May need to replace lower oil pan...what would you do?

[IBNR]

During my most recent oil change - the first I've ever done myself on this car in over 10 years and 65,000+ miles of ownership - I discovered that the threads for the oil drain plug in the lower oil pan are stripped. Or perhaps more accurately, they are beginning to strip, since I was actually able to screw in the drain plug with the new washer that comes with the oil filter and it's holding oil with minimal seepage so far.

Having been through this process, I now intend to do future oil changes topside with a vacuum oil extractor that I have on order, but the question is what to do about that drain plug?

I'll check it again after a short period of driving, all the while watching for leaks under the car and keeping a close eye on the oil level by checking the dipstick, and assuming it's holding ok I may just leave it as-is and deal with it at the next oil change...at which point I would seem to have a couple of options: Continue to leave it as-is, maybe bulk it up with a little blue loctite on the drain plug since I plan to do topside oil changes going forward; or bite the bullet and replace the lower pan so that it's fixed "right".

I saw Gerry's great how-to on the oil sender (http://www.500eboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8039), so I'd be able to use that as a DIY on replacing the lower pan, but I'm wondering what you guys would do in this situation? Also, if I go ahead and replace the lower pan, is there anything else I should look to do in there as a preventative maintenance step at this point?

Thanks as always!

 

[Glen]

Are you sure it's the pan and not the drain plug? In any event, if it's not leaking now, I'd wait until your next oil change to replace the pan, if indeed, the threads are bad.

 

[Glen]

Oh, as far as other things while you're in there, the oil level sensor and oil pickup are about the only things to replace.

 

[J-Sauce]

Yes, Glen is right. If you are removing the pan, the rubber oil pickup may be fossilized and need replacing. Look for chucks of plastic against the pickup screen and also in the pan, which point to disintegrating chain guides.

 

[gsxr]

+3. Oil level sender O-ring, oil sump pickup rubber boot, and of course a new gasket. If you find debris inside, then it depends how much there is, etc.

Only use an OE or OE-style gasket ($20-$40), not the cheap plain fiber gaskets ($8-$12). IIRC, Klink says a thin coat of Hylomar doesn't hurt on this particular gasket. Torque the bolts evenly in a criss-cross pattern, I use a two-stage procedure, first 5Nm before the final 8Nm, then I go over them all again after driving through a couple of heat/cool cycles.