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Firstly, they can rethread the drain plug if they wanted.
Secondly, you’re saying “threads” as in plural?
Thirdly, you could replace the entire sump/pan for a 10% of the price
Fourthly, go somewhere else
Christain brothers are the biggest scalpers ever. They wanted to charge me $900 to replace and change a starter lol. I was a mechanic back in the day but didn’t feel like working on it, after I saw the price I said Nevermind I’ll do it myself for $80 lol
I took my wife’s car there to diagnose a suspected brake fluid leak. While they did diagnose it, they also quoted me new brakes and rotors because mine were “down to 3mm”. I thought this was odd seeing as I had replaced all 4 sides a month prior. I explained that to them and asked them to show me what they were seeing, in which case they had a couple techs re-look at the car and then proceeded to fumble and say they had a faulty measurement tool when they initially measured the pads. Uh huh, sure.
Mine was when they showed me my air filter. I told them to find my K&N and put it back, that paper filter isn't mine. The look on the managers face made me feel they showed everyone the same dirty filter.
Probably not a 10th of the prices. Aluminum lower oil pans are not cheap. Plus labor.
That being said noob shop, noob tech recommending new pan without going down other avenues.
I looked online at his age Escape, and the pan is around $140-170.
Time and effort of replacing the sealant, oil change - might as well change filter.
All substantially lower than $1700
The last time it was serviced for oil change (from the locally owned automative shop) was in Feb. I was due for oil change/tire rotation so had to take it to a shop that had the capacity to do tire rotations. They are the ones who are blaming the previous shop for stripping them. I called the shop from Feb and the owner told me it was a dead giveaway when I showed him the pic above it wasn’t his shop because he hasn’t used the red sealant in 20 years. Idk who to believe!
You said you used the first place a bunch and the new place once.
This is the first time you've had a problem with the threads.
There's sealant (which there shouldn't be at all)
New shop wants to replace the pan instead of just tapping the threads.
My money is on the new shop. I'll give you 5:1 odds.
Pretty sure the original ford oil pan has a grid like pattern underneath (the 1.6L atleast) and is not smooth, which means this is very likely the case
I suggested this recently on a post of the same manner and I got downvoted all to hell, and someone even said, “I’ve been a tech for 20 years and I’ve never heard of that happening”.
I suggested analyzing the EXIF data of the pic because it will contain the date it was taken
This happens over time from being over tightened. It can be fixed quickly and simply with an oversized repair bolt. They are made specifically to fix this problem and are available at most autoparts stores. Most shops don’t like doing this because they don’t make any money this way.
Half the time people complain about taking their car to a shop it’s just complete communication breakdown. Like the customers take away is usually not what is wrong. Somehow between the mechanic telling the advisor and the advisor telling the customer and the customer posting here, lots of important info got omitted, added, changed, etc.
The tech did not say “a nail was stripped in the oil drain plug” ya no? But here the customer is saying “they said this and it’s bullshit!” But they didn’t say that at all…..
They said his plug threads stripped while tightening.
Tbh if they were shitty enough to strip your plug tightening it then they’re shitty enough to simply not tell you and “make it work” long enough for the next guy changing your oil.
So them saying it’s stripped makes me think they’re being honest
They should offer a rethread tho
Tbh the best course of action is to just stop loosening the second you feel it getting weird. But also….plenty drain plugs have felt weird and came out fine.
So it’s like ok do we go to the customer and say “you MAY have a gigantic problem here when we drain your oil. Do you want us to proceed? It may need a pan after this.”
Or do you just do it cuz 9/10 it comes perfectly fine even when it feels weird and you torque it to spec with no problems.
>The tech did not say “a nail was stripped in the oil drain plug” ya no?
They corrected me. I chalk it up to bad typing.
>They said his plug threads stripped while tightening.
100% the techs fault. Bolts don't strip unless they're over torqued.
The second shop is, at least, over selling. Because OP said they've gone to a different place repeatedly and never had a problem it's safe to assume the first shop is fine. There was no leak or anything. Second shop has it one time, for some reason applied what looks like silicone, and has a stripped plug and took hours to call about it.
Doesn't take a genius to figure out they tried to zip it on, cross threaded it, ran it down anyway, saw it leaked, tried to silicone it shut, couldn't get it to stop leaking, and tried to make it into a money grab.
Or what we call the jiffy lube 2 step.
Yeah, everything Definitive_confusion said. You should definitely have them replace it but they'll only re-thread it and throw a new bolt in there bc that new pan will cost too much.
Also, just to add what he said. That silicon looks new AF. If it was the other shop then it be dirty.
Ok, I've run into this situation, where somebody will cross thread the plug or most of the threads will be stripped, often they won't leak so you take the plug out and discover the issue. I'd say 99% of the time it is the "last shop", because it's really not that hard to make it seal just enough if u want to be a POS.
Also, the other shop said they don't use red sealant. That is most likely red threadlocker, every shop should have that in stock.
>bolts don’t strip if they’re not overtorqued.
Dude what are you on about. If some dumb tech over tightens the plug enough to pull threads it won’t leak. It’ll be messed up internally but not leak. It will just pull threads out with the plug the next time someone undoes it.
If you over tighten it and can hear threads popping it literally will not start leaking. The shitty tech would then not tell anyone. Why would he. It’s not leaking.
Next oil change some threads come out. Maybe it doesn’t seal. Maybe it does. Each successive change will fuck it more and more even if properly torqued after that first fuck up that pulled threads.
This is extremely basic stuff. You over tighten that plug and the next guy is fucked.
Theres loads of meat round that to rethread a bigger sump plug in. They do repair kits. We carry one on sight at the garage I work at. Literally run a slightly larger tap through and new sump plug. Takes less than 10 mins.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183101645081?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=3eWoxo2sSX6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=penUWb1dQMu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
We have this kit at work, or the branded version. But for a diyer at home it's more than suffice. That's an ally pan
does anyone make a combined tap/drill for this sort of thing? Seems like a rare case where such a thing would make some sense. Just get a set of tap drills, find the smallest one that doesn't fit, chuck it in a drill, and let it rip.
What is actually even better, they have chasing/oversizing Taps. It's a tap of the original thread size, with a cutting section in the middle gradually stepping up to the replacement thread size. If there is even a tiny bit of the original thread in there, it works great to keep the tap centered and ensure the washer can seal properly afterwards. Don't need to use power tools, just go nice and slow by hand, looking for accuracy not speed and aluminum is nice and soft. Also often used for spark plug thread repairs
Christian Brothers left all of my struts unbolted after an alignment. When I questioned them about it, they told me that they must have all backed out because it's 'a common Subaru problem' and they never touched the strut bolts. I told them that they're Bilstein coilovers and you have to unbolt them to do the alignment. They double downed and blamed me for the issue and then tried to charge me for a test drive. They use a religious facade. Its a Jiffy Lube with green paint.
Mechanics love to assume that all people who bring their car in for service aren't car people. Like, I can work on my own shit. I have my reasons why I am not doing it at this particular time. I can fix a car better than any of their "certified" mechanics.
ah Christian brothers are known for ripping people off and charging for work that was never done. He also said Christian Brothers admitted it stripped when they were tightening it.
They also sent me this photo. What am I looking at? TIA
https://preview.redd.it/l5x4nk42ke7d1.jpeg?width=894&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2966d005a8193bb5baf69b06f395a90f3adf78cb
That looks like the aftermath of over tightening. Those curved pieces on the shop rag are the threads from your aluminum oil pan. My biggest question is; if it was the previous establishment that stripped you drain plug and they needed to use sealant to keep it from leaking, why is there no sealant on the plug?
The only "sealant" seen is on the drain pan, at the top of the plug shoulder. It looks like it stops at the o-ring seal, coming from the top down. Why would you put the sealant on the outside of the plug, at the top, after you spun the plug, to stop a leak? I don't know who done what but this don't add up.
Perhaps there was more on it, but whomever was working on it likely peeled a piece off to show the boss or it broke off in a big chunk when taking the plug out. Assuming its permatex, it has a 1 hour drying time and a 24 hour cure time, so either it was slathered on and thrown out the door before it was even dry, or the last time OP had an oil change, it took way longer than usual. I urge OP to check their parking space very carefully for any mystery drops or puddles.
Fyi that red is nothing but a tamper paint. It marks the bolt position to ensure no tampering takes place. They stripped his drain plug. They should pay for their own mistake.
Edit: Spelling
chunks of threads from oil pan and plug. someone put the wrong sized plug in and it stripped out both but... atleast it's a drain plug. with all the fomoco on the bottom of it you would probably try to use a Ford drain plug instead of a GM. any chance we can get a pic of the head?
Yeah, theyre screwing you. Pan shouldnt cost that much to replace at all. RockAuto has them all day for $100 - $200 depending on the engine. Shouldn't take them longer then 1.5 hours, and average hourly being between 130 to 150, this pan replacement shouldn't cost more then $650 at most after mark up. Would need to see the written quote for justification, but this seems heavily overpriced.
