It's good advice to take your car in for regular maintenance to make sure everything is running fine. This can also help you avoid a costly repair if your car's health is ignored. Tire rotation, vehicle alignment, and an oil change are all pretty basic practices of car maintenance items you should check on. In fact, a lot of drivers choose to change their own oil to save money, as it's pretty easy to do yourself.
If you do decide to change your own oil, what happens if you notice the oil plug was stripped or rounded during your last trip to the mechanic? If this doesn't seem like a big deal, think again. A stripped oil drain plug can lead to oil leaks, which could potentially cause costly engine problems. Now, a stripped or rounded bolt can be tough to remove. These same bolts are what you will find when looking for the drain plug. If your drain plug is stripped, we have two ways to remove it safely.
First off, be mindful of the engine temperature when preparing to perform an oil change. It shouldn't be scorching hot, but warm is good, as engine temperature matters during an oil change. A warm engine will lower the oil's viscosity, and this makes for an easier time when changing oil.
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Let's make sure we can actually locate the oil drain plug. You can find this on the side or underside of the oil pan, and this will be attached to the bottom of the engine. The first method for removing a stripped drain plug is using an adjustable socket wrench or box wrench. You can find the plug, or a large nut, under the oil pan at the bottom of the engine. According to Jimthecarguy on YouTube, you want to make sure you get the correct size socket or box wrench to get the job done. If that doesn't work alone, placing a bolt extractor onto the plug will make this a much easier task. Alternatively, if the damage is minimal, you can rethread the drain plug with a thread-chaser tool.
The second method is more for the caveman in all of us. This one calls for a pair of round-jaw vice grip pliers to get a hold of the drain plug to loosen it up. They might just do more damage to the bolt, but if you need to remove it anyway, does it really matter? Just be sure to order a new drain plug before you get started.
Round-jaw vice grips are better than flat-jaw, because a stripped oil drain plug has probably rounded out. A flat-jaw vice won't be much help. All you need to do is get the pliers around the plug, turn it counterclockwise (lefty loosey, righty tighty), and voilà. You'll feel the drain plug loosen, and you can remove it with your fingers.
