Stripped drain plug on a 2000 Neon

Hello everyone.

I always take my 2000 Chrysler Neon to the dealer for my oil changes
and ’peace of mind’ inspections.

I recently took it in for the oil change and after they did it, the
guy come out and told me that my drain plug was stripped and that they
didnt have another to replace it. However, he told me that it should
be ok, so I took it home.

That night, I noticed that it was really leaking a lot of oil. So I
called them monday and told them what happened and how they said that
the nut was stripped. They told me to come in and they’ll fix the
problem.

I took the car to them and they came and got me about 20 mintues later
and told me that the tool they need to fix it (some kinda TAPPING
device) was ’lent out’ to somebody and they are expecting it back
shortly. They told me that they will call me to bring it back and also
said that the car was ok to drive. Even though the mechanic told me
that I shouldnt drive it.

They call me an hour or so later and tell me to bring it back. They
take it in and 20 mintues later tell me that its ready. However, this
time they gave me a $130ish bill. $17 for the part and $98ish for the
labour. I told the guy that I was under the impression that it was
their mistake and that I wouldnt have to pay to fix it. After trying
to explain that this sort of oil pan thread stripping is normal for
"old" cars (2000 is old?), he cut the labour fee to $40ish.

After talking to a mechanic friend, he told me that he hasnt seen that
kinda problem in a 5year old car and that they should have just put a
AA class nut to fill the leak.

Did I get played??

Should I keep going back to them or should I find a new place to
service my car?

THANKS A TON

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"amadis" > wrote in message
news:1_659975_2c52aa46d14aa6448f8438005ea53940@aut oforumz.com...
> Hello everyone.
>
> I always take my 2000 Chrysler Neon to the dealer for my oil changes
> and 'peace of mind' inspections.
>
> I recently took it in for the oil change and after they did it, the
> guy come out and told me that my drain plug was stripped and that they
> didnt have another to replace it. However, he told me that it should
> be ok, so I took it home.
>
> That night, I noticed that it was really leaking a lot of oil. So I
> called them monday and told them what happened and how they said that
> the nut was stripped. They told me to come in and they'll fix the
> problem.
>
> I took the car to them and they came and got me about 20 mintues later
> and told me that the tool they need to fix it (some kinda TAPPING
> device) was 'lent out' to somebody and they are expecting it back
> shortly. They told me that they will call me to bring it back and also
> said that the car was ok to drive. Even though the mechanic told me
> that I shouldnt drive it.
>
> They call me an hour or so later and tell me to bring it back. They
> take it in and 20 mintues later tell me that its ready. However, this
> time they gave me a $130ish bill. $17 for the part and $98ish for the
> labour. I told the guy that I was under the impression that it was
> their mistake and that I wouldnt have to pay to fix it. After trying
> to explain that this sort of oil pan thread stripping is normal for
> "old" cars (2000 is old?), he cut the labour fee to $40ish.
>
> After talking to a mechanic friend, he told me that he hasnt seen that
> kinda problem in a 5year old car and that they should have just put a
> AA class nut to fill the leak.
>
> Did I get played??
>
> Should I keep going back to them or should I find a new place to
> service my car?
>

You need to write a letter to the dealership owner and tell your story.

This kind of thing is unbelievably rediculous. Set aside the charge for the
$40 for a second. This service advisor sent a car out the door that had
a known problematical oil drain plug, one that they admitted to you. If
that plug had come out when you were tooling down the highway your
engine would have self destructed in about 20 seconds, and the dealership
would be on the hook for a new engine. This is extrordinairly
irresponsible and if I was the dealership owner I would be furious
that they let you go like that.

I think you should find out where your mechanic friend works and start
taking your car there for your oil changes.

As far as stripping, you can't really blame the dealership for the
stripped plug, you don't know for a fact that they stripped it, (although
they most
likely did) maybe something bumped the bolt head and jammed it
sideways. The standard "repair" used in these circumstances is to thread
in a new oil plug that has slightly larger threads that are self-tapping,
as the plug is threaded in it cuts new threads for itself. These plugs are
available at any auto parts counter, if the dealership happened to be
out of stock of the right size on the day you took your car in for the
oil change, they should have sent a runner to the nearest auto parts place.

Usually stripped oil plugs are caused by someone trying to do the
oil change too fast and not taking the extra 20 seconds to feel around
for the threads by hand and be sure the plug is in them, when threading
back in the drain plug. I own a car manufactured in 1968 that has the
original oil drain plug in it.