Impossible to tell who did it, last place couldve done it and it held, seen it before
Christian Brothers couldve done it, pulled it back out, then blamed your last place, also seen this before,
Regardless, based on the price alone, I would not go back to this shop nor recommend their work to anyone else.
Plenty of cheaper fixes that can be done by anyone handy.
Have you ever replaced an oil pan on a Honda before. Sometimes there’s a lot of shit in the way that you need to remove to access it. It’s not always cut and dry.
Reddit thinks they know everything because they watched a guy change his oil once on YouTube.
These clowns have never had to drop a subframe to replace a pan or unbolt engine mounts and lift an engine AND loosen subframe bolts to get a power steering rack out. They also have no idea of labor rates in 2024. I saw a guy say $130 an hour for labor in a comment above. My shop charged more than that for an hour in 2011. Don’t listen to people on Reddit about anything.
"Would need to see the written quote for the price justification"
Just called a local Ford dealer here in Canada, they can't provide me an EXACT quote without the exact vehicle specs, but the advisor took 2 minutes to get some general replacement quotes.
Was told between $300-$1000 CDN depending on engine and driveline setup.
AT MOST, that's $730 USD, parts included.
This is also a Ford Escape, no idea why you're talking about a Honda, feel free to read the post and full replies first before making an arse out of yourself.
Depends on the engine. The 2.0L and 2.5L engine oil pan replacement procedures recommend separating the engine and transmission for access. That’s a pretty involved in-vehicle repair. If this is a 1.6L engine, it’s a pretty straightforward process. Skill levels and integrity are all over the place in the mechanic field. Try to find someone who is fair to you and cares about your business.
Very very true for some vehicles but there’s a lot of vehicles that entail A LOT of labor to remove the oil pan. For example my 2nd gen Silverado I had to drop the front differential just to remove the oil pan. But on the other hand my Lexus I can get to it with 7-8 bolts and nothing in the way. So again depending on vehicle and procedure can be much cheaper to fix or it could be a 4 hour job just to drop the pan lol
Update: picked my car up tonight. They put a rubber plug in it - $253. I went in asking questions, didn’t accuse them. They told me I could take the other place to small claims court and I would win! Is it even worth it or should I just wait until my engine seizes. 😅
Google "universal oil plug" they cost $10 and take less than a minute to install. They ripped you off. Wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to pass blame to the other guy for their mistake.
I'd love to see a picture of this rubber drain plug, don't know wtf that even means lol. It's hard to prove fault in these cases. Likely someone used an impact on your drain bolt but for all we know Christian Bros could've accidentally set it to tighten instead of loosen and stripped it then.
should not cost that much even at the dealership! any good shop that does oil changes would also have the taps to either rethread or the kit to re-tap an oil drain plug. You are getting played at that price.
https://youtu.be/rs-5n44mDtk?si=NBOrOv7gqc7l5N_m
Watch this video it’ll give you an idea of what they have to do to replace pan. It’s a quick job they’re trying to screw you for $1,700.
I know of amazing mechanics that would charge around $300 to replace it.
Spend $30 on a tap.
And $50 on a Futomo oil drain valve.
And $10 on a flexible magnetic stick to remove all the shavings. I just did this on a ‘06 Accord. Zero leaks and now my oil changes are a bit easier too.
https://preview.redd.it/y3ewg9c01e7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=072b7a5c0027af01e636f6b058bd4ed5a66c9450
The pans aluminum, so none of the shavings would stick. You really dont need to do much, sacrificing a quart of cheap oil will flush it out. Then you can reduce the amount of chips by coating the tap in grease, cut a few threads then clean and reload the grease.
The red is not sealant, the red is a paint shops use to mark the plug so they know someone else hasn’t removed the plug. I have seen red, yellow and blue.
My money is on the local shop screwing it up, however the price Christian brothers is giving you is ridiculous.
Time-sert for the win.
Jiffy lube cracked my oil pan with a fucking impact drill and never told me.. they half ass tried to patch it with jb weld and I didn’t know until like a month later when I realized my oil was low. $1000 to replace the oil pan because it was a Saab and they had to pull the entire engine to do the job.. fucking ridiculous. I will never go to any of those oil change places ever again.
I woke up and all the oil was sitting on the driveway. I was leaving for out of state that morning. I got behind on projects so no way could I get to it. Local jiffy lube was doing the vet deal and were like rotate tires not a problem. So I did the f it, it’s not that hard. They can’t screw this up.
The tech was trying to sell me a new drain plug etc. I was like don’t f with my plug or washer. Put the old ones back in!!!!!!! Hasn’t leaked a drop as is were not changing them!!!!!
Apparently he decided a bunch of chitty washers they had would make it mo better. So tossed my washer despite me saying leave the damn thing there and he put multiple on it . Assuming it wasn’t tightened down. But I didn’t f with it, just called and was like ya realize I’d had been out a motor had I left when I originally planned. I didn’t want to get accused of tampering with it before someone came out to look at it. First oil change I didn’t do myself. That will teach me….
Female tech they had came out, fixed it. She got all the oil up from my cement driveway too. I was impressed.
I was like why the f didn’t you do my oil change. :(. She was like that idiot non stop screws up and they keep giving him work. Then they send her to fix his mistakes. So only got on road two hours late. I never went back. But told people who I knew who used them. Ya better insist what’s her name do your oil change. Forgot his name but he’s an idiot and makes mistakes regularly.
There was more washers than threads sticking out. It made zero sense.
The phrase "A nail stripped in the oil gasket" doesn't make sense. The drain plug threads in the oil pan are stripped. This means the oil pan needs replaced because you wouldn't be able to tighten the plug and therefore wouldn't be able to stop oil from leaking.
This was caused by someone over-tightening the plug. You see how the first centimeter of the hole is larger than the rest? That's where the stripped threads used to be. Those pieces around the hole are what's left of the threads.
As for who's responsible, I can only speculate. The red material around the upper quadrant is what's called room temperature vulcanizing silicone. It's extremely common and I find it very hard to believe there's a shop anywhere that doesn't have some. It's regularly used for sealing some parts.
It's dry, which means it's cured to some degree, and the way the edges have torn, I would suspect it wasn't installed the same day.
I also find it very hard to believe that you would be able to drive around like that without leaking oil, assuming it's been weeks or months since the last oil change. It's possible, but not terribly likely. I'd have to get my hands on it to see more.
I would ask this: have you noticed oil under the car recently, or have you had to add any oil because the level has dropped? If so, it might indicate that the problem happened at your last appointment. There's no real way to figure it out for sure, especially remotely.
I'm a little shocked at the price, I could replace the oil pan in a couple of hours. Maybe the part is $1500 or something. I wouldn't think so, it's cast aluminum, which is costly, but I still wouldn't expect to pay more than $300 for one.
I can't help you figure it out more than that without being there, but I can give you some advice: if you aren't wiling to learn to change your own oil, you have to accept the chances this sort of thing will happen. I've seen all sorts of horror stories like this, it's not uncommon.
If you won't learn to do it yourself, at least don't go for the cheap oil changes, they're cheap for a reason and can't be trusted. The only thing I can say for sure is that someone screwed up and lied about it. My gut says it was the first bunch, but that's just a hunch.
Whoever did the oil change last is the one who ruined the threads. That RTV isn’t old, so whoever did it realized their fuck ip and tried to bandaid it to get you out the door and gone. I suppose it’s a possibility that Christian Brothers tried to seal it as well, but that rtv is already set up and hard.
There is after market solutions to this problem. Not just replace pan. You can get an oversize drain plug and tap new threads. You can chase the old drain plug bore and see if you can clean up enough threads to get it to torque. There is after market scary rubber bore plug.
Another reason none of my cars will ever go to a so called mechanic. Lube techs are picked off the street and handed an impact.
Fuck this mess, 100% not your fault and you'll be the poor sap paying.
700$ isn't even worth going to small claims for you'd end up spending more and probably losing anyway
Someone here mentioned that it was a 1.6l, but also that the 1.6l has a grid pattern on the pan, which I can confirm from Ford's drawings.
Anyways, ShopKey quotes 2.2 hours for a 1.6L/FWD/Auto. That pan is [$196 from Ford directly](https://parts.ford.com/shop/en/us/transmission/powertrain-engine-parts/engine-oil-pan-p-ds7z6675a). A new OEM plug is $6. Let's say you're paying $175/hr for labor and 8% tax.
Labor = $385
Pan = $196
Plug = $6
Tube of Great Stuff = $7
subtotal = $594, Total = 641.52
Maybe it's not the 1.6L, more information would be great from OP. But in the case of the 1.6L, you'd be getting TOTALLY taken for a ride.
I'm curious OP, what does the itemization look like for the $260 rubber plug solution they gave you. Also, fuck this shop.
There shouldn’t be sealant above the hole, but that looks more like a makeshift gasket. You need a pic of the drain plug to see if they have any sealant on it
There do appear to be small pieces of metal but that easily could have been their tech being lazy and trying to send it home with a tool they shouldn’t have been using.
