So many people are always so turned off about tapping into their oil pan with FI kits even though almost every single one needs to tap into your engine oil somehow.

So let's have it.
Who has tapped their oil pan and had it just go completely wrong?


nevermind that you can use an oil pan spacer and tap that or just use an aftermarket oil pan that comes pre-tapped. But who has had major catastrophic problems due to having to tap their oil pan?

 

Good question, I just picked up my first FI Turbonetics kit and I was reading the manual and seen that TAP, I said oh hell no! I am going to spend the extra money and get the AAM Oil Pan Spacer and the hell with tapping it. I definatly would break something! LOL

 

Interested as well. TTT

 

its easy, and if you have issues, it can always be fixed with a different fitting.


i still would rather have a oil pan spacer though...

 

I was able to tap mine without any issues. I was very nervous about messing it up, but after just doing it I realized this was the easiest part of my install.

 

+1 I said the same thing

 

That's easy for you to say cause in a worst case scenario you can drop a motor and put it back, probably all in the same day. LOL. The rest of us are scared, appropriately so I think...

 

What is the hardest part of tapping the upper pan? Is it the tight space constraints? Bank2 has more room to work than bank1. Maybe the lack of thickness to the cast aluminum pan? I dunno cause I haven't drilled into mine to check.

Seems to me you'd just drill it, then run a tap through it by hand, taking care to contain and thoroughly clean up any metal shavings...

If it does get messed up -- could you not just drill it a little bigger to put a helicoil in there, and call it a day? Or as JT pointed out, just run a bigger fitting...

 

What if it cracks? Then you are hosed.

 

I don't know about the turbonetics kit, but my vortech kit came with a drill bit for the tap. I just used a regular drill and drilled it slowly. The pan is made of very soft metal. It drilled through very smooth.

 

I got some aluminum parts that were about 1/4" thick and practiced tapping that before I tapped anything on my car. With practice it is very easy. I wouldn't make the first thing you ever drill and tap you oil pan in your car. But I think the question Sentry wants to know is who has f**ked it up and had to replace their pan.

 

I've yet to hear of anyone messing this up. As jeremy stated, if you did happen to do it you could either go with a larger fitting or plug that hole up and try again.

 

The problem is not with drilling and tapping the pan. The issue is with the NPT threaded adapter you screw in. If you overtighten it it has caused cracked upper oil pans. However... not many. Mine cracked like that.

 

+1 , I agree. Drilling and tapping the upper oil pan is no problem if you just take your time and make sure to contain any shavings (Tape off the area, and use grease to trap shavings).

The NPT oil feed T fitting is where some people go terribly wrong by over-tightening. The bright side... an upper oil pan is not expensive (<$100 from memory), though the install is a bit of an undertaking (space constraints with crossmember).