Review on 🔧 Dorman 65217 AutoGrade Oversize Oil Drain Plug: Efficient Solution for Easy and Reliable Oil Changes by Derek Cage

The mechanic at the dealer said he noticed oil was dripping out of the drain plug and he thought it just needed tightening, he said "but it just kept turning" until he realized it he was undressed . Of course, as he spun it "in circles," it only ripped off worse, but somehow "that's how it fit when it did." Correctly. When I went to the counter to pay for the service I was shocked at the estimate of $754.40 for an oil pan replacement as I had already looked up the cost of the pan and was able to find it for around $52 all day. However, while doing a little more research at home that evening, I happened to stumble upon this replacement oversized self-tapping oil drain plug after reading some reviews and realizing that the only real hazard is that you have to cross threads when screwing it in, what in my opinion meant you had to screw it in at a pretty good angle, thought it was definitely worth a try. I've used various types of self-tapping screws over the years and as long as you're turning the threads at a reasonably perpendicular angle to the hole, it's really very difficult, if not impossible, to cross-thread. Unless you insert it at an angle and let the tools do their job, it will go in straight every time with no chance of cross-threading. It's safe, fast, efficient and cheap. so i ordered one. But just in case, just in case I run into any unforeseen problems during this surgery, I also picked up a standard replacement oil drain plug from my local auto parts store for $2.70. This is a "Single Size" (SO) bolt designed to replace the standard size oil drain plug. As with other models, it is assumed that there is also a double size (DO) self-tapping oil drain plug in case an oversized bore is also cleaned out. But for my purposes here I just wanted to make sure I could put the stock oil plug back in if for some reason I couldn't put a new oversized self-tapping plug in, which was good planning on my part. as you will see. So, assuming I had all my bases in place, in case something unexpected happened, I went to the garage and drove the car up some improvised ramps made out of some 2" x 12" planks. (4ft long) mounted on two 8" x 8" railroad ties I had after finding my car's front bumper too low to use the old steel ramps I used years ago when working on older cars worked. Once the car was up the ramp, I placed an oil pan I bought at Walmart ($2.70) under the engine and unscrewed the old oil drain plug. When I pulled it out and found everything rusted, I was glad I planned ahead and got a standard sized plug to replace if needed. At this point I went indoors for about half an hour to wait for the oil to drain enough to stop dripping. "Reinstall the drain plug which should be easy enough, I was surprised it wasn't 'seized' at all. It just kept turning and turning. Well, since the threads wouldn't engage at all, after a few tries I had to manually move the socket on the ratchet forward a few clicks and then try again, hoping that it would finally find a thread to grip when it did . но после примерно получаса давления, которого я мог, и, наконец, приняв, что он просто не войдет, я, наконец, сдался, снова вылез из-под машины и принес его в дом с собой, чтобы присмотритесь к нему получше и попытайтесь понять , what is the problem. Of the four faces that had initial threads (starting with the first with the lowest threads I could see), the threads looked fine on the first face and they were fine on the second, but I'll dive in when the third face is not completely blank, no carving at all, just a thin line drawn across it, but no continuation of the existing two threads that were present on the first two faces. I got a malfunction, a defect, and no matter how hard I tried or pushed or how many times I turned it, it was obvious that this oversized self-tapping oil drain plug was just never going to work for me. So I went back and put in a new standard size oil drain plug which I picked up with a piece of Saran Wrap cling film as a spare when I couldn't find my teflon tape. I used to do some plumbing repairs not long ago and was sure I really didn't bother to touch it as I got ready for work. Then turn the key to "On", put the car in neutral, lower it off the ramp and fill the engine with oil. Then I went back inside and wrote a message to Dorman. I got a message from Dorman basically berating me for not enough pressure and saying the fork is self tapping and that it's just that I'm not applying enough force. Pressure that the plug didn't go in when I asked what size thread I need to tap new threads first as a solution as this "self-tapping" plug couldn't make those threads by itself. Reading my note again, I saw that I hadn't specifically stated how much pressure I was putting on it when I rotated it, but I assumed they would understand, which they obviously didn't, and their response was a bit surprising and also very useless for me. .and oh yes I forgot to mention that like others in my reviews this does NOT include an oil drain plug gasket although this is clearly shown in the picture. When a few days after the original seller, after being made aware of it, apologized for the oversight and promised shipping and it didn't arrive, didn't arrive, I got it from an auto parts store when I picked up an oil drain bearing screw good. (I brought an oversized fork and asked them to resize it to the correct size shim for another $1.10). I had quite a long trip to take my family on vacation and the next morning I was either looking for a faucet or someone who had another one of those big Dorman oil drain plugs with good starting threads on each. it has 4 pages so I finally got to fix this thing. Towards the end of the day, just before closing at 9pm, I finally found another large Dorman self-tapping drain plug hanging on the wall in Pep Boys' oil department. . The steps looked fine after I opened the packaging to inspect them (thought I'd take them to the counter to let them know if they were faulty anyway, so what the heck). So I went to the counter and bought it and then drove home ready to do the job over and over again from the start. then it went right in, slippery as a whistle, and when fully seated tightened like an oil drain plug should. I had to spend over $750 on a new oil pan after the dealership mechanic finished stripping an already stripped thread kit on an aluminum oil pan, leaving me in a position where the oil drain plug would likely "just fall out". , when I get in a good pothole, said the mechanic, which led to the complete destruction of the engine after the inevitable seizure. and can save you from such fancy expenses when you find that you need to replace the faulty part on your car yourself. There really isn't much chance of twisting them, despite the stories others have told. When I was younger I worked in a machine shop and sometimes dabbled in tapping new holes and I can tell you from experience that you really have to set a new screw at a certain angle and you really have to press the old threads. To make it possible. As long as you hold the new screw fairly vertically that the average person can easily spot it, and just let the threads grab by themselves, you'll never have a problem. You'll be surprised at the angle you have to be at to get a cross thread. You really should totally forget and be unaware of the need to keep the bolt properly aligned and go straight into the hole. It will never cross the thread when you are near the hole; no chance and I've done enough of them to know. Therefore, I felt confident enough to do it myself since I was familiar with the process of threading and threading new threads into the cleaned holes. It's easy and safe, and the chances of screwing it up are pretty much nil if you keep the screw reasonably aligned with the hole. The ONLY reason you might have a problem is if the new self tapping plug itself turns out to be faulty like the one I received and if I had thought about it beforehand I would have found you these first Need to check startup threads. and immediately sent them back and got a good one to start with. Most likely it would have arrived on time and I would have had a much more positive experience than when I first started. Swamp. It's quick, it's easy and you really can't go wrong providing 1. the one you get has good starting threads on all 4 sides, 2. you'll be sure to pick up the recovered oil drain plug gasket. in an auto parts store; You don't have to overtighten, after all you don't want to overtighten and pull off a new thread. This is a very quick and easy repair that you can do yourself and save yourself a ridiculous amount of money on an oil pan replacement that you don't really need and, like me, most likely can't afford anyway. It will take care of it and you will end up so happy when it's finally fixed. I know it was me ;-)