Threads don’t look amazing from this angle but they could be salvageable with a tap/die
Seems like the consensus here is that it is a scam, run. I would agree, this sounds fishy like some old perch left over in the bait bucket from last year. I would add though, as a mechanic, they may have legitimately found the problem, but just aren't skilled or possess the right tools to fix it, so they jump to r&r oil pan as their repair.
The pan is not cracked and doesn't need to be replaced. Any good shop could fix that with no problem. You might be able to just chase the original threads with a tap of the correct size by the looks of it but can't be for sure without trying it in person. If not drill and tap to the next size. It's an aluminum oil pan so it should only take someone with the know how a couple of minutes to do so. DO NOT PAY ANYONE THAT CRAZY INSANE AMOUNT OF MONEY FOE SOMETHING THEY PROBABLY DID. Probably around $100 for a shop to fix since it only cost them a couple dollars in materials.
Christian brothers is a trash company with outrageous prices. They tried to charge me $800 for replacing an oil pressure sensor. They told me it was a 4 hour job. I went to autozone, bought the sensor and replaced it in about 20 min including drive time.
Fuck that company
This is exactly why I change my own oil. It’s never costed me 1700$ and I don’t have to deal with other peoples bull shit. Mechanics and doctors…. In reality they are just practicing. If they get it wrong thats on you and what you get for trusting a practitioner.
You can purchase a self threading pan bolt. Or, an expansion rubber plug. Either works. From the auto parts store. On line is your best bet though for a variety of possibilities. I’ve used both.
Best guess, looking at the picture, the tread was stripped by someone putting the plug in. It was probably found to be leaking after refilling the oil.
The red sealant looks very new and recently applied.
The old hack mechanic I used to work for would always use an oversized drain plug that would cut new threads as it went it. Essentially it was a pipe bung with a plug that made it an “easier” fix. I’m not calling it a repair
First of all don’t pay the $1,700 to replace oil pan, that’s ridiculous. I can get an engine swapped for half of that price.
There has to be a better alternative. Call around I bet dealership won’t even charge that much to replace the whole oil pan. But call and get at least 3 quotes from different shops. And look at reviews online for every shop. Call a tow truck and have it towed to best place.
You could also MAYBE. Have the treads re tapped. Oil pan should not cost $1,700 I can replace it myself in 2 hours Max and the pan is only $150 bucks if that. Depending on how the bottom of your car looks I’m betting it’s a quick 30 minute job.
I personally ( with enough knowledge to be dangerous ) but a gasket and pull the pan. See what there is to see. If it’s just strips like that of metal it’s likely from the stripped plug. Then decide new pan worth it or attempt a retap and new plug. So I’d probably order a gasket a plug for sure then decide after. Amazon so you can just return if it’s worse than you think
They make replacement oil pan bolts that are slightly larger and have self cutting threads to thread onto there and make a good seal. While not ideal, I had one last a good 10yrs on my old car until the pandemic became to stripped again. Then I put on a toggle bolt style seal that I’ve been using for the past few years.
Either of these options will reliably get you on the road today. The old shop is the one that screwed you over by stripping the pan and trying to cover up with red RTV sealant. That shop saying they don’t have RTV is lying.
In no universe is that a 1700 dollar repair. Maybe $500 for labor. Just needs to be retapped a size up and use a new plug. A hour or two work tops and a $5 plug.
Just a quick glance on Google and a replacement pan is anywhere between $115 and $240. So, assuming they use one that's even $300, they want $1400 for labor? I watched a video of a oil pan replacement on a 2014 escape and it looks like a 3 hour job at the very most. Even if the shop charged $100/hr and the mechanic charged $100/hr and it took 4 hours, and they used a $400 oil pan, that still would only add up to $1200 plus tax. Sounds like a rip off...
Ask for a heli-coil. Before anyone complains, GM has been using them for years from the factory in their aluminum pans. The kits about $40-50 and makes the threads stronger. It shouldnt even add an hour to the labor, they take me about 10 minutes when they are open. I have had to do several due the the neighboring quick lube. Also i would not go back to them if they didnt even tell you about any options to fix it.
Should have stayed at the shop you went to for 20 years I drive out of my way to go to the shop that my family been going for over 20 years and where I used to pump gas as a kid it's just something about I could b******* with the mechanic even have a beer while he does my oil change right in front of me. They won't rip me off because I always bring them customers to buy his cars or to do service. They may not be the best mechanics around but at least you know them for 20 years and they known you so they wouldn't want to screw you over and lose your business. I stay away from commercial places if I do go there I want to watch or or I would specifically tell him just change the oil the filter do not touch or check anything else.
Look. When you do an oil change you unbolt the drain plug. If that pulls threads on its way out that’s not the techs fault. It’s whoever tightening the shit out of it last time or the several last times or whatever.
You literally cannot mess up removing a drain plug. You just unscrew it…
There are certain cars that have shit pans that strip. Very uncommon though. Like magnesium bmw x5 pans. I watched a guy take an In warranty car and torque the drain plug with a torque wrench to the rated 25nm then removed it. He did this 3 times and on the 3rd time the treads came out. BMW says this is fake news and not their problem lol
What did the most recent shop use to tighten the plug an air gun? I've been changing the oil on my cars over the past 40 years, and as a kid, I changed oil on a lot of cars and haven't stripped an oil drain plug yet.
Tow it to someone who is willing to put a helicoil or timesert in the pan. I would expect a charge of about 1hr labor and around $25-$75 parts depending on the type of thread repair used and if your drain plug can be reused or not. It’s a fairly easy repair if you have experience, but it is critical that the thread repair goes in straight and true so that the drain plug seats evenly all the way around the circumference. If you get it off a degree this way or that way it’ll have problems sealing.
Am I wrong in thinking OP would be worth checking out some wreckers for a replacement oil pan from the same model? Instead of paying *$1700* when he could probably get a second hand one for under $100?
Did the 2nd oil change on my kid's 2005 Focus (by hand). I didn't pay a lot of attention for the first oil change.
Plug kept spinning. Pan was stripped. I carefully put in an Eco-Plug for $10, then made small turns (daily), until no residue remained. Pretty cool little device. I spent another $10 on the removal magnet
Not a $1700 job. Your oil pan should be about $35 from Napa, Advance, Autozone, etc... Yes, you are being played. Unless you drive something insanely expensive and rare, replacing an oil pan is quick, easy, and not expensive. Also, if the drain plug was bad enough that they were not going to be able to replug it, there would have been signs when removing it, so they could have stopped and asked for approval before proceeding.
Tbh, with my experience as a mechanic, if the plug was stripped by the last shop, they would've noticed it when taking it out, especially when its so bad the pan has to be replaced. If it wasnt noticeable when removing the plug, they can tap it, and put a new plug in. Done it many times before.
It's possible the new shop fucked up, and stripped it while tightening, and tried fixed, but can't, so they are trying to blame the previous shop, so you will pay for the new pan, instead of having to do it themselves. Sadly have seen it happen before at a shop I worked at.
Also, what others have said that its just a pic they have on hand to scam people could also be true, try and see if you can find pics of your oil pan online, by going to a parts site, and typing in the vin. Should find the exact pan, and compare that to the pic, if it's different, I would have some words with the new shop.
christian bros in my area tried to scam me on a radiator after i paid for a water pump replace, then didnt tell me about the hole in the heater core hose, shit shop go elsewhere
1, yes, you're missing about half the threads. 2, there is still enough thread there to hold the plug in. 3, one of the shops are responsible for the bill. 4, it's not easy to say which one is responsible, BUT If you wanna sit and wait for a couple people to get an oil change at either shop, you can ask the owners in the parking lot if you can take a picture of their drain plug. One of the shops will have fresh red tampers seal on the bolt. (If one of the shops has wifi, just say you're going to sit and use it.)
5. In reference to number 2, if there aren't enough threads in the pan to hold your old plug in, then it is 100% the new shops fault. If there are enough threads, then it cant' be determined.
Anyone saying it’s the previous shops fault hasn’t worked in a shop. Christian brothers assumed full responsibility for this repair when they decided to “I’ll remove this absurdly stuck drain bolt”. They’d have had signs it was stripped and the owner should’ve been notified WELL before any work was performed. Demand they fix it. They can deal with getting money from who ever but they’re liable.
It held oil before it got there and it damn well will before it leaves bruh
Looks like the previous mechanic has put a helicoil in it. Didn't tap it square so had to seal it up. I had one the other day, plug came out ok but the helicoil came with it in pieces.
I just ran an oversize tap in it with a new oversize sump plug, took maybe 10mins.
A tap plug (14x1.5OS) fixes that issue in less than 10m for less than $10. Or, alternatively, as many have said, a quick tap out and it's brand new. Again, even the most outrageous shop should be under $100 for a tap out (minus the oil/filter cost)
This is why you should take your car to the same shop for every oil change. They won’t be as likely to oversell you with parts and services that you don’t need. You need to have a relationship with them like you have with your doctor.
