156 SUMP PLUG

[correlejco]

Attempted an oil change on the 156 2.0 TS yesterday. 8mm Hex key socket firmly in sump plug, lean on handle, and voila! - can't shift it. Some rock-ape has tightened it to about one zillion ft.lbs. Lean a bit harder, and you know what happens next - key turns, but plug doesn't. Take car for quick thrash to get oil really hot, hammer in oversize key - still won't shift. Plug now has circular hole not hexagonal. Will buy new plug tomorrow but anyone got any experience of how to get the old one out? Don't want to weld on to the plug or use a blowtorch. Ideas please.

[wombat rick]

Unfortunately...I think you should have used a RIBE key
www.bennetts.com/tools/handtools?categoryId=526
They aren't hex keys...

Sorry. Not very helpful.


Can you cut/drill a slot in it and tap it round?
Make sure you buy the new one first!!

[SCOOTERMAN]

Sump plug, a Ribe key? You sure about that? I purchased a sump plug for my 146ti today (the same, non?) and it's an Allen key head...

[tr7v8]

A mate did this, eventually managed to drill it out using progressively bigger drills until we coul chase out the thread with a screwdriver, then run a tap in and cleaned the thread.
I'd suggest you give it to someone with a ramp though.

[anonymous-user]

Drill and then use a stud extractor? But I'd try not to drill all the way through as you don't want to be getting swarf into the sump...

[wombat rick]

SCOOTERMAN said:

Sump plug, a Ribe key? You sure about that?

Oh! Maybe not then.

I thought they were, and that's why a lot end up getting rounded off...

[Alfa Mad]

I have a new £155+vat 156 sump sitting around- not what you wanted to hear, but it does have a hex plug in it.

[Dave Brand]

Maybe a bit late - I've only just spotted this, but you MAY shift it with a centre punch. Punch a good deep indentation close to the edge of the plug, then give it several good whacks with the punch held at around 45 degrees so that it tends to rotate the plug in the right direction. As I said, it MAY work, but you'll be working at an awkward angle & the plug may be too tight for it to work.

You have my sympathy. First oil change I did on my 145 needed a two foot breaker bar to shift the plug - one of those 'I shouldn't be applying so much force to this' moments.

[alfa145uk]

Even later but here's how I shifted one that was seized on my girlfriends Bravo ... with a 2 ft stilson wrench - ensure it has good sharp teeth, and be sure you are JUST gripping the outer of the bolt and not the sump. Pray, and apply pressure... to my luck and amazement it undid and didn't strip the thread out of the sump. It doesn't need that much force as you are gripping the edge of it unlike the hex key which sits inside the head of the bolt.

[CORRELEJCO]

Thanks for all your help, folks. The correct answers to this week's 'theoretical problem' are:

1 It is a hex key, not a Ribe.

2 About 200 ft lbs (rock ape)

3 A Stilson Wrench.

A new plug is about 6 squid.

Next question - Why is an Alfa 156 sump plug so long? It's not magnetic - about 30 mm long and 20 mmm thread. 10mm would be adequate. Eesa crazy.

John

[CORRELEJCO]

Alfa145UK:

Didn't see your advice until after I had posted. You're spot on! All professional Alfa Romeo mechanics must have a Stilson Wrench in their tool box. What's Italian for plumber?

[JamesBondMI5]

Alfas tended to use Ribe sump plugs until 2003 when they were superceded by a hex type - which is all you can buy when you order a new one.

Best way to get them off is to use a dremel and a cutting wheel to cut a couple of flats and then take it off with an adjustable spanner - works every time.

It should only be tightened up to 20Nm, which isn't very tight at all, but Alfa dealers sometimes glue them in - which is a pain.

I replace a couple of month where someone's tried to remove one with a Torx or Hex driver and shredded it.

Mike
Roberts Aerospace & Automotive (Alfa Romeo, Fiat Coupe, and Maserati specialist in Hampshire)
www.cars.robertsaerospace.com