i am trying to change my oil ,but i cant get the drain plug off, i tried everything to get it off-i went to the parts store to see what size the drain plug was suppose to , they said 14mm-the one on my car is a 19mm is this normal or do the size differ from year to year, i have an 86gxl-plz help

what else should i do(should i take it to jiffy lube and have them do it?)

 

Have a big crescent wrench?

 

no i have a small cresent wrench , by the way i am trying not to strip the bolt

 

Really stupid obvious question (but I've wasted time doing this before, I'm embarrased to say): are you turning it the right way?

 

You'll never get enough tq on it with a lil wrench, buy a breaker bar if you don't have one, and get the right size socket...I can't tell ya offhand what size mine is...

 

I didn't want to say that

 

I cant get to mine till I get home...I can measure it then..

 

You would be suprised how tight some of those drain plugs can be. I should know, I worked in an oil pit for awhile. I agree with the breaker bar idea. I had to do that a lot. Good luck!

 

thanx j-rat

 

I use the handle from my jack as a breaker bar. Works great.

Using a jack to get exhaust bolts off is also one of my secret tips for the day.

 

when i put my socket on the drain plug and push as hard as i can the onlt thing i can do is round off corners, you wouldnt believe hoe tight this thing is on--is 19mm a normal size for an 86gxl

 

I use part of my Club. it fits very well over the wrench... but I got a new wrench and I don't think it will fit anymore. besides, a breaker bar is very useful. and I wouldn't want to bend my wrench.

 

Hmm, I always thought it was a 17mm. Guess it is 19...

Someone could have replaced it sometime in the cars life span. There is no telling what size it is.

 

Mine's 19mm.
Here's a tip for not rounding off the hex. Try to find a 6-point socket instead of a 12-point. Another alternative is "Metrinch" sockets. I dunno if you guys have them but I think they're American. They act on the sides of the hex instead of the tips. Genius.
DON'T use an adjustable wrench. Only use a socket.

 

If you are rounding the corners off, tighten it a bit and then try to back it out. Sometimes that helps with really tight bolts. Replace the **** if you can.

 

no offense, but wtf are you doing buying those parts. Get a mazda part, 2.50 with the gakset

 

Lets get something straight.
1. the HEAD of the bolt is 19mm(Use a box end wrench, works best)
2. The actual measurment of the hole in the oil pan is 14mm, meaning that the threaded section of the bolt .

3. If you do not have a box end wrench, use your ratchet. get the 19mm socket on your ratchet, if you still can not get the nut loose, get a length of brass or copper pipe that is large enough in diameter to slip over the ratchet handle. the pipe should be about 1 to 1.5 feet in length. If you do this you made a poor mans breaker bar (AKA Cheater bar) Increasing the length of the arm increases the torque.

4. Just saw the thing about corners starting to round off. If this is the case you will HAVE to use a 12 point socket or a 12 point box end wrench.

 

If you use the breaker bar, hold the socket on the plug straight, or you will **** the oil pan up if you push too hard. Those things aren't that thick.

 

Some of the series 4 cars do have a 14 mm head on the bolt for the oil pan. Both my Jspec from Japan and the stock 13B on my 88 'vert were 14mm head.

Don't know if it is larger on the later series 5 13B or T2 motors, but I can't imagine them changing something like that, so I must think that the dealer replacement bolt head is the larger 19mm.

BTW: The diff and tranny drain holes are 24mm

 

I've seen all of the problems with oil plugs, being a manager at an Oil change for a little over a year.
We ALWAYS used sockets, never box wrenches wheneever possible. We would start with ratchets, and then move up to a 1 foot breaker bar, then to the 2 footers, and finally to the 5 foot 1/2 drive breaker bar (that thing was great to borrow overnight). For ones that tight, we would get one person to hold the socket on while two others pushed on the breaker bar.
We mostly used that on tranny's and diffs though, since they tended to rust more.
If the nut was stripped, we would go with a set of vice grips. Failing that, if I was working (which I was almost always there, especially during the summer), I would weld a nut onto the end of the nut and go from there.
Those damn honda's are almost always the worst for tightness, and toyotas were the worst for getting access to them.
And all this was done in 10 minutes or you got 9 bucks off!
Sean Cathcart

 

you can keep the 9 dollars if you don't start welding stuff onto my car!

 

lol
we told the customers for one.
and two, a mechanic would do the same thing. Do you know a better way (without drilling into the bolt and using an ez-out) to get a bolt off? I don't. I usually would just wire brush the paint and weld a nut on the end and then crack 'er off. Easy, no damage.
Sean

 

Have you tried liquid wrench? Or PB Blaster? Those are penatrate lubricantes and can help out. Also, you may want to consider the use of a blow torch. Heat up the plug and the area around it. The metal expanding my release what is holding it in place. Good luck.

James

 

The 14MM the parts store guy was referring to is the thread size. The 19MM you are referring to is the size wrench that fits the head. Threaded fasteners are never referred to by the head size. The diameter given always means the threads.

To have the best chance of getting it off, use a six point socket. This will have less tendency to round the head off than will a 12 point socket. And make sure you are trying to turn it the right way. It is sometimes easy to get confused when laying on your back while looking up at something.

 

i live in apartments so i dont dont have access to a torch or things like that- the socket thing aint working,i am going to try a box wrench tomarrow and see what happens, i hope it comes off, i need to change my oil bad, i think it is contributing to my hard starting problems