Hi all,

I have a 96 civic ex with the d16y8 engine, after many many oil changes (the car now has 335k miles ) which I did myself in my own garage, I started to see the threads on the oil drain plug getting stripped all on its own. I had been careful in hand tightening it and torque it to 29 ft/lb every single time...but ..this time I felt a bit of resistance as I un-screw the drain plug...and a piece of metal in the shape of a spiral came out with it. I never overtightened or crossed the threads....so why this happens...I have no idea other than the fact that perhaps the service life of the oil pan is near the end as far as the aluminimum threads are concerned...

I also looked at replacing the oil pan with a Dorman ...or just stop the leak , which is minimal now at a few drops every night, which is a bothersome thing...

At the next oil change, I'll try using those yellow teflon tapes that are compatible with oil and gas on the threads of the drain plug and see if that helps stop the minor leak.... It does not make too much sense for me to dump money in with a new oil pan...in a car with 335k miles...

Has anyone tried this?

Thanks.

Civicfan8