V50 Cars: Oil Sump plug thread worn

[mack625]

Hi

My Volvo V50 2008 2.0 Diesel went into a Volvo dealership where I purchased the car from in 2010 for a Service, My car has always been done at the same dealership since purchasing the vehicle, it went in for it's 13th service which is 175.000, but the car has only done 72.000 miles. after not receiving