Ted

In article <1_659975_2c52aa46d14aa6448f8438005ea53940@autofor umz.com>,
says...
>
>
>Hello everyone.
>
>I always take my 2000 Chrysler Neon to the dealer for my oil changes
>and ’peace of mind’ inspections.
>
>I recently took it in for the oil change and after they did it, the
>guy come out and told me that my drain plug was stripped and that they
>didnt have another to replace it. However, he told me that it should
>be ok, so I took it home.
>
>That night, I noticed that it was really leaking a lot of oil. So I
>called them monday and told them what happened and how they said that
>the nut was stripped. They told me to come in and they’ll fix the
>problem.
>
>I took the car to them and they came and got me about 20 mintues later
>and told me that the tool they need to fix it (some kinda TAPPING
>device) was ’lent out’ to somebody and they are expecting it back
>shortly. They told me that they will call me to bring it back and also
>said that the car was ok to drive. Even though the mechanic told me
>that I shouldnt drive it.
>
>They call me an hour or so later and tell me to bring it back. They
>take it in and 20 mintues later tell me that its ready. However, this
>time they gave me a $130ish bill. $17 for the part and $98ish for the
>labour. I told the guy that I was under the impression that it was
>their mistake and that I wouldnt have to pay to fix it. After trying
>to explain that this sort of oil pan thread stripping is normal for
>"old" cars (2000 is old?), he cut the labour fee to $40ish.
>
>After talking to a mechanic friend, he told me that he hasnt seen that
>kinda problem in a 5year old car and that they should have just put a
>AA class nut to fill the leak.
>
>Did I get played??
>
>Should I keep going back to them or should I find a new place to
>service my car?

You should take all of your oil change reciepts and go back to the dealer.
Then speak to the service manager. They wasted alot of your time fixing a
problem they caused. They should have fixed it for free and apologized for
wasing your time. It is pure BS that these things go bad because they are
old. They go bad because the idiot didn't do the very simple job properly.
---------------
Alex

Does this 1968 vehicle have an aluminum pan that you have? The biggest
problem is when you remove a hot steel drain plug from an alluminum oil
pan. The drain plug expands and will pull out the threads, Thats probably
why your 68 pan lasts so much longer.
The same goes for spark plugs in alluminum heads. be careful!!

"damnnickname" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
> Does this 1968 vehicle have an aluminum pan that you have? The biggest
> problem is when you remove a hot steel drain plug from an alluminum oil
> pan. The drain plug expands and will pull out the threads, Thats probably
> why your 68 pan lasts so much longer.
> The same goes for spark plugs in alluminum heads. be careful!!
>

When I bought my 95 T&C with the 3.8L and the steel pan in it, the
van had a drain plug in it that was the wrong thread that some idiot
had forced into the pan (it was not self-tapping). Fortunately the plug
they used was too short and I was able to clean the threads up with a
tap. So it's not just aluminum pans that this happens with.

Ted

damnnickname wrote:
> ...The biggest
> problem is when you remove a hot steel drain plug from an alluminum oil
> pan. The drain plug expands and will pull out the threads,...
>

Ummm - coefficient of thermal expansion of steel is exactly half of that
of aluminum. Try again.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

"Ted Mittelstaedt" > wrote in message
...
>
> "damnnickname" > wrote in message
> lkaboutautos.com...
> > Does this 1968 vehicle have an aluminum pan that you have? The biggest
> > problem is when you remove a hot steel drain plug from an alluminum oil
> > pan. The drain plug expands and will pull out the threads, Thats
probably
> > why your 68 pan lasts so much longer.
> > The same goes for spark plugs in alluminum heads. be careful!!
> >
>
> When I bought my 95 T&C with the 3.8L and the steel pan in it, the
> van had a drain plug in it that was the wrong thread that some idiot
> had forced into the pan (it was not self-tapping). Fortunately the plug
> they used was too short and I was able to clean the threads up with a
> tap. So it's not just aluminum pans that this happens with.
>
> Ted
>
Yes but there's a difference between the wrong drain plug installed in a
steel pan causing the threads to cross.
Aluminum pans are more likely to go bad just by changing the
oil...especially when the pan and drain plug are very hot

amadis wrote:

> Hello everyone.
>
> I always take my 2000 Chrysler Neon to the dealer for my oil changes
> and ’peace of mind’ inspections.
>
> I recently took it in for the oil change and after they did it, the
> guy come out and told me that my drain plug was stripped and that they
> didnt have another to replace it. However, he told me that it should
> be ok, so I took it home.
>
> That night, I noticed that it was really leaking a lot of oil. So I
> called them monday and told them what happened and how they said that
> the nut was stripped. They told me to come in and they’ll fix the
> problem.
>
> I took the car to them and they came and got me about 20 mintues later
> and told me that the tool they need to fix it (some kinda TAPPING
> device) was ’lent out’ to somebody and they are expecting it back
> shortly. They told me that they will call me to bring it back and also
> said that the car was ok to drive. Even though the mechanic told me
> that I shouldnt drive it.
>
> They call me an hour or so later and tell me to bring it back. They
> take it in and 20 mintues later tell me that its ready. However, this
> time they gave me a $130ish bill. $17 for the part and $98ish for the
> labour. I told the guy that I was under the impression that it was
> their mistake and that I wouldnt have to pay to fix it. After trying
> to explain that this sort of oil pan thread stripping is normal for
> "old" cars (2000 is old?), he cut the labour fee to $40ish.
>
> After talking to a mechanic friend, he told me that he hasnt seen that
> kinda problem in a 5year old car and that they should have just put a
> AA class nut to fill the leak.
>
> Did I get played??

