:rant: Ok, last time i went to change my oil myself, (which i know how to do, ive done it plenty of times with no drama's on other cars) i couldnt undo the sump plug because it hadnt been done for so long and it was too tight. So i gave up and figured id spend $150 odd to get it done by a mechanic. This ended up costing me $1000 more. This time, seeing as though it was only 5000kms ago that it was done, i figured the plug would be much easier to get off...no such luck. I was using the right size and type of spanner and all it did was make the bolt rounded so now i have no hope of getting it undone. What the f**k do i do now? :angry: Any ideas would be much appreciated. I would rather not have to spend money to get it done by a mechanic. HELP...

instead of using a 24mm nut, use a 22-23 and jsut hammer it in.. thats about the best way...
goodluck

drill a hole in it, use a file, anyway make sure you buy a new sump plug

Buy a big pair of multi grips and give that a go

you could weld another nut onto the bottom of it?

for future referance use a closed 6sided spanner or 6sided socket NOT one of those many faced ones if u get me. the more contact between the wrench and the nut the less likely it is to just get rounded,

WOW! that was quick lol I already tried the multigrips but they didnt work. I'd rather not go drilling holes coz if i stuff that up im screwed. Its difficult coz there is so little space under there and the plug is on a stupid angle which makes it really hard to fit the spanner under there let alone go swinging a hammer as well as holding the spanner in place. :doubt: Damn thing :rant:

for future referance use a closed 6sided spanner or 6sided socket NOT one of those many faced ones if u get me. the more contact between the wrench and the nut the less likely it is to just get rounded,
Yeah i get what u mean. Why did mistubishi have to use such a large sized bolt? :confused: 24mm spanners are not that easy to find especially 6 sided ones, but i will have a look. A 24mm spanner is obviously very large and doesnt even fit between the sump and the ground. :nuts:

Yeah i get what u mean. Why did mistubishi have to use such a large sized bolt? :confused: 24mm spanners are not that easy to find especially 6 sided ones, but i will have a look. A 24mm spanner is obviously very large and doesnt even fit between the sump and the ground. :nuts:



buy ur self a ramp or stand to give u more clearance. and if ur on the hunt for 24mm spanner i got mine from mitre 10 for 15$ and i do hav a 24mm socket as well from bunnings 5$ :cool:

Try some vice grips
I've got plenty of rounded bolts of with them

chisel and hammer.....knock the it in the direction that u wish to undo it......your sump bolt shouldnt be that tight anyway.
if u used a 24mm spanner/socket.....single hex or double hex, i cannot see how u could possibly round the bolt. If u were using a shifter or a cheapass made in taiwan spanner then it serves you right. lol

chisel and hammer.....knock the it in the direction that u wish to undo it......your sump bolt shouldnt be that tight anyway.
if u used a 24mm spanner/socket.....single hex or double hex, i cannot see how u could possibly round the bolt. If u were using a shifter or a cheapass made in taiwan spanner then it serves you right. lol
Well i dunno how it happened either but it did...the spanner i used was 24mm and it cost me like $15 so it wasnt a crappy one...this is what happened, why would i make it up? :nuts: Anyway i think the bolt was already a bit rounded when i bought the car, so maybe thats why the spanner wouldnt undo it...who knows. i just want to fix it :thumbsup:

two words- Oxy acetalene :D

Not Sure of ur Sump Design but you could just purchase a new sump & gasket and remove the sump (get covered in oil) and then replace it with a new one with a fresh gasket?
You can do that on a 3rd Gen. :cool:

get the nearest sized imperial socket and bash it on then twist!

I'm thinking as said earlier, the easiest way to get it out would be to buy a new sump plug first, then drill a hole in the middle of the one that is rounded, and use a pair of pliers to undo it...

personally i wouldnt wanna drill a hole through it incase you get any metal bits leftover inside the sump, not to mention when you finally get through having all the oil piss out down the drill bit and into your drill :p

use vice grips and determination :p

i agree with guru wouldnt wanna wreck your drill getting oil in it...or having metal filings in your oil....never would be good to have metal lubricating metal

Why would you go all the way through? Just enough to get a pair of pliers in and grip the bolt

are vice grips the same as a 'monkey wrench' or pipe wrench. if not then use one of those, keep a firm grip on it and give the handle a couple of hits with a hammer.
i tend to use it as a last resort cos it shags the bolt. its worked everytime for me.

either vice grips (done up as tight as you can ) or stiltzens/ pipe wrench, if neither of these work use a file to make flat sides on it and have another go with a smaller spanner.

When you do your sump plug up this time dont do it as tight. They dont have to be to tight as they use either a fibre washer or a brass washer, and some may have an alloy one

I would suggest stiltzens/pipe wrench to grip what's left of the bolt head. Then use a rubber mallet to apply a few "taps" to the handle of the stiltzens in an anti-clockwise direction. The stiltzens will grip the bolt head pretty well and the whacks with the mallet are usually enough to budge even the tightest bolts.