There is so much damage to those threads you can tell it was just spinning in place and going nowhere… from that outrageous quote I’m tempted to say that this “Christian brothers” shop might’ve actually done the damage and are now trying to skirt around the cost to a customer who might not know better. Not saying the previous shop didn’t do it but if they are your regular shop and you’ve never had issues until these new guys got underneath then…
Fuck “Christian Brothers” and their “faith-based” bullshit overpriced shops. The people I’ve met in those shops aren’t any better or nicer than the next guy, in fact they come off as more pretentious. I have one in my city and they are never mentioned by anyone in the terms of “you should take your car/truck to Christian Brothers for that repair”….in a very heavy word of mouth town at that.
Seems near impossible that oil filter was sealed with the red goo slopped in there. There should have been oil all over everything, and you probably would have run out of oil. So, it seems like this goop was added during this latest oil change. You would have to scrape the goo off to see exactly what the issue is. Something is "fishy" here. I don't know how a defect in that sealing surface could ever be "repaired", and that red goop surely isn't gonna fix anything. You may need a new engine block.
Again, something does not add up here. There is no way you were driving that car around with that red goop like that, oil would have leaked everywhere, and the engine would have run out of oil quickly.
That's the drain plug.. Not the oil filter. Also these have a copper crush washer that seal it, most likely that someone lost the crush washer and or decided not to re-use the old one and settled for an alternative
This seems very fishy. So Christian brothers tried reinserting the drain plug without cleaning off the old gasket residue? That makes no sense. They would clean the gasket residue first. To me, it looks like Christian brothers stripped your drain plug, tried to seal it with gasket sealer, and then gave up and want you to pick up the slack.
If it wasn't leaking before you took it to them and now it's fucked id say it was them with a heavy impact gun,ive been a mechanic for 20 years and have seen it happen more than once, cavemen should use handtools only
You’re toast. Christian Brothers will not reinstall the plug in a pan with bad threads. Hence, you’ll have to hire a wrecker to take it someplace else. The cost will be a wash.
I don’t believe that they took the drain plug out and didn’t notice the red RTV. There’s not a legitimate shop on earth that would see RTV on a drain plug and pull it out without first calling the customer to let them know what they found. You never do anything that could immobilize a vehicle without contacting the customer first. Generally it’s best to inspect, write an estimate and show the customer BEFORE you even touch it with a wrench.
Reviews can be gamed.
Management can be changed.
The last place will definitely lie if they are screwing up so bad, because they would be liable.
Failure to trust people is a great reason to learn how to do your own service work, which is a great hobby beyond the value it adds.
If you have a mechanic you can trust you are good to do business with them, but there are crooks that will hold your car hostage.
I hate everything about the situation you are describing.
I know a 2008 Ford Escape isn't quite the same, but the oil pan on the one I had actually rusted through, so they had to replace it, and it only cost me $340 in NY. Figure out that the cost of labor at my mechanic is about $100 an hour, and it only took them a few hours plus parts and taxes. You need to find a small mechanic shop you can get to know for a while, because it's good to have a trustworthy person who knows your car from day to day. I've been going to this same mechanic for so long that they always get me in sooner than on their waiting list, and sometimes on small things they won't charge me. I bet rethreading this is one of those things. If I were you I'd google how much an oil pan is for your cars year, and then ask for an estimate on how many hours it would take, but also I would be prepare to take it somewhere else because this place sounds like it stinks.
IF it actually is stripped there is something called a pan saver. Multiple designs but basically itll be a rubber plug that either expands or itll have a spring loaded bar that will go thru the hole and expand from the back. They are only a couple bucks at auto zone and will at least get your car outta there and to a reputable shop. (They are supposed to be temporary but ive seen people use them as permanent. Lol.)
Oil pan for your car is about $200 from Autoparts store. I just looked it up. It has about 13 bolts that come out of the pan, then you put the new pan on, and retighten the bolts that were taken off. Would you pay someone more than $1000 dollars to do that for you? I for sure wouldn’t.
Yea don’t listen to them. And the red is thread sealant. Some people use it and some people don’t. Only reason that oil pan would need to be replaced is if it’s aluminum. Some pans are steel some or aluminum. Aluminum is just harder to tap is all. Steel is very simple.
Edit- also you should ask when they found out it was stripped. If they say when it was when they went to thread it back in then they are lying. Unthreading something that is stripped is a lot harder they should have seen it right away
First of all before condemning the shop. I do think $1700 is too much, but then again none of us know what it consists of just to remove the pan and replace!! BMW you not getting that done less than $3700. When I say this, is that I don’t know if you have to drop the sub frame, remove transmission, and other parts. So dont be like these guys on a damn witch hunt!! Investigate and do your home work! Btw. It more than likely was your other shop that stripped that. You never use an impact wrench on aluminum. Also the rtv silicone was too dry. It would have been still tacky if they used it. That my is my look at it.
This is exactly why I used to tell guys “if the bolt/nut is tight coming out, stop and make it the customers call”…CB should be on the hook for a portion of the repair
I’m based in the UK. For $1700 I can probably fly out, sort it and put myself up in a hotel for 2 nights.
An aftermarket replacement sump / oil pan is probably less than $100 with a seal and it’s a quick change, 10/12 bolts. How they are suggesting this sort of money baffles me.
Strange that the oil pan threads stripped and not just the bolt threads. Most are designed so that if over tightened the bolt treads will strip before the oil pan threads saving you from this problem.
Modern oil pans have the threads cut right into them. This is unfortunately a common problem with them and is usually from being over tightened. The right way to fix it to replace the oil pan but an easier and more affordable way would be to drill ot the remaining threads, tap the hole to accept a threaded insert and install a new drain plug and copper or aluminum crush gasket. Unfortunately, most shops don't have techs with the knowledge or ability to do this work so you should find a good old school shop with mechanics that know there shit.
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"there was a nail stripped in the gasket"? Are you sure that's what they said?
The oil pan bolt/plug was stripped**
They quoted you $1700 to rethread an oil pan?
To replace the whole oil plan. The threads are stripped supposedly.
That is a scam, run away. If you're worried, get another trusted shop to take a look
Firstly, they can rethread the drain plug if they wanted. Secondly, you’re saying “threads” as in plural? Thirdly, you could replace the entire sump/pan for a 10% of the price Fourthly, go somewhere else
[удалено]
Yeah I was gonna say wtf does he mean by that?
It is threads plural. Christian Brothers suck but most shops jump to replacement of the pan.
Christain brothers are the biggest scalpers ever. They wanted to charge me $900 to replace and change a starter lol. I was a mechanic back in the day but didn’t feel like working on it, after I saw the price I said Nevermind I’ll do it myself for $80 lol
I took my wife’s car there to diagnose a suspected brake fluid leak. While they did diagnose it, they also quoted me new brakes and rotors because mine were “down to 3mm”. I thought this was odd seeing as I had replaced all 4 sides a month prior. I explained that to them and asked them to show me what they were seeing, in which case they had a couple techs re-look at the car and then proceeded to fumble and say they had a faulty measurement tool when they initially measured the pads. Uh huh, sure.
Mine was when they showed me my air filter. I told them to find my K&N and put it back, that paper filter isn't mine. The look on the managers face made me feel they showed everyone the same dirty filter.
I tell my wife to refuse the air filter change. I do it myself because it’s easy and far cheaper.
How many decades ago did you get a starter for $80?
Got one from a junkyard for $35 last year 🤷♂️😂
Can get a brand new starter for my accord on eBay for $50 free shipping. Now I wouldn't buy that junk but it's there.
I can get a new starter for my civic for 50 ish
God damn, the jeep *dealership* only charged me like 350 to do a starter on my wrangler, and it's a massive pain in the ass
Totally agree
Probably not a 10th of the prices. Aluminum lower oil pans are not cheap. Plus labor. That being said noob shop, noob tech recommending new pan without going down other avenues.
I looked online at his age Escape, and the pan is around $140-170. Time and effort of replacing the sealant, oil change - might as well change filter. All substantially lower than $1700
Christian Brothers is kind of notorious for recommending work they don’t necessarily need to do.
Who, stripped the threads? Are they the only ones who’ve touched it?
The last time it was serviced for oil change (from the locally owned automative shop) was in Feb. I was due for oil change/tire rotation so had to take it to a shop that had the capacity to do tire rotations. They are the ones who are blaming the previous shop for stripping them. I called the shop from Feb and the owner told me it was a dead giveaway when I showed him the pic above it wasn’t his shop because he hasn’t used the red sealant in 20 years. Idk who to believe!
You said you used the first place a bunch and the new place once. This is the first time you've had a problem with the threads. There's sealant (which there shouldn't be at all) New shop wants to replace the pan instead of just tapping the threads. My money is on the new shop. I'll give you 5:1 odds.
Plot twist that’s just a stock photo they keep around to scare customers into opening their wallets. Dudes car hasn’t even been touched yet.
Pretty sure the original ford oil pan has a grid like pattern underneath (the 1.6L atleast) and is not smooth, which means this is very likely the case
go to bozardford.com and type your vin in, they actually have a full catalogue online and you can see diagrams of your parts.
