I'm up to 320k miles on my 2000 XLT 2WD and fully intend to get to half a million.

The plug on my oilpan is stripped and my mechanic has fixed it a few times but it's on it's last legs. He tells me that I'm looking at a $1800 repair because they'll have to pull the engine to replace the pan.

Does this jibe with what you guys know?

Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome to the board!

I am not sure if your model truck needs to have the engine lifted to remove the oil pan, but it is not uncommon. As far as the price, I don't know how much something like that should cost. Try calling around and pricing the same repair at different local shops to see if your guy is on target with his estimate.

Good luck!

 

Had a jiffy lube type service person tell me my plug was stripped in my 2010.
Said Ford made them soft so they wouldn't strip the threads in the pan. Charged me $22. for a new plug. You must mean the threads in the pan are stripped. That is why they made the plugs softer on the new models.

 

Your mechanic is an idiot, weld a nut to the bottom of the pan and use a bolt for the plug, 10$ at most.

 

Or you could affix a permanent plug to the factory drain hole and drill a new drain hole if it ends up being that much money to replace it.

 

Did they stop making the over sized expanding plug made specifically for this purpose while I was out?

Or did I dream it............

 

Not a dream

 

Thanks for the replies fellas.

I always go to a dealership but it sounds like when it goes I'll be better off looking around for a local mechanic who has the latitude to be a bit more "creative" in the fix.

 

First, get the aforementioned oversize drain plug.
Second, Why would you have to pay for the repair when they stripped out the threads in the oil pan? And you don't have to remove the engine, but you do have to support it with an engine cradle from the top because you have to pull the motor mounts out of the way to get the pan off.

 

If it's the bolt that goes up in there I agree with everyone else just weld a nut to it or have a local mechanic do it and wrench it off and just replace it. If it's the threads idk what process or labor is involved in rethreading but it certainly sounds cheaper than lifting the motor to replace the pan.