Yes.


> Should I keep going back to them or should I find a new place to
> service my car?

Find a place that is competent. If they can't even change the oil, I
wouldn't want them working on anything even the least bit complicated.

Matt

Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:

> "amadis" > wrote in message
> news:1_659975_2c52aa46d14aa6448f8438005ea53940@aut oforumz.com...
>
>>Hello everyone.
>>
>>I always take my 2000 Chrysler Neon to the dealer for my oil changes
>>and 'peace of mind' inspections.
>>
>>I recently took it in for the oil change and after they did it, the
>>guy come out and told me that my drain plug was stripped and that they
>>didnt have another to replace it. However, he told me that it should
>>be ok, so I took it home.
>>
>>That night, I noticed that it was really leaking a lot of oil. So I
>>called them monday and told them what happened and how they said that
>>the nut was stripped. They told me to come in and they'll fix the
>>problem.
>>
>>I took the car to them and they came and got me about 20 mintues later
>>and told me that the tool they need to fix it (some kinda TAPPING
>>device) was 'lent out' to somebody and they are expecting it back
>>shortly. They told me that they will call me to bring it back and also
>>said that the car was ok to drive. Even though the mechanic told me
>>that I shouldnt drive it.
>>
>>They call me an hour or so later and tell me to bring it back. They
>>take it in and 20 mintues later tell me that its ready. However, this
>>time they gave me a $130ish bill. $17 for the part and $98ish for the
>>labour. I told the guy that I was under the impression that it was
>>their mistake and that I wouldnt have to pay to fix it. After trying
>>to explain that this sort of oil pan thread stripping is normal for
>>"old" cars (2000 is old?), he cut the labour fee to $40ish.
>>
>>After talking to a mechanic friend, he told me that he hasnt seen that
>>kinda problem in a 5year old car and that they should have just put a
>>AA class nut to fill the leak.
>>
>>Did I get played??
>>
>>Should I keep going back to them or should I find a new place to
>>service my car?
>>
>
>
> You need to write a letter to the dealership owner and tell your story.
>
> This kind of thing is unbelievably rediculous. Set aside the charge for the
> $40 for a second. This service advisor sent a car out the door that had
> a known problematical oil drain plug, one that they admitted to you. If
> that plug had come out when you were tooling down the highway your
> engine would have self destructed in about 20 seconds, and the dealership
> would be on the hook for a new engine. This is extrordinairly
> irresponsible and if I was the dealership owner I would be furious
> that they let you go like that.
>
> I think you should find out where your mechanic friend works and start
> taking your car there for your oil changes.
>
> As far as stripping, you can't really blame the dealership for the
> stripped plug, you don't know for a fact that they stripped it, (although
> they most
> likely did) maybe something bumped the bolt head and jammed it
> sideways. The standard "repair" used in these circumstances is to thread
> in a new oil plug that has slightly larger threads that are self-tapping,
> as the plug is threaded in it cuts new threads for itself. These plugs are
> available at any auto parts counter, if the dealership happened to be
> out of stock of the right size on the day you took your car in for the
> oil change, they should have sent a runner to the nearest auto parts place.
>
> Usually stripped oil plugs are caused by someone trying to do the
> oil change too fast and not taking the extra 20 seconds to feel around
> for the threads by hand and be sure the plug is in them, when threading
> back in the drain plug. I own a car manufactured in 1968 that has the
> original oil drain plug in it.

That would be cross threading which isn't exactly the same as stripping.
Stripping is usually caused by overtorquing the plug. Many folks
don't realize how little torque is required on most drain plugs.


Matt

damnnickname wrote:

> Does this 1968 vehicle have an aluminum pan that you have? The biggest
> problem is when you remove a hot steel drain plug from an alluminum oil
> pan. The drain plug expands and will pull out the threads, Thats probably
> why your 68 pan lasts so much longer.
> The same goes for spark plugs in alluminum heads. be careful!!
>

But the aluminum pan expands faster than the steel drain plug so it will
get looser rather than tighter.

Matt