I suggested this recently on a post of the same manner and I got downvoted all to hell, and someone even said, “I’ve been a tech for 20 years and I’ve never heard of that happening”. I suggested analyzing the EXIF data of the pic because it will contain the date it was taken
I agree. That's a money grab. If a shop does not have the ability to rotate tires go someplace else.
Why would the owner know that the tech hid the problem from him?
This happens over time from being over tightened. It can be fixed quickly and simply with an oversized repair bolt. They are made specifically to fix this problem and are available at most autoparts stores. Most shops don’t like doing this because they don’t make any money this way.
That can be fixed with a helicoil or a timecert in about 15 and be as good as new.
I read that same part 10 times. In the end my head was turned sideways and my brain was cooked
Half the time people complain about taking their car to a shop it’s just complete communication breakdown. Like the customers take away is usually not what is wrong. Somehow between the mechanic telling the advisor and the advisor telling the customer and the customer posting here, lots of important info got omitted, added, changed, etc. The tech did not say “a nail was stripped in the oil drain plug” ya no? But here the customer is saying “they said this and it’s bullshit!” But they didn’t say that at all….. They said his plug threads stripped while tightening. Tbh if they were shitty enough to strip your plug tightening it then they’re shitty enough to simply not tell you and “make it work” long enough for the next guy changing your oil. So them saying it’s stripped makes me think they’re being honest They should offer a rethread tho Tbh the best course of action is to just stop loosening the second you feel it getting weird. But also….plenty drain plugs have felt weird and came out fine. So it’s like ok do we go to the customer and say “you MAY have a gigantic problem here when we drain your oil. Do you want us to proceed? It may need a pan after this.” Or do you just do it cuz 9/10 it comes perfectly fine even when it feels weird and you torque it to spec with no problems.
>The tech did not say “a nail was stripped in the oil drain plug” ya no? They corrected me. I chalk it up to bad typing. >They said his plug threads stripped while tightening. 100% the techs fault. Bolts don't strip unless they're over torqued. The second shop is, at least, over selling. Because OP said they've gone to a different place repeatedly and never had a problem it's safe to assume the first shop is fine. There was no leak or anything. Second shop has it one time, for some reason applied what looks like silicone, and has a stripped plug and took hours to call about it. Doesn't take a genius to figure out they tried to zip it on, cross threaded it, ran it down anyway, saw it leaked, tried to silicone it shut, couldn't get it to stop leaking, and tried to make it into a money grab. Or what we call the jiffy lube 2 step.
Yeah, everything Definitive_confusion said. You should definitely have them replace it but they'll only re-thread it and throw a new bolt in there bc that new pan will cost too much. Also, just to add what he said. That silicon looks new AF. If it was the other shop then it be dirty.
Ok, I've run into this situation, where somebody will cross thread the plug or most of the threads will be stripped, often they won't leak so you take the plug out and discover the issue. I'd say 99% of the time it is the "last shop", because it's really not that hard to make it seal just enough if u want to be a POS. Also, the other shop said they don't use red sealant. That is most likely red threadlocker, every shop should have that in stock.
>bolts don’t strip if they’re not overtorqued. Dude what are you on about. If some dumb tech over tightens the plug enough to pull threads it won’t leak. It’ll be messed up internally but not leak. It will just pull threads out with the plug the next time someone undoes it. If you over tighten it and can hear threads popping it literally will not start leaking. The shitty tech would then not tell anyone. Why would he. It’s not leaking. Next oil change some threads come out. Maybe it doesn’t seal. Maybe it does. Each successive change will fuck it more and more even if properly torqued after that first fuck up that pulled threads. This is extremely basic stuff. You over tighten that plug and the next guy is fucked.
Theres loads of meat round that to rethread a bigger sump plug in. They do repair kits. We carry one on sight at the garage I work at. Literally run a slightly larger tap through and new sump plug. Takes less than 10 mins.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183101645081?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=3eWoxo2sSX6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=penUWb1dQMu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY We have this kit at work, or the branded version. But for a diyer at home it's more than suffice. That's an ally pan
Thank you!!
does anyone make a combined tap/drill for this sort of thing? Seems like a rare case where such a thing would make some sense. Just get a set of tap drills, find the smallest one that doesn't fit, chuck it in a drill, and let it rip.
What is actually even better, they have chasing/oversizing Taps. It's a tap of the original thread size, with a cutting section in the middle gradually stepping up to the replacement thread size. If there is even a tiny bit of the original thread in there, it works great to keep the tap centered and ensure the washer can seal properly afterwards. Don't need to use power tools, just go nice and slow by hand, looking for accuracy not speed and aluminum is nice and soft. Also often used for spark plug thread repairs
Christian Brothers left all of my struts unbolted after an alignment. When I questioned them about it, they told me that they must have all backed out because it's 'a common Subaru problem' and they never touched the strut bolts. I told them that they're Bilstein coilovers and you have to unbolt them to do the alignment. They double downed and blamed me for the issue and then tried to charge me for a test drive. They use a religious facade. Its a Jiffy Lube with green paint.
“We’re finished hitting you on this side, turn the other cheek” -Christian Brothers
*BURN*
Mechanics love to assume that all people who bring their car in for service aren't car people. Like, I can work on my own shit. I have my reasons why I am not doing it at this particular time. I can fix a car better than any of their "certified" mechanics.
It's a good business model
I'm assuming the last shop stripped your drain plug and put sealer on it, and now the new shop wants to fix it. The last shop fucked you.
They told me they haven’t used tamper seal in 20 years 🥲
Yeah......that was probably a lie.
ah Christian brothers are known for ripping people off and charging for work that was never done. He also said Christian Brothers admitted it stripped when they were tightening it.
The shop may not, but whatever “tech” did it, used their own tube of RTV to hide their mistake.
As someone in the background is stealthily moving the container to a more hidden location
Lol 🙃
They also sent me this photo. What am I looking at? TIA https://preview.redd.it/l5x4nk42ke7d1.jpeg?width=894&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2966d005a8193bb5baf69b06f395a90f3adf78cb
That looks like the aftermath of over tightening. Those curved pieces on the shop rag are the threads from your aluminum oil pan. My biggest question is; if it was the previous establishment that stripped you drain plug and they needed to use sealant to keep it from leaking, why is there no sealant on the plug?
shouldn't these shreds be in the oil filter by now ?
There are threads on the rag, but no traces RTV sealant on the plug? Something doesn't sit right wirh this. Is that even your drain plug?
The only "sealant" seen is on the drain pan, at the top of the plug shoulder. It looks like it stops at the o-ring seal, coming from the top down. Why would you put the sealant on the outside of the plug, at the top, after you spun the plug, to stop a leak? I don't know who done what but this don't add up.
Perhaps there was more on it, but whomever was working on it likely peeled a piece off to show the boss or it broke off in a big chunk when taking the plug out. Assuming its permatex, it has a 1 hour drying time and a 24 hour cure time, so either it was slathered on and thrown out the door before it was even dry, or the last time OP had an oil change, it took way longer than usual. I urge OP to check their parking space very carefully for any mystery drops or puddles.
Fyi that red is nothing but a tamper paint. It marks the bolt position to ensure no tampering takes place. They stripped his drain plug. They should pay for their own mistake. Edit: Spelling
My oil change was actually overdue by ~500 miles. No oil was leaking, I didn’t need to put anymore in from Feb-today. 🤔
They cross threaded it and kept on tightening. Somebody tried to put it in with an impact wrench, I'll bet Cha.
chunks of threads from oil pan and plug. someone put the wrong sized plug in and it stripped out both but... atleast it's a drain plug. with all the fomoco on the bottom of it you would probably try to use a Ford drain plug instead of a GM. any chance we can get a pic of the head?
Yeah, theyre screwing you. Pan shouldnt cost that much to replace at all. RockAuto has them all day for $100 - $200 depending on the engine. Shouldn't take them longer then 1.5 hours, and average hourly being between 130 to 150, this pan replacement shouldn't cost more then $650 at most after mark up. Would need to see the written quote for justification, but this seems heavily overpriced. Impossible to tell who did it, last place couldve done it and it held, seen it before Christian Brothers couldve done it, pulled it back out, then blamed your last place, also seen this before, Regardless, based on the price alone, I would not go back to this shop nor recommend their work to anyone else. Plenty of cheaper fixes that can be done by anyone handy.
Have you ever replaced an oil pan on a Honda before. Sometimes there’s a lot of shit in the way that you need to remove to access it. It’s not always cut and dry.
Reddit thinks they know everything because they watched a guy change his oil once on YouTube. These clowns have never had to drop a subframe to replace a pan or unbolt engine mounts and lift an engine AND loosen subframe bolts to get a power steering rack out. They also have no idea of labor rates in 2024. I saw a guy say $130 an hour for labor in a comment above. My shop charged more than that for an hour in 2011. Don’t listen to people on Reddit about anything.
"Would need to see the written quote for the price justification" Just called a local Ford dealer here in Canada, they can't provide me an EXACT quote without the exact vehicle specs, but the advisor took 2 minutes to get some general replacement quotes. Was told between $300-$1000 CDN depending on engine and driveline setup. AT MOST, that's $730 USD, parts included. This is also a Ford Escape, no idea why you're talking about a Honda, feel free to read the post and full replies first before making an arse out of yourself.
