Oil pan is stripped..

So I was doing an oil change and the bolt just kept spinning...
My friend was able to get the bolt off but it goes in crooked so my guess is
whoever did the last oil change cross threaded the bolt when an oil change was done.. :/
The car is on a lift at a friends shop and he isn't charging me to keep it there..
was wondering what the OEM bolt size was and what size i should go with for
a oversize self tapping drain bolt.. thanks in advance...
tried searching but not sure what size to buy...

Hey there!
Are you talking about the oil drain plug located on the oil pan? If so, the size for mine is 12 x 1.5 mm, part #: 11131273093, however I have a non-m e46 and yours may differ. I think this website can help you;

http://realoem.com/bmw/select.do?kin...one=USA&arch=0_nr_

maybe call the dealer?

I have felt your terrible pain... I was like Hudson in 'Aliens': "this can't be happenin', man!" and so on.
Not without self-endorsement I present the selling of my used Time-Sert 1215c oil pan thread repair kit.
As the story states: I fixed my stripped pan (stripped by an indy shop as I see it)... and WOW, I'm in Seattle as well! The kit is boxed for shipping and could be shipped very quickly or perhaps delivered/picked up if more convenient (for me/you).

Originally Posted by Slyde

I have felt your terrible pain... I was like Hudson in 'Aliens': "this can't be happenin', man!" and so on.
Not without self-endorsement I present the selling of my used Time-Sert 1215c oil pan thread repair kit.
As the story states: I fixed my stripped pan (stripped by an indy shop as I see it)... and WOW, I'm in Seattle as well! The kit is boxed for shipping and could be shipped very quickly or perhaps delivered/picked up if more convenient (for me/you).

Originally Posted by Slyde

I have felt your terrible pain... I was like Hudson in 'Aliens': "this can't be happenin', man!" and so on.
Not without self-endorsement I present the selling of my used Time-Sert 1215c oil pan thread repair kit.
As the story states: I fixed my stripped pan (stripped by an indy shop as I see it)... and WOW, I'm in Seattle as well! The kit is boxed for shipping and could be shipped very quickly or perhaps delivered/picked up if more convenient (for me/you).

Well hell, that's convenient!

Let us know how the repair goes, OP.

I pm'd u my phone number.. Give me a call or text I'm interested in that kit but had some questions..

OP...first, see realoem.com for PNs...very often it'll list dimensions of bolts...not sure of plugs, but I might have an extra lying around I can measure.

Second thing is that you might start by just chasing the threads with proper sized tap. It's not in there very tight and the seal comes from the crush washer, not the threads, so there's a decent chance you'd have plenty of torque to hold it sealed...maybe a dap of rtv to be safe.

Just a little burr could be enough to throw it off and you could easily get lucky...before you go the timesert route.

Also, they do make oversized plugs and you'd be able to just open up the threads a little more and be good. Maybe you need to drill out cleanly first, but I don't think so...not if you're just opening them up a tad bigger. That's sort of a guess...you might have to start basically fresh again with clean hole...but again, you don't need a lot of torque to hold a seal there.

I talked to south lake europeon which has a 5 for 5 star rating on yelp.. the said they'll do it for an hour of labor which is $99
Luckily they are only like 5 miles away.. so ill probably put the plug on with some teflon tape and just drive it there..
I don't feel comfortable doing the job myself.. lol

same thing happen to me but i had to retread a new bolt

Originally Posted by GN_M3

happened to me 3 weeks ago... the bolt is designed to strip before the pan does. I just bought an oversized drain plug and now I'll just suck the oil out instead of draining it next time.

If youre looking for an oil vacuum, bavauto has them, I bought it for around 100 bucks after shipping.