I did an oil change yesterday and noticed that the old oil pan plug on my 250 was really wearing down and oil was starting to leak out. the threads were also wore down pretty bad too. So i headed over to the 1984 307 V8 Cutlass Sureme parts car and pulled out the plug. not only was it in much better condition but also a perfect fit I guess my next project will be a new pan, im sure it's threads are just as bad
Ford oil pans are notorious for having problems with the plug. The best thing to do is keep the threads clean and sharp, keep a new gasket on them each change, replace the plug every few changes (preferably with the smaller hex GM type), and NEVER overtighten. Most domestic cars from the period used the same threads on the bolt, the difference was in the hex and sometimes gasket. I use a GM hex because it only takes a 9/16" wrench. The big head/wrench combo on the Fords makes it hard to tell if you are overtightening. The small wrench doesn't give you so much leverage against the weak threads that you strip them out before you realize it. The flat edge (more or less built in washer) around the small GM plugs also allows you to use the newer GM washer. It is brass with rubber coating and holds a much better seal without much torque on the bolt. This is what I use. Keeps me out of trouble with the weak pan threads. If you pull a pan out and look at it, there are only maybe 2 threads in there. Very easy to pull out. Dave