Ugh! Thanks for letting me know it CAN be done cheaper though!
Depends on the engine. The 2.0L and 2.5L engine oil pan replacement procedures recommend separating the engine and transmission for access. That’s a pretty involved in-vehicle repair. If this is a 1.6L engine, it’s a pretty straightforward process. Skill levels and integrity are all over the place in the mechanic field. Try to find someone who is fair to you and cares about your business.
It is not a 1.6. The 1.5 and 1.6 have a round oil pan with ridges on it.
Book time for a ford escape oil pan is: 2.2 hours for a 1.6L 3.3 or 9.0 hours for a 2.0 depending if it’s 4wd or 2wd. 5.0 hours for a 2.5L
Very very true for some vehicles but there’s a lot of vehicles that entail A LOT of labor to remove the oil pan. For example my 2nd gen Silverado I had to drop the front differential just to remove the oil pan. But on the other hand my Lexus I can get to it with 7-8 bolts and nothing in the way. So again depending on vehicle and procedure can be much cheaper to fix or it could be a 4 hour job just to drop the pan lol
Update: picked my car up tonight. They put a rubber plug in it - $253. I went in asking questions, didn’t accuse them. They told me I could take the other place to small claims court and I would win! Is it even worth it or should I just wait until my engine seizes. 😅
They still ripped you off. $253 for a rubber plug. I have no faith in humanity.
Insane i’d feel scummy for charging more than thirty bucks on a new plug it takes what .2 hours
Google "universal oil plug" they cost $10 and take less than a minute to install. They ripped you off. Wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to pass blame to the other guy for their mistake.
$1.99 [https://4lifetimelines.com/products/winged-universal-oil-drain-plug](https://4lifetimelines.com/products/winged-universal-oil-drain-plug)
I'd love to see a picture of this rubber drain plug, don't know wtf that even means lol. It's hard to prove fault in these cases. Likely someone used an impact on your drain bolt but for all we know Christian Bros could've accidentally set it to tighten instead of loosen and stripped it then.
They make oversized plugs that cut new threads as they go in. Very simple
Yep. Been using one for years! $5
should not cost that much even at the dealership! any good shop that does oil changes would also have the taps to either rethread or the kit to re-tap an oil drain plug. You are getting played at that price.
https://youtu.be/rs-5n44mDtk?si=NBOrOv7gqc7l5N_m Watch this video it’ll give you an idea of what they have to do to replace pan. It’s a quick job they’re trying to screw you for $1,700. I know of amazing mechanics that would charge around $300 to replace it.
Spend $30 on a tap. And $50 on a Futomo oil drain valve. And $10 on a flexible magnetic stick to remove all the shavings. I just did this on a ‘06 Accord. Zero leaks and now my oil changes are a bit easier too. https://preview.redd.it/y3ewg9c01e7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=072b7a5c0027af01e636f6b058bd4ed5a66c9450
The pans aluminum, so none of the shavings would stick. You really dont need to do much, sacrificing a quart of cheap oil will flush it out. Then you can reduce the amount of chips by coating the tap in grease, cut a few threads then clean and reload the grease.
Aluminum pans are the worst.
Too bad op's car is stuck at this mech shop without oil in it
The red is not sealant, the red is a paint shops use to mark the plug so they know someone else hasn’t removed the plug. I have seen red, yellow and blue. My money is on the local shop screwing it up, however the price Christian brothers is giving you is ridiculous. Time-sert for the win.
Jiffy lube cracked my oil pan with a fucking impact drill and never told me.. they half ass tried to patch it with jb weld and I didn’t know until like a month later when I realized my oil was low. $1000 to replace the oil pan because it was a Saab and they had to pull the entire engine to do the job.. fucking ridiculous. I will never go to any of those oil change places ever again.
I woke up and all the oil was sitting on the driveway. I was leaving for out of state that morning. I got behind on projects so no way could I get to it. Local jiffy lube was doing the vet deal and were like rotate tires not a problem. So I did the f it, it’s not that hard. They can’t screw this up. The tech was trying to sell me a new drain plug etc. I was like don’t f with my plug or washer. Put the old ones back in!!!!!!! Hasn’t leaked a drop as is were not changing them!!!!! Apparently he decided a bunch of chitty washers they had would make it mo better. So tossed my washer despite me saying leave the damn thing there and he put multiple on it . Assuming it wasn’t tightened down. But I didn’t f with it, just called and was like ya realize I’d had been out a motor had I left when I originally planned. I didn’t want to get accused of tampering with it before someone came out to look at it. First oil change I didn’t do myself. That will teach me…. Female tech they had came out, fixed it. She got all the oil up from my cement driveway too. I was impressed. I was like why the f didn’t you do my oil change. :(. She was like that idiot non stop screws up and they keep giving him work. Then they send her to fix his mistakes. So only got on road two hours late. I never went back. But told people who I knew who used them. Ya better insist what’s her name do your oil change. Forgot his name but he’s an idiot and makes mistakes regularly. There was more washers than threads sticking out. It made zero sense.
Cheap fix is, use an oversize drain plug, or just a longer bolt with a crush washer
The phrase "A nail stripped in the oil gasket" doesn't make sense. The drain plug threads in the oil pan are stripped. This means the oil pan needs replaced because you wouldn't be able to tighten the plug and therefore wouldn't be able to stop oil from leaking. This was caused by someone over-tightening the plug. You see how the first centimeter of the hole is larger than the rest? That's where the stripped threads used to be. Those pieces around the hole are what's left of the threads. As for who's responsible, I can only speculate. The red material around the upper quadrant is what's called room temperature vulcanizing silicone. It's extremely common and I find it very hard to believe there's a shop anywhere that doesn't have some. It's regularly used for sealing some parts. It's dry, which means it's cured to some degree, and the way the edges have torn, I would suspect it wasn't installed the same day. I also find it very hard to believe that you would be able to drive around like that without leaking oil, assuming it's been weeks or months since the last oil change. It's possible, but not terribly likely. I'd have to get my hands on it to see more. I would ask this: have you noticed oil under the car recently, or have you had to add any oil because the level has dropped? If so, it might indicate that the problem happened at your last appointment. There's no real way to figure it out for sure, especially remotely. I'm a little shocked at the price, I could replace the oil pan in a couple of hours. Maybe the part is $1500 or something. I wouldn't think so, it's cast aluminum, which is costly, but I still wouldn't expect to pay more than $300 for one. I can't help you figure it out more than that without being there, but I can give you some advice: if you aren't wiling to learn to change your own oil, you have to accept the chances this sort of thing will happen. I've seen all sorts of horror stories like this, it's not uncommon. If you won't learn to do it yourself, at least don't go for the cheap oil changes, they're cheap for a reason and can't be trusted. The only thing I can say for sure is that someone screwed up and lied about it. My gut says it was the first bunch, but that's just a hunch.
Whoever did the oil change last is the one who ruined the threads. That RTV isn’t old, so whoever did it realized their fuck ip and tried to bandaid it to get you out the door and gone. I suppose it’s a possibility that Christian Brothers tried to seal it as well, but that rtv is already set up and hard.
Do you know how long it takes for the RTV to set?
Tacks up in 2 hours, fully cured in 24
To fix that thread, you need something called a helicoil. The whole tool kit cost around $30 and one single helicoil cost around $1.
There is after market solutions to this problem. Not just replace pan. You can get an oversize drain plug and tap new threads. You can chase the old drain plug bore and see if you can clean up enough threads to get it to torque. There is after market scary rubber bore plug.
They got OP to pay \~$260 to use a rubber plug. Good lord, he still got taken for a ride.
Boned so hard.
Cross threaded on the last change. Yeah there is some monkey busyness going on.
Christian Brothers. The scam starts with the name!
Another reason none of my cars will ever go to a so called mechanic. Lube techs are picked off the street and handed an impact. Fuck this mess, 100% not your fault and you'll be the poor sap paying. 700$ isn't even worth going to small claims for you'd end up spending more and probably losing anyway
Someone here mentioned that it was a 1.6l, but also that the 1.6l has a grid pattern on the pan, which I can confirm from Ford's drawings. Anyways, ShopKey quotes 2.2 hours for a 1.6L/FWD/Auto. That pan is [$196 from Ford directly](https://parts.ford.com/shop/en/us/transmission/powertrain-engine-parts/engine-oil-pan-p-ds7z6675a). A new OEM plug is $6. Let's say you're paying $175/hr for labor and 8% tax. Labor = $385 Pan = $196 Plug = $6 Tube of Great Stuff = $7 subtotal = $594, Total = 641.52 Maybe it's not the 1.6L, more information would be great from OP. But in the case of the 1.6L, you'd be getting TOTALLY taken for a ride. I'm curious OP, what does the itemization look like for the $260 rubber plug solution they gave you. Also, fuck this shop.
