1st Gen R53 Cooper S Help! Danged Oil drain plug won't come off

Discussion in '1st Generation: 2002–06 R50, R53 & 2004–08 R52' started by t3hwookiee, Jul 16, 2012.

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  1. Mr. Jim

    Mr. Jim Mudshark
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    #41 Mr. Jim, Jul 31, 2012
    Make sure they give you the old oil pan as now you can have someone heat the sucker up and pull it out, then you have a spare. Heck send it to me and I'll get it out for ya ;-)
     
  2. t3hwookiee

    t3hwookiee New Member

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    #42 t3hwookiee, Jul 31, 2012
    We did take it by a welding shop and they wouldn't do it without the pan being dropped, since it is aluminum apparently. JCM has us slotted for work on Monday (have to have the warranty company out first, plus they're super busy), so I still have time to run it by a muffler shop and see if they will do it. It is worth a shot! I do wonder what the threading looks like at this point though. Can't hurt to give this a shot though! The rest of the work needs done still at least, so May will be there Monday either way.
    Thanks Metalman. :)
     
  3. Metalman

    Metalman Well-Known Member
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    #43 Metalman, Jul 31, 2012
    Good luck....
    The physics involved will be the aluminum has a greater expansion rate than steel. Since the aluminum is on the outside of the steel plug, as it heats up from the welding of the steel plug from convection, it will expand more than the steel so the circumference will get greater and lift off the circumference of the steel plug. Of course, this all takes place at a microscopic level. The nut will still needs to be turned with a wrench.......
     
  4. Mr. Jim

    Mr. Jim Mudshark
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    #44 Mr. Jim, Jul 31, 2012
    That's like the Triumph TR7, aluminum cylinder head with steel head bolts. The first time we did one it took 12 hours to get the head off!!
     
  5. t3hwookiee

    t3hwookiee New Member

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    #45 t3hwookiee, Jul 31, 2012
    Good idea there Jim, will do so! With any luck the muffler shop can help get this done once and for all and I won't need to buy a new pan. :)
     
  6. t3hwookiee

    t3hwookiee New Member

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    #46 t3hwookiee, Aug 10, 2012
    Alright, the bloody thing is off. MINI dealership told us they were not comfortable using a chisel and hammer/bangy thing on the plug due to the pan being aluminum. So what did Carmax do? That very thing. They did get it off though, but holy crap did it make a huge wedge in the outside edge of the plug. Several threads were gone/missed up on it too. It was missed up but good. New plug on it, no charge. Turns out the "manager" we were talking to, wasn't the actual manager. He was in charge while the manager was out of state. The actual manager took care of things. The previous guy made a snarky comment to me about my husband while we were checking out (went ahead and just had them do the oil change, since it was emptied out anyways... watched them do it too!) and wow, couldn't believe it. I just stared at him and said "really?" Horrible customer service on his part. Which we let the manager know about. We are thinking about getting a clean container and making sure *this* plug will come off now, just in case. Not going through this again! If it does, gonna put on the valve.

    Monday we take May in to MINI to do the warranty work. No courtesy car still. I have yet to get one, even when they've got the car for more than a day. :( Was looking forward to seeing what a hardtop with a turbo drove like.

    Thanks for all your help guys!
     
  7. oldvet53

    oldvet53 New Member

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    #47 oldvet53, Nov 7, 2012
    See if you can find some KRONA KROLL, it is used in machine shops to loosen things that act like they have been welded together. I had to put lap belts in a '80 3/4 ton Chevy truck when I got it some idiot had cut the shoulder harness so I just got some lap belts at Auto Zone but when I tried to put a bolt in the threaded plates in the floor board and it had so much rust and dirt and crud built up I couldn't even get the bolt to start. I let it set for about 15 min. after using the KRONA KROLL and it went right in just like new. It has the best penetrating properties of anything I have ever seen, you might try a pipe wrench if you can get it on the plug head after soaking the plug with the penetrating oil I mentioned before and when it came out I'd put a small amount of Anti-seize on just the threads and just a small amount and smear it in the threads with your finger and wipe off any that may have gotten on the part of the plug that goes into the oil pans insides. Aluminum is bad to gaul with a dissimilar metal thread such as steel or stainless. I learned this from many years of working on Motorcycles. It will save you any problems in the future and just run it down till it contacts the copper washer if it has one and then snug firmly but don't act like the Hulk and you should be ok and never have anymore problems.:)
     
  8. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    #48 Minidave, Nov 7, 2012
    I'm glad you go it fixed, if you use the right wrench or socket and torque it properly you'll never have another problem with it.

    However, I'm a little concerned that you said the threads on the plug were messed up - considering the pan is aluminum and the plug is steel, it seems the threads in the pan would get screwed up first - or also. Hope it's OK!

    As to the muffler shop, I can understand how they might not want to weld in close proximity to the pan, but if you do it the way I described it's simply not a problem (find a nut big enough to fit over the head of the plug and weld in the middle of the nut).

    So for any of you out there who round off your drain plug, this is another method that will allow you to remove it without damaging the pan.
     
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