I wouldn't suggest drilling the sump plug - even part way. If you are slightly off with your direction then you run the risk of destroying the thread in the sump which would mean buying a new sump. You would also have to be a pretty good judge of depth to ensure you didn't go right through and leave metal bits in your sump. Also, if you haven't been able to get the sucker undone already, I doubt a pair of pliers inserted in the drill hole would be able to budge the sump plug anyway.

If all else fails, go to a welding shop and get them to spot weld a small metal bar onto the sump plug. Then use a BIG matal bar as leverage to try and undo it. Just make sure they weld it on at an angle that allows you to get the big bar on and then undo it a bit.

Good luck.

Im probably going to try using a smaller spanner to get the bolt out. But first i need to buy a new sump plug...what sort of bolt do i use for that?

what sort of bolt do i use for that?

if you mean where to get a new sump bolt, then get them from the dealers or repco should have them

ok ill try repco. thanks

Just thought of another option for you.....

It's a thing called an "Easyout" (I think). THey are usually used when the head snaps clean off a bolt. You drill a small hole a small way into the shaft of the bolt (or the head of the sump plug in your case). You then get the Easyout which screws into the hole you've drilled but it goes in with a left handed thread ie, it goes in counterclockwise. Once it's all the way in, you keep screwing and the idea is that the bolt shaft then unscrews with it.

Here's a quick link to what they look like.
http://www.toolprice.com/product/1225D

Ok, i bought the new sump plug, so thats a good start. Probably about the only good thing with all this at the moment. I tried and tried every tool there is pretty much to undo it today, i tried a 22mm spanner and tried hammering it on (very akward and didnt work). I gave up, for the third time... I dont know what im going to do now. :rant: :tantrum: :headbange

Get yourself one of these - a pipe wrench. If they can grip a round pipe, they should have no problems gripping a rounded off bolt.

http://static.zoovy.com/img/usfreight/W180-H180-Bffffff/7585d10inchpipewrench.jpg

If this doesn't work (however I'm thinking it will) then get to a machine / welding shop and get a 6" steel bar welded onto the old sump plug. Then get a long piece of pipe and put it over the 6" bar to apply leverage to get the old sump plug moving.

Good luck and keep us posted. :cool:

I GIVE UP! :rant: I tried absolutely everything and nothing will make it budge! So ive given up. Ive booked it in to have it done by a mechanic on monday. I have all the bits, the oil ($60 oil which they had better put in :angry: ) , the new sump plug, and the oil filter, so just for them to do it is costing $47.50. I will ask them not to do the sump plug up so tight this time!

Took it in for an oil change and it cost you a grand, wow

Are you trying to undo the bolt in the right direction? Many have only been trying to do it up and ended up like this.

If you get a chisel and work it loose it will work, I have done this many a time when a car has come to me with a mangled sump plug.

I usually weld a 17mm bold head onto the sump plug as the mitsu plugs are very thin. They do not need to be too tight as they have an "O" ring for the sealing part.

If you paid $15 for a 24,, spanner then it is a cheapie. I pay upwards of $60 for a simple 17mm spanner

Also a single hex impact socket on a propert breaker bar is the way to go, this will ensure enough leverage as well as gripping the plug.

Feel sorry for you, this JUST happen to me recently, and it was my first oil change I wish to do myself on the Magna. Was very angry about this as I would say this, there is absolutly no need to thighten the sump nut that thight!

I was starting to round off the edges so I decided to stop what I was doing. Went to Mitsubitshi to get the original nut and washer(o-ring). cost only $2.00, Ask some shops to loosen the nut and I mean just loosen, but they refuse to do it. Fearing that they may spoil it. Went to my so called unoffical mechanic to loosen it and he also gave same excuse of fearing of spoiling the nut. I told him I already have the nut so it doesnt matter.

Cost me $15.00 just for him to loosen it. The rest is I went back to do the oil change myself and replace the nut and thighten it with just normal effort.

uhmm use the right size spanner....

lol I did that and it was still not loosening. Well the fact is I done fighther jets, and they dont tighten nuts and bolts till this extent. At least now I got proper set of tools for the engine oil and spark plug change. So loosening and thightening them is a breeze.

The problem now is most shops do not WANT TO TAKE the responsibility if they round or make the treads worn. In most cases they would tell you that it will not be their fault if it does. Its a pain, but I was lucky to only pay a mech $15.00 just to loosen it.

USE AN EASYOUT.

They are a very handy tool to have.


Drill a small pilot hole not very deep, then drill in the easyout (get from tool shop).
As you drill in the easyout the plug should turn.

FIXED! :dancin: Hopefully this doesnt all happen next time. It should be right. :pray:

Cheers mate! The power is in your hands now. I think we only need to change the o-ring washer everytime you do the oil change thats all.

I change the oil in my TE myself, if you take it somewhere to have it done and the Mechanic Rattle guns your plug back on... Good luck getting it off without one..
Sump plugs should be a Fraction more then what you can tighten with your fingers, Tight enough to stop any leaks or risk of falling out but not rattle gun tight as it is hard to get them back off.

Yes replacing the sump plug O-Ring every time is a great tip..

I am yet to see any mechanic use a rattle gun to tighten a sump plug and any that does should have one rattled into his but.

If you are in doubt, tighten it to torque specs?????