Yesterday I decided to do an oil change on my e46 318i f/l and things went south quickly.... When tightening the sump plug with the torque wrench it went "soft" before 25nm and now it just spins in either direction and won't come out or tighten ![facepalm]( "facepalm")
There is also now a minor oil leak out of the sump plug.
From what I can gather from searching online ( and specifically at http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=955263 ) the BMW sump plugs are hollow and designed to fracture before the sump's threads get stripped, has anyone encountered this before? Apparently if I can get the plug out then it's just a new sump plug and it's back to normal. Does anyone know any mechanics in JHB/JHB north that have dealt with this before?
Now to get an oil extractor so I never have to touch a sump plug again.
There is also now a minor oil leak out of the sump plug.From what I can gather from searching online ( and specifically at http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=955263 ) the BMW sump plugs are hollow and designed to fracture before the sump's threads get stripped, has anyone encountered this before? Apparently if I can get the plug out then it's just a new sump plug and it's back to normal. Does anyone know any mechanics in JHB/JHB north that have dealt with this before?
Now to get an oil extractor so I never have to touch a sump plug again.