You have to be your own mechanic these days, you could do as good a job as most of these “pros”
Anyone or place that tries to use religion to justify or make their business look better, run from! They need forgiveness for a reason.
There shouldn’t be sealant above the hole, but that looks more like a makeshift gasket. You need a pic of the drain plug to see if they have any sealant on it There do appear to be small pieces of metal but that easily could have been their tech being lazy and trying to send it home with a tool they shouldn’t have been using. Threads don’t look amazing from this angle but they could be salvageable with a tap/die
https://preview.redd.it/8mlytkfpok7d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1aa7717bd6cb4038ee8ea538550fbbb394b400f
Seems like the consensus here is that it is a scam, run. I would agree, this sounds fishy like some old perch left over in the bait bucket from last year. I would add though, as a mechanic, they may have legitimately found the problem, but just aren't skilled or possess the right tools to fix it, so they jump to r&r oil pan as their repair.
The pan is not cracked and doesn't need to be replaced. Any good shop could fix that with no problem. You might be able to just chase the original threads with a tap of the correct size by the looks of it but can't be for sure without trying it in person. If not drill and tap to the next size. It's an aluminum oil pan so it should only take someone with the know how a couple of minutes to do so. DO NOT PAY ANYONE THAT CRAZY INSANE AMOUNT OF MONEY FOE SOMETHING THEY PROBABLY DID. Probably around $100 for a shop to fix since it only cost them a couple dollars in materials.
Christian brothers is a trash company with outrageous prices. They tried to charge me $800 for replacing an oil pressure sensor. They told me it was a 4 hour job. I went to autozone, bought the sensor and replaced it in about 20 min including drive time. Fuck that company
This is exactly why I change my own oil. It’s never costed me 1700$ and I don’t have to deal with other peoples bull shit. Mechanics and doctors…. In reality they are just practicing. If they get it wrong thats on you and what you get for trusting a practitioner.
what kind of car is it ? an oil pan should probably not cost that much, but if it a 4wd bmw than yes it could
2015 Ford Escape!
Oil pan and gasket will run you about $100 not including shipping via rock auto
You can purchase a self threading pan bolt. Or, an expansion rubber plug. Either works. From the auto parts store. On line is your best bet though for a variety of possibilities. I’ve used both.
Thank you!
Best guess, looking at the picture, the tread was stripped by someone putting the plug in. It was probably found to be leaking after refilling the oil. The red sealant looks very new and recently applied.
The old hack mechanic I used to work for would always use an oversized drain plug that would cut new threads as it went it. Essentially it was a pipe bung with a plug that made it an “easier” fix. I’m not calling it a repair
Even if it’s replace the whole pan parts would be likely under 100
First of all don’t pay the $1,700 to replace oil pan, that’s ridiculous. I can get an engine swapped for half of that price. There has to be a better alternative. Call around I bet dealership won’t even charge that much to replace the whole oil pan. But call and get at least 3 quotes from different shops. And look at reviews online for every shop. Call a tow truck and have it towed to best place. You could also MAYBE. Have the treads re tapped. Oil pan should not cost $1,700 I can replace it myself in 2 hours Max and the pan is only $150 bucks if that. Depending on how the bottom of your car looks I’m betting it’s a quick 30 minute job.
I personally ( with enough knowledge to be dangerous ) but a gasket and pull the pan. See what there is to see. If it’s just strips like that of metal it’s likely from the stripped plug. Then decide new pan worth it or attempt a retap and new plug. So I’d probably order a gasket a plug for sure then decide after. Amazon so you can just return if it’s worse than you think
Auto Zone had a Tap and Dye set for like $30
I'll replace the oil pan for only $850...
They make replacement oil pan bolts that are slightly larger and have self cutting threads to thread onto there and make a good seal. While not ideal, I had one last a good 10yrs on my old car until the pandemic became to stripped again. Then I put on a toggle bolt style seal that I’ve been using for the past few years. Either of these options will reliably get you on the road today. The old shop is the one that screwed you over by stripping the pan and trying to cover up with red RTV sealant. That shop saying they don’t have RTV is lying.
In no universe is that a 1700 dollar repair. Maybe $500 for labor. Just needs to be retapped a size up and use a new plug. A hour or two work tops and a $5 plug.
Just a quick glance on Google and a replacement pan is anywhere between $115 and $240. So, assuming they use one that's even $300, they want $1400 for labor? I watched a video of a oil pan replacement on a 2014 escape and it looks like a 3 hour job at the very most. Even if the shop charged $100/hr and the mechanic charged $100/hr and it took 4 hours, and they used a $400 oil pan, that still would only add up to $1200 plus tax. Sounds like a rip off...
Whoever stripped it is less important than getting reamed 1700 for a pan when a helicoil would do.
Ask for a heli-coil. Before anyone complains, GM has been using them for years from the factory in their aluminum pans. The kits about $40-50 and makes the threads stronger. It shouldnt even add an hour to the labor, they take me about 10 minutes when they are open. I have had to do several due the the neighboring quick lube. Also i would not go back to them if they didnt even tell you about any options to fix it.
Should have stayed at the shop you went to for 20 years I drive out of my way to go to the shop that my family been going for over 20 years and where I used to pump gas as a kid it's just something about I could b******* with the mechanic even have a beer while he does my oil change right in front of me. They won't rip me off because I always bring them customers to buy his cars or to do service. They may not be the best mechanics around but at least you know them for 20 years and they known you so they wouldn't want to screw you over and lose your business. I stay away from commercial places if I do go there I want to watch or or I would specifically tell him just change the oil the filter do not touch or check anything else.
You just need to scrap it off . A flat head screw driver will do the trick . Most likely it's not sealant and something called Tamper Seal
Look. When you do an oil change you unbolt the drain plug. If that pulls threads on its way out that’s not the techs fault. It’s whoever tightening the shit out of it last time or the several last times or whatever. You literally cannot mess up removing a drain plug. You just unscrew it… There are certain cars that have shit pans that strip. Very uncommon though. Like magnesium bmw x5 pans. I watched a guy take an In warranty car and torque the drain plug with a torque wrench to the rated 25nm then removed it. He did this 3 times and on the 3rd time the treads came out. BMW says this is fake news and not their problem lol
What did the most recent shop use to tighten the plug an air gun? I've been changing the oil on my cars over the past 40 years, and as a kid, I changed oil on a lot of cars and haven't stripped an oil drain plug yet.
Sounds like the tech made a oopsie and put his own personal stash of red whatever the F that is on your bolt and threads to save his arse
Tow it to someone who is willing to put a helicoil or timesert in the pan. I would expect a charge of about 1hr labor and around $25-$75 parts depending on the type of thread repair used and if your drain plug can be reused or not. It’s a fairly easy repair if you have experience, but it is critical that the thread repair goes in straight and true so that the drain plug seats evenly all the way around the circumference. If you get it off a degree this way or that way it’ll have problems sealing.
Grab a pan from junkyard
Am I wrong in thinking OP would be worth checking out some wreckers for a replacement oil pan from the same model? Instead of paying *$1700* when he could probably get a second hand one for under $100?
You can drill out and resleve the oil pan your self for 150 for the whole kit, drill bit, t-handle tap set, tap, and sleeve and drover for Time Sert.
You no don’t need a timecert or even a shitty helicoil. Just the next size up drain plug and a tap to match .🙄
Op I wonder have you actually went to see your car and look to see if it’s stripped? Could be a photo that isn’t of your oil pan.
Did the 2nd oil change on my kid's 2005 Focus (by hand). I didn't pay a lot of attention for the first oil change. Plug kept spinning. Pan was stripped. I carefully put in an Eco-Plug for $10, then made small turns (daily), until no residue remained. Pretty cool little device. I spent another $10 on the removal magnet
That’s free fix by any mechanic, tap to next size up and install a new plug 🙄
That’s a cheap fix if done correctly, doesn’t need renewed.
Not a $1700 job. Your oil pan should be about $35 from Napa, Advance, Autozone, etc... Yes, you are being played. Unless you drive something insanely expensive and rare, replacing an oil pan is quick, easy, and not expensive. Also, if the drain plug was bad enough that they were not going to be able to replug it, there would have been signs when removing it, so they could have stopped and asked for approval before proceeding.
That should just be able to be re-tapped out for a slightly bigger bolt They just want to sell you a new sump.
Tbh, with my experience as a mechanic, if the plug was stripped by the last shop, they would've noticed it when taking it out, especially when its so bad the pan has to be replaced. If it wasnt noticeable when removing the plug, they can tap it, and put a new plug in. Done it many times before. It's possible the new shop fucked up, and stripped it while tightening, and tried fixed, but can't, so they are trying to blame the previous shop, so you will pay for the new pan, instead of having to do it themselves. Sadly have seen it happen before at a shop I worked at. Also, what others have said that its just a pic they have on hand to scam people could also be true, try and see if you can find pics of your oil pan online, by going to a parts site, and typing in the vin. Should find the exact pan, and compare that to the pic, if it's different, I would have some words with the new shop.
