Stripped a drain plug on a 2012 Civic last weekend, what a mess

I was doing an oil change on a customer's 2012 Civic last Saturday and went to torque the drain plug back in. Felt it start to give a little early but figured it was just the washer seating. Next thing I know the plug spins free in my hand and I'm looking at a messed up pan. Had to helicoil it right there in the driveway, took about 45 minutes of drilling and tapping. Anyone else had luck with those time-sert kits or should I just tell people to replace the whole pan next time?

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caleb_gibson1mo ago

That thing where you feel it "start to give a little early" is always the worst feeling... you know in your gut something's wrong but you just hope. About the time-sert vs whole pan thing, I actually wonder if the real issue is people not checking the plug itself enough. I've seen plugs where the threads are already half stripped from the last guy using a impact gun, and when you helicoil a fresh pan but reuse that same chewed up plug it'll just mess up the new threads too. Might be worth keeping a few OE plugs in your box just to swap in when you do a repair like that, saves a headache down the road.