# Oil pan drain plug/bolt



## seroki (Jan 25, 2010)

Just a quick question, Is there a different Oil Pan drain bolt that i can use as opposed to the VW OEM one? I'm way too busy to get to the dealer during the week to pick up a couple of these bolts, and wanting to know if there is an approved substitute or something of the sort that can be picked up at a'zone, napa or some other chain autostore.


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

Why are you replacing the plug? When you change the oil, you should only have to replace the little gasket on the plug, unless you've stripped the threads or the hex on the plug is rounded off. 

I believe the thread is 14x1.5...I'm assuming you just want a new plug, the threads in the pan are good? Check any parts store, if they don't have one listed for a VW, one from any Honda with an aluminum oil pan (3.5 V6 Odyssey for example) should work. The Honda plug is the same thread, just a little bit shorter.


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## seroki (Jan 25, 2010)

Dealer said then entire plug needs to be replaced, but if i can get away with a 30 cent gasket thats even better. Even more of a reason why I'm not letting them touch my car, especially after they put the wrong oil in it when I bought it.


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

Yeah the plug definitely doesn't need to be replaced, but the gasket should be replaced, IIRC it's a 14mm aluminum drain plug gasket, available at any parts store. If you need to re-use the gasket once it's not the end of the world, but after being re-used 2 or 3 times it will be squashed to the point where it won't seal anymore. Ideally it should be replaced every oil change for optimal sealing potential. A good shop will replace the gasket (not the plug) at every oil change, and you will probably see a charge of $1.50-2.00 for it. A quick-lube joint will likely always re-use it, and after a few oil changes you'll see very small drips from the drain plug...not a devastating leak but an unnecessary leak nonetheless.

No idea why they would be replacing the whole plug at every oil change


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