How "screwed" am I, literally.

[IndianaVX]

good job bart.....well, not on threading the origonal bolt in, but ...glad you got it fixed!!
and might i add....GREAT PICS!! *self* ((i cant hijack barts thread to find out what camera was used....yeah david, dont do that, i must not hijack, i must not hijack, let him bask in the joy of fixing his oil lead sucessfully))

job well done......

[nfpgasmask]

Thanks guys! I love a happy ending too. Whew. I was really worried about this for the last couple nights.

Etl: The size of the plug is M14 1.5.

Indiana: I have a few cameras, but for these shots I just used my little point and shoot Canon Powershot A620 with the macro (flower) enabled. I also have a decent lighting setup in my garage which helps, and I put the plugs on an old black leather glove for contrast.

So, how worried about the tiny little metal shavings should I be? I mean, I pulled out that big nasty one, and a bunch of really tiny pieces on the magnet, and changed my filter, so hopefully I will be ok.... ???

I just can't believe I did this. I must have started the plug in wrong last time I changed the oil and somehow didn't notice the resistance as I mashed it in there. I will say this though, I was in a hurry last time I changed the oil so in this case, I suppose haste once again made waste...

Bart

[Ldub]

So, how worried about the tiny little metal shavings should I be?

Bart

You're new friend, the magnetic drain plug, should be more than happy to earn it's keep.

[nfpgasmask]

Thanks for the reassurance Dubster...

Bart

You're new friend, the magnetic drain plug, should be more than happy to earn it's keep.

[VehiGAZ]

Ah, high-five!!

etlsport raised a good point - the magnetic plug won't pick up aluminum shavings, so if you are concerned about additional shavings in your oil (and you probably should be), change your oil & filter a couple more times in the next 1000 miles.

tom4bren & psychos - so do you still disagree with me about the threads being important to sealing the drain plug? What happened to Bart was what I was getting at - if you've messed up your threads so the plug doesn't stop tightening, it can't hold the gasket tightly enough to form a seal.

Yay!!! Mystery solved!!

[tom4bren]

VehiGAZ,

"...if you've messed up your threads so the plug doesn't stop tightening, it can't hold the gasket tightly enough to form a seal."

I hate when I'm wrong (I thought I was once - but that was a mistake) ... glad I wasn't here. In your own words you verified what I said. The threads don't make the seal, they compress the gasket that makes the seal. By the very nature of how threads engage, they can not make a seal unless suplimented with something like teflon tape.

Trust me, I've learned that lesson the hard way with MANY failed plumbing repairs.

Besides - who (even Bart) could have messed up the threads that badly???? Oh yes, that was me when I was installing Tone's seat extenders (my fault not Tone's).

[nfpgasmask]

LOL, I'm no mechanic, so it doesn't suprise me that I FUBARed something, but it all comes with experience I suppose.

What I learned from this is that you should never work on your VX (or anything you care about for that matter) if you are feeling rushed or hasty. I'm sure had I not been pressed for time, I wouldn't have messed things up.....I hope.

Bart

Besides - who (even Bart) could have messed up the threads that badly???? Oh yes, that was me when I was installing Tone's seat extenders (my fault ot Tone's).

[tom4bren]

Glad to hear the quick fix worked. Even more than a happy ending, I love when it's cheap & easy.