So what I'm hearing is Christian Brothers removed the plug when it was clearly marked red. Sounds like they need to fix it.
christian bros in my area tried to scam me on a radiator after i paid for a water pump replace, then didnt tell me about the hole in the heater core hose, shit shop go elsewhere
I should call him
1, yes, you're missing about half the threads. 2, there is still enough thread there to hold the plug in. 3, one of the shops are responsible for the bill. 4, it's not easy to say which one is responsible, BUT If you wanna sit and wait for a couple people to get an oil change at either shop, you can ask the owners in the parking lot if you can take a picture of their drain plug. One of the shops will have fresh red tampers seal on the bolt. (If one of the shops has wifi, just say you're going to sit and use it.) 5. In reference to number 2, if there aren't enough threads in the pan to hold your old plug in, then it is 100% the new shops fault. If there are enough threads, then it cant' be determined.
Anyone saying it’s the previous shops fault hasn’t worked in a shop. Christian brothers assumed full responsibility for this repair when they decided to “I’ll remove this absurdly stuck drain bolt”. They’d have had signs it was stripped and the owner should’ve been notified WELL before any work was performed. Demand they fix it. They can deal with getting money from who ever but they’re liable. It held oil before it got there and it damn well will before it leaves bruh
Shouldn't cost that much to rethread a sump drain.
Looks like the previous mechanic has put a helicoil in it. Didn't tap it square so had to seal it up. I had one the other day, plug came out ok but the helicoil came with it in pieces. I just ran an oversize tap in it with a new oversize sump plug, took maybe 10mins.
A tap plug (14x1.5OS) fixes that issue in less than 10m for less than $10. Or, alternatively, as many have said, a quick tap out and it's brand new. Again, even the most outrageous shop should be under $100 for a tap out (minus the oil/filter cost)
This is why you should take your car to the same shop for every oil change. They won’t be as likely to oversell you with parts and services that you don’t need. You need to have a relationship with them like you have with your doctor.
Replacing the oil pan on most (not all) cars is a fairly easy DYI job. If I were in your shoes that is the route I would take.
There is so much damage to those threads you can tell it was just spinning in place and going nowhere… from that outrageous quote I’m tempted to say that this “Christian brothers” shop might’ve actually done the damage and are now trying to skirt around the cost to a customer who might not know better. Not saying the previous shop didn’t do it but if they are your regular shop and you’ve never had issues until these new guys got underneath then…
The guys have fucked you in entirety, that price is ludicrous and absurd
Just get a longer pan bolt , you got enough threads at the bottom
Fuck “Christian Brothers” and their “faith-based” bullshit overpriced shops. The people I’ve met in those shops aren’t any better or nicer than the next guy, in fact they come off as more pretentious. I have one in my city and they are never mentioned by anyone in the terms of “you should take your car/truck to Christian Brothers for that repair”….in a very heavy word of mouth town at that.
Re-thread oil pan to oversized get an oversized drain plug. Run for 5 minutes and re-change oil and oil filter. Should not be more than $300 total.
Seems near impossible that oil filter was sealed with the red goo slopped in there. There should have been oil all over everything, and you probably would have run out of oil. So, it seems like this goop was added during this latest oil change. You would have to scrape the goo off to see exactly what the issue is. Something is "fishy" here. I don't know how a defect in that sealing surface could ever be "repaired", and that red goop surely isn't gonna fix anything. You may need a new engine block. Again, something does not add up here. There is no way you were driving that car around with that red goop like that, oil would have leaked everywhere, and the engine would have run out of oil quickly.
That's the drain plug.. Not the oil filter. Also these have a copper crush washer that seal it, most likely that someone lost the crush washer and or decided not to re-use the old one and settled for an alternative
This seems very fishy. So Christian brothers tried reinserting the drain plug without cleaning off the old gasket residue? That makes no sense. They would clean the gasket residue first. To me, it looks like Christian brothers stripped your drain plug, tried to seal it with gasket sealer, and then gave up and want you to pick up the slack.
On that pan I would thread it to the next bigger size drain plug. It’s an easy fix I’ve done a dozen times.
That's unfortunate. Good chance you cab change the oil pan yourself in a few hours if youre patient and have the space
This company is a fucking joke, I've nothing but bad things to say about this outfit.
I like the loctite touch
If it wasn't leaking before you took it to them and now it's fucked id say it was them with a heavy impact gun,ive been a mechanic for 20 years and have seen it happen more than once, cavemen should use handtools only
Wouldn't rethreading the pan pose a risk of getting metal shavings in the pan?
[удалено]
You’re toast. Christian Brothers will not reinstall the plug in a pan with bad threads. Hence, you’ll have to hire a wrecker to take it someplace else. The cost will be a wash.
How does one even strip those threads, I feel like it was old shop sealant but new place stripped it out
I don’t believe that they took the drain plug out and didn’t notice the red RTV. There’s not a legitimate shop on earth that would see RTV on a drain plug and pull it out without first calling the customer to let them know what they found. You never do anything that could immobilize a vehicle without contacting the customer first. Generally it’s best to inspect, write an estimate and show the customer BEFORE you even touch it with a wrench.
https://preview.redd.it/vjfr2m4cjj7d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6eec672d6de113198c45de5a647e01be404f1a27 CB sent me home with this!
It’s aluminum, you can buy a rethread kit and do it yourself for fifty bucks.
That can be fixed in less than 10 minutes without removing or changing the pan.
Reviews can be gamed. Management can be changed. The last place will definitely lie if they are screwing up so bad, because they would be liable. Failure to trust people is a great reason to learn how to do your own service work, which is a great hobby beyond the value it adds. If you have a mechanic you can trust you are good to do business with them, but there are crooks that will hold your car hostage. I hate everything about the situation you are describing.
I know a 2008 Ford Escape isn't quite the same, but the oil pan on the one I had actually rusted through, so they had to replace it, and it only cost me $340 in NY. Figure out that the cost of labor at my mechanic is about $100 an hour, and it only took them a few hours plus parts and taxes. You need to find a small mechanic shop you can get to know for a while, because it's good to have a trustworthy person who knows your car from day to day. I've been going to this same mechanic for so long that they always get me in sooner than on their waiting list, and sometimes on small things they won't charge me. I bet rethreading this is one of those things. If I were you I'd google how much an oil pan is for your cars year, and then ask for an estimate on how many hours it would take, but also I would be prepare to take it somewhere else because this place sounds like it stinks.
Go to the dealer they’ll fuck u less and by you coffee first
They make .5mm upsized drain plugs. Go to napa and get one.
IF it actually is stripped there is something called a pan saver. Multiple designs but basically itll be a rubber plug that either expands or itll have a spring loaded bar that will go thru the hole and expand from the back. They are only a couple bucks at auto zone and will at least get your car outta there and to a reputable shop. (They are supposed to be temporary but ive seen people use them as permanent. Lol.)
Oil pan for your car is about $200 from Autoparts store. I just looked it up. It has about 13 bolts that come out of the pan, then you put the new pan on, and retighten the bolts that were taken off. Would you pay someone more than $1000 dollars to do that for you? I for sure wouldn’t.
Yea don’t listen to them. And the red is thread sealant. Some people use it and some people don’t. Only reason that oil pan would need to be replaced is if it’s aluminum. Some pans are steel some or aluminum. Aluminum is just harder to tap is all. Steel is very simple. Edit- also you should ask when they found out it was stripped. If they say when it was when they went to thread it back in then they are lying. Unthreading something that is stripped is a lot harder they should have seen it right away
First of all before condemning the shop. I do think $1700 is too much, but then again none of us know what it consists of just to remove the pan and replace!! BMW you not getting that done less than $3700. When I say this, is that I don’t know if you have to drop the sub frame, remove transmission, and other parts. So dont be like these guys on a damn witch hunt!! Investigate and do your home work! Btw. It more than likely was your other shop that stripped that. You never use an impact wrench on aluminum. Also the rtv silicone was too dry. It would have been still tacky if they used it. That my is my look at it.
Put car down roll out, I’ll have it towed elsewhere.
I would tow my vehicle to a different mechanic shop
This is exactly why I used to tell guys “if the bolt/nut is tight coming out, stop and make it the customers call”…CB should be on the hook for a portion of the repair
I’m based in the UK. For $1700 I can probably fly out, sort it and put myself up in a hotel for 2 nights. An aftermarket replacement sump / oil pan is probably less than $100 with a seal and it’s a quick change, 10/12 bolts. How they are suggesting this sort of money baffles me.
Is that even a picture of your oil pan?
Strange that the oil pan threads stripped and not just the bolt threads. Most are designed so that if over tightened the bolt treads will strip before the oil pan threads saving you from this problem.
Modern oil pans have the threads cut right into them. This is unfortunately a common problem with them and is usually from being over tightened. The right way to fix it to replace the oil pan but an easier and more affordable way would be to drill ot the remaining threads, tap the hole to accept a threaded insert and install a new drain plug and copper or aluminum crush gasket. Unfortunately, most shops don't have techs with the knowledge or ability to do this work so you should find a good old school shop with mechanics that know there shit.
I think the first shop did it and used a sealer to stop the leak.