Last month we had our 93 Corolla serviced at a Chevron station. We were told the threads were stripped on the oil pan drain and the pan would have to be replaced. We agreed and the bill came to $400+ for parts and labor. Was the charge excessive?
L
Only by about $350 IMO
You think he should have paid no more than $50 parts and labor for a new oil pan?? Get real!
Leonard M. Wapner wrote:
======================== This brings to mind a variety of issues. First, if you use a fresh gasket and do not over tighten the drain bolt, they do not strip. Seems like the quick oil change places like to really crank on drain bolts. Once had the clutch replaced in my 1977 Toyota truck which I had been servicing at a quick lube place and when the shop called to say the work was done it took the better part of another hour for the owner of that shop to cut and heat the fill plug with an acetylene torch to finally be able to add transmission fluid. Obviously, that plug should never have been that tight -- gives another good reason to do your own work. Toyota actually supplies torque figures but apparently they're not often used. Second, as you probably now realize, you must always confirm the price or at least a written estimate, before the work begins. Also, it would appear the drain bolt was holding before they touched it. There may be some culpability there. As others have mentioned, it may have been possible to repair the drain or tap in new threads for a slightly larger bolt. However, you really don't want to take chances with having a leak that would cause you to lose engine oil. Replacing the oil pan is not as simple as it may sound. The exhaust pipe has to come off and the fasteners should be replaced along with the sealing gaskets. Then there are a lot of small bolts around the edge of the oil pan which should be tightened progressively. I believe you need the FIPG (form in place gasket material) to re seal the pan, so the surfaces have to be completely clean of all oil prior to reassembly which has to be performed within a very short time of applying the sealant. The mating surface on the underside of the block also has to be clean. Best to wipe it with a solvent first, then work quickly before residual oil drips back down again. The bead of sealant has to be applied around the bolt holes and close enough to the edge at the region of the rear main to avoid leaks. Done right, this is a durable repair. Usually charges are based on an hourly rate times the number of hours, plus the cost of new parts. First time I did one of these it took a long time, I sliced open my finger reapplying the sealant I smeared by mispositioning the pan on the first try, but got it right the second time. Probably removing and reapplying the sealant provided an even better seal being all surfaces were cleaned and "primed" twice. Point is, it is not a particularly simple job.
I would have gone for an oversized drain plug first, if at all possible. They are designed for that express purpose, and you'd have lots of change left from that $50.
Especially when that damage can almost always be traced back to over-torquing the plug by a Gorilla with a six-foot wrench in the lube bay, either on this oil-change visit or within the last few. And they'll never admit it.
("Oops, look what we did... Hang on, the customer is coming over.") "Gee, Sir, look what we found. Looks like someone stripped it the last time."
(If they were the ones who worked on it the last time, they'd blame it on the threads wearing out.)
Myself, if the pan had to come off I would MIG-weld, TIG-weld or silver-braze on a hex nut with the right metric threads for the stock drain plug. Fix it once.
You hold the hex nut in position with a metric bolt and a washer to protect the new nut where the new seal face will be, and you put a big copper washer on the backside to protect against burn-through of the pan sheetmetal while welding the nut on.
(Copper is highly thermally conductive and when used as a backup plate will chill the weld puddle and stop the blow-through, usually without it sticking to the weld metal. You'll still have to clean up the backside with a grinder, but you won't be facing a disaster, trying to fill in a hole that keeps getting bigger.)
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You can buy an expanding rubber plug for $2 that fixes such a problem.
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