Rounded bolt (best, trucks, buy, engine)

[SLCPUNK]

Last time I changed my oil I realized the drain plug bolt was getting soft so I ordered a new one. When I went to loosen it to drain the oil it just rounded off.

I tried the socket set from Sears for this problem (ez off or something like that) and it didn't work.

My good (big) pair of vise grips are broken so I used a cheaper spare to no avail.

I was thinking about JB welding a socket on their over night and then just undoing it the next day. Do you think this would work?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[M3 Mitch]

The good set of rounded bolt removing sockets from Sears (Craftsman) should work if you have the right ones. The right size will go over the bolt head partway. Likewise a good Vise-Grip, genuine article, should work. If you want one anyway, buy yourself a small Rigid brand pipe wrench, that should work. All the pliers and pipe wrenches assume you have room to swing the handle of the wrench, that you could get a regular open or box end wrench on your drain bolt, rather than the few you have to use a socket.

JB welding a socket to the bolt might work, but you need to get all the oil off the bolt, then have fun getting the bolt out of the socket. I guess if it does not work you are not out much. Make sure you don't JB the socket to the oil pan as well.

Honestly if you go buy a new 7" Vise Grip pliers, or a Channellock "water pump" pliers, these should work fine. Both are tools you should not have to live without anyway...

[Egobop]

I have the Sears rounded bolt removing kit and it works like a charm each time. As the previous post said; you have to be sure you use the correct one. My kit has about twelve of them in it. Often times vice grips will just keep spinning. I would not even bother with them.

[wheelsup]

I doubt JB Weld will hold with the twisting torque required to get it off. Best bet - what I do - is hammer on a socket that is one size smaller. If you have good sockets it will meld into the bolt and then it's a matter of just twisting. Once you get it off use a punch or something similar to hammer thru and knock the bolt back off from the inside of the sicket (where the ratchet head would go).

[M3 Mitch]

Something that just occurred to me would be to use (try) wrapping a strip of "sanding screen" around the drain bolt, then putting the correct size 6-point socket over this.

Craftsman also has open-end "rounded bolt" end wrenches, if you have room to swing it, that might work.

You could go all "Rolls-Royce" on it and use a hand file to file the hex down to the next smaller size. You need to know how to use a file to do this though, and work patiently. If you use a file by rubbing it back and forth forget I posted this idea...ideally you would use a file with a "safe" side against the flange of the bolt...

If you have both inch and metric sockets, you can sometimes find one from the "wrong" line for your car that is a tight fit on a rounded bolt.

A good sharp quality pipe wrench will not fail you if you have room to use it. I mean, hell, it's made to turn round pipes, and you can develop A LOT of torque with one of these.

If you hammer the socket on, use a quality socket, ideally a black (impact) socket, in fact those Craftsman "rounded bolt" sockets might work better if hammered on a little and USE EYE PROTECTION WHEN HAMMERING ON STUFF LIKE THIS OK!?

Bottom line: If you use Craftsman or better sockets and DIY all your oil changes, you shouldn't have any problems with rounding of the drain bolt...

[kentuckydad95]

Believe it or not, one of those Gator Grip universal socket work perfectly. I bought one when I had a rounded off bolt in a Taurus. It took it off no problem. The Vise Grip will also work. Everyone should have a Vise Grip.

[SLCPUNK]

Thanks for all the input already. All my tools are Craftsman, and I've got plenty of swing room.

I already tried hammering on a smaller socket, but it won't work until I file the top of the bolt down. It seems there is metal debris stopping in front going on evenly.

Like I said, my Craftsman grips were DOA so I was going with a cheap pair. I really had them on tight too and they just went around. Looks like tomorrow I'll go with a pipe wrench first before I go to the next round. I am just want to make sure I don't mess up the pan. I could just use a top sider from now on, but I think a hot engine and gravity really gets the gunk out. I'll keep everybody posted, thanks.

[Innovator831021]

Make sure your pan bolt is never that tight again, it should be snug, not cranked to high heaven. As for the problem at hand, I have never seen a pipe wrench fail this sort of situation...

[M3 Mitch]

I *think* Sears is still replacing any broken Craftsman tool without too much quibbling. I know they are not as good about this as they were.

A good, small, high-quality pipe wrench is so handy go on and use this as an excuse to get one.

You may want to make an exception and remove the bolt just this once on a cold or at least cool engine just to minimize the hassles.

"Everybody" knows that you should change oil hot, but as far as I can tell with good detergent oil that's not super-dirty, it does not make any difference if you change it hot or cold.

[deepcynic]

Since it seem he has gotten enough good advice, I cannot resist telling this:

We used to have a mechanic for our fire trucks that we always joked had a tool box that consisted of a Visegrips, a hammer, WD-4 and duck tape.

I am never without the above.