Stripped Sump Thread.. 1 Bolt Left!

[JordanLee 6]

so today i was fitting my e34 oil pan to my m50 and my last bolt i was using wasnt tightening at all, so pulled it out and what do you know. its stripped the thread. So i was wondering is the last bolt actually needed? it has 23 other bolts in it plus i used Permatex Ultra Black so that would glue it down. any insight? cheers

[thorburn 120]

do you like to gamble?

Have you stripped the thread in the block or on the bolt

[JordanLee 6]

well from what i can tell its the block. any suggestions then? i dont fancy taking the whole thing off again.

[polley 916]

It will probably leak with out it, you can helicoil or timesert the block.

[JordanLee 6]

Here's a photo if it. Even with all the bolts in it somehow hasn't aligned the last hole which then has stripped it. Will I be able to tap it out while still on?

[polley 916]

yeah you need to leave all the bolts loose until you get them all in. you need to remove it to do the job properly, its not really that hard...

[kiwi328i 118]

You have options, but the main 2 for me would be, if you need the car on the road, it's either a daily driver or whatever, I would just put some silicone on a slighter bigger screw/bolt and just have it catch. It will seal, and be a temp fix, the nm's on them isn't that great and your permatex could probably seal and attach that thing even without bolts. This is not soo ideal, but if you need a running car and you don't have time, I would suggest doing that.

If you don't need to drive the thing for awhile. Do it properly, clean it to within an inch of its life, especially the threaded holes, blow them clean if you can and get it rethreaded/helicoiled (fixed), you could have others. Nice new gasket, torque it nicely and evenly and for peace of mind, you may not need to drop it for years, if ever.