more permanent repair with the next oil change. That's going to be retapping to the next size up. 

 

I've got the kit for it. Watch this space...

Just make a note of the new plug incase you ever want a new one.  

What was your ‘temporary repair road’ method Chris - which has to last you for another year or even c18k miles/ 18 months?
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

I have a sneaky feeling you're not going to approve. I may have told a little white lie, I didn't notice the drain had been stripped when I did the oil change. It was quite a while after, when I looked under the car and noticed a small weep. OK, I dare say I may have been lucky and dodged a bullet there so I put my hands up. My bad. 

In either case the plug was still tight with no play and I still had to unscrew it with the rachet to get it out and check, so it's not nearly bad enough to be sliding or wiggling. But it is partially stripped. I'm confident it's not my handywork as I was so super paranoid about stripping it in the first place that I just tightened the plug up to the washer, then gave it a slight nip with the rachet. 

I'd been of the thinking of changing the oil frequently. Lots of theories on whether it be every 5k, 10k or more. I decided to go 5k. It's an old car i bought as a runaround for less than 2 grand and has a high mileage. I don't use it for work, just social excursions. So from that, next oil change is due in roughly 1500 miles. I'll admit I feel 5k is excessive, and it's £60 odd a pop to do a change, so I'll be increasing the interval for the next. 

Anyway, short term fix was the ptfe tape and copper washer on the plug. It's tight on with no play but not over tightened. I can't move it by hand and the weep has stopped. I check it very regularly. (As well as keeping a close eye on the rear view mirror for the trail should it decide to go). 

Long term is I'm re-threading it a size up from the current plug. I've already got the kit. And the method is demonstrated in one of the vids RoyC posted. As I see it, if I make a complete hash of it it's a new sump regardless and my go-to garage is a few minutes away. If I don't I potentially save some cash. If it starts weeping again it'll be quiksteel and I'll be doing subsequent changes through the dipstick.

23 minutes ago, SwaitsySG said:

I'll admit I feel 5k is excessive

Oil is cheap enough Swaitsy.

I've never gone as much as 5k between changes, but I only do about 1k a year these days so I just change it every year.

When I was working I used to own a Trans-Am and when I changed it's oil I would use it to do an oil change on my van, haha.

A regular oil change keeps every thing clean.

My 2009 A6 has only done 42k.

Aye that's true, it hardly breaks the bank and it's good housekeeping. Certainly doesn't do any harm changing it every 5k, i honestly thought perhaps that was too frequent. Maybe not.

I take notions with driving. I work offshore on 3 week rotations so the car effectively spends 6 months of the year not being driven, other than a 10 minute run on idle once a week while I'm away. Her indoors, she's got her own wee runaround as the A6 is a bit too big. So when I'm on leave i could cover 1500 miles or 50 depending on what im up to.

That's low miles indeed. Mine has covered 240,000 and counting. Still going strong. For now anyway! 🤣 Mostly motorway miles, previous owner had it 5 year and used it for commuting to Dunfermline from Perth. It does me fine, its a good ol' bus.

Ha! Nothing wrong with a bit of recycling. 😉 Take it the van wasn't too fussed! They're big lumps those Trans-Ams. Nice cars. 

Edited August 14, 20223 yr by SwaitsySG

6 minutes ago, SwaitsySG said:

Trans-Ams. Nice cars. 

6.6 V8 403 cubic inches, Purchased it new, kept it for 24 years and when I sold it, it had 24k on the clock.

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Now that is an absolute weapon! Beautiful machine. Some sound out of that >'ll bet, though i doubt it would have been easy on the fuel. What made you sell it, if you don't mind me asking? Did you ever replace it was something else? 

31 minutes ago, SwaitsySG said:

What made you sell it

So that I could import this one from South Carolina.

This one's only a 5.8 V8

 

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Ah! Chevy Tahoe. A 4x4 man eh? Very capable looking beast that. Ha, only a 5.8.. A big ol' lump all the same. I work in Holland, they're dead into their American imports so I've seen a few of these kicking about. 

My 'other car' is a wee bit more modest. And is short a couple cylinders. 😉

 

Edited August 15, 20223 yr by SwaitsySG

A Capri, love em.

Had a couple of those as well.

I traded a 3L Ghia Capri in for the Trany.

also had a 3000 E

Yes! Now we're talking. That's a lovely mk2 Ghia. Plenty of poke. Never owned any of the 3 litres before. To be honest this is my first Injection, I had Lasers before that. You must have really loved that Trans-Am! And a mk1 too. That looks like it was a while back. They can fetch crazy money now, closest I've ever got is the model on the living room bookcase 🤣 

Admittedly the injection isn't entirely stock from a cosmetic standpoint, but I think it's still a looker. Not bad for an old Ford pushing 40. I've a bit of bodywork to do to it over the winter, nothing too major. The A6 does all the parts running. 

Edited August 15, 20223 yr by SwaitsySG

1 hour ago, SwaitsySG said:

That looks like it was a while back.

K reg 1972, Tawney brown metallic, all black interior. Had the engine rebuilt because the oil pump drive sheered off. Always used to run it on five star petrol, 6/- gallon. (30p)

Very cool. I'm afraid I'm not old enough to remember those days 🤣 I remember 4 star though. In the late 80's. My last Laser was a 1.6 I had around 15 year ago. Paris Blue. It had had the conversion to run unleaded by the time I bought it.

The Injection has a new all black interior with light grey Recaro's. I've been running it on Esso Supreme and Shell V Power.

A couple of months ago my son was test driving a Capri 3000GT from work and came to show me.

That's me in the car.

 

Really clean looking car Roy. Nice set of rs4's on it too. I might get a set for mine as I've never been as keen on the 7's. You said he was test driving it from work? I'm in the wrong job! 🤣

Edited August 15, 20223 yr by SwaitsySG

22 hours ago, SwaitsySG said:

You said he was test driving it from work? I'm in the wrong job! 🤣

He's in charge of an accident repair company, That Capri belongs to a chap who has a classic car company who has all of his cars done at my sons place.

You say your not keen on 70s cars,

This was my 1972 Lincoln Continental Mk 4. Only 7.6 L