I have a 1987 325 with the m20b27 motor and the threads on the pan have become stripped, which I believe happened the one time I let a shop change my oil. I have been doing research on if this is fixable or not without removing the pan and replacing it which is not really an option for me as I work full time and dont have a place nor the time for that fix. Now through my research I have found several options that would be possible for me to do and I would like opinions on which is the best and why.
Option 1: Expanding rubber plug. This is a plug that will go into the oil drain and when it is tightened the rubber is compressed and expands filling in the threads and making a tight seal. This would only be used for one maybe two oil changes which is not a problem, but I cant seem to find any metric sizes and the smallest one I can find is 1/2 inch which is bigger than the drain.
Option 2: Drill the hole out to 15/32 of an inch and then tap it to 1/2-20 threads. With this option after the hole is tapped I would be able to use the expanding rubber plug, and if that doesnt work I could just use that size oil drain plug.
Option 3: Liquid Thread? I have never heard of this, but I was talking to a buddy today who recommended it and said they use it on machines where he works if the threads are bad. I will be looking into it because I am looking for the easiest fix for now. Any opinions or information on this would be helpful.
Those are the 3 options I have found in my research so far and will continue to search it up. I am just asking for people who have experience with these particular oil pans because most of my research was for other cars and not e30s, so all different sizes of drains and types of pans.
I am looking for any pros/con s of any of these 3 methods along with any other information you may have.
I also have a black gasket maker/rtv sealant that I have a little left over from sealing my new wheels that I thought about using with the first 2 options just to ensure that the pan would no longer leak, so any opinions on that would be helpful too.
Option 1: Expanding rubber plug. This is a plug that will go into the oil drain and when it is tightened the rubber is compressed and expands filling in the threads and making a tight seal. This would only be used for one maybe two oil changes which is not a problem, but I cant seem to find any metric sizes and the smallest one I can find is 1/2 inch which is bigger than the drain.
Option 2: Drill the hole out to 15/32 of an inch and then tap it to 1/2-20 threads. With this option after the hole is tapped I would be able to use the expanding rubber plug, and if that doesnt work I could just use that size oil drain plug.
Option 3: Liquid Thread? I have never heard of this, but I was talking to a buddy today who recommended it and said they use it on machines where he works if the threads are bad. I will be looking into it because I am looking for the easiest fix for now. Any opinions or information on this would be helpful.
Those are the 3 options I have found in my research so far and will continue to search it up. I am just asking for people who have experience with these particular oil pans because most of my research was for other cars and not e30s, so all different sizes of drains and types of pans.
I am looking for any pros/con s of any of these 3 methods along with any other information you may have.
I also have a black gasket maker/rtv sealant that I have a little left over from sealing my new wheels that I thought about using with the first 2 options just to ensure that the pan would no longer leak, so any opinions on that would be helpful too.
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