judd944

I tried to change the oil in my 84 and the bolt was a 15mm (or so I thought) I stripped the heck out of it with the 15 so I think it might have been replaced with an english aftermarket part. now it is rounded beyond belief. how the heck do I get it off? I drove the car until the oil pan was hot and still no luck. I have been using vise grips and a hammer but it still wont budge. any ideas?

judd944

Oh and I checked on the black car and it is 17mm.

Matt Romanowski

One trick that many have used is a small plumbers monkey wrench. It is used for round things.....

Matt

Luis de Prat

Judd, don't forget to try good ol' WD-40 sprayed well into the crease around the plug. Maybe even letting it soak overnight. It's worked wonders for me. I assume you have a replacement drain plug?

Then try with a 12-point 17mm socket.

PorscheDoc

Big *** vise grip should be able to get a grip on it enough to pop it loose.

Tom M'Guinn

If you are a welder, you could tack something on there to crank it off. Otherwise, you could file a slot to unscrew it, or try to force it to unscrew with a chissel and hammer. Or, pound a slighty smaller torx socket over it. Drill a shallow hole in it for an EZ-out? Vice-Grips can also work at times--especially if you file the edges flat. Heating the area around the plug with a propane torch (carefully to not screw up the pan), can help with any of the above. Or ice on the plug.

Riff

Those new bolt removers from Sears look pretty trick...Need to get me a set.

judd944

I am going to try the file approach, the vise grips just wore the metal off of it. I will try that on the lift tomorrow. thanks guys.

Legoland951

There is a special shaped head channel lock that will remove rounded nuts. It is able to get the bolts off where no vice grip would work. The head instead of 2 flat edges is shaped like a parrot's beak and slightly bent. Its not the easiest thing to find but I have never encountered anything that I couldn't remove with that channel lock even if it is completely round.

mochman

make sure the teeth are sharp on the vice grip.

judd944

I may need to make a trip to sears tomorrow, those look great!

josephsc

I've had quite a bit of success removing stripped or broken bolts using left-hand drill bits (they rotate in the opposite direction from regular bits). Bolts usually come out even before having to use Easy-outs.

newoldguy

Instead of WD40, try a product called "PB Blaster". Its great stuff for stuck bolts.