Corsa sump thread repair ?
Discussion
I was planning to change the engine oil in an 05 Corsa but a previous owner has damaged the drain hole thread in the alloy sump, surprisingly the silicon he used has kept the finger tight plug in for the last year anyway I'm undecided whether to let a garage repair it or use an oversize tap and plug kit from ebay, seems odd the kits don't come with a drill or isn't it necessary to drill before tapping ?
If a kit has been developed for it then I suspect this is a common problem.
As has been said, from an engineering purist point of view then a drilled hole would be best.
Sounds to me like that kit is the way forward.
If you are doing the job with the sump still on the car then start by pushing some general purpose grease into the drain hole trying to form a wall all around the hole on the inside. Then coat the tap with as much grease as you can. When you have completed the new thread get a thin piece of wire and hook the grease back out of the sump. This should bring with it most of the swarf.
Steve
As has been said, from an engineering purist point of view then a drilled hole would be best.
Sounds to me like that kit is the way forward.
If you are doing the job with the sump still on the car then start by pushing some general purpose grease into the drain hole trying to form a wall all around the hole on the inside. Then coat the tap with as much grease as you can. When you have completed the new thread get a thin piece of wire and hook the grease back out of the sump. This should bring with it most of the swarf.
Steve
Ive not seen the Corsa plug and if its big enough , but having had the same issue on another car, I simply bought a new sump plug, and drilled and tapped it out to take a smaller set screw in the centre of the sump bolt as a drain bolt. Having drained the oil, I then jacked the car to stop any more oil running towards the damaged thread area, and cleaned the hold out with cellulose thinners to get rid of any oil traces and then glued the sump plug back in in with JB weld. Not had an issue since, and no nasty swarf in the sump.
Thanks for the replies. A new sump sounds ideal but I think the exhaust has to come off and as it's original I don't fancy doing that. As I'd be doing the job on my drive on my back I'm inclined to let a garage at it if they will do it for £50ish. If they wont it's a oversize tap and plug job I reckon, at least the sump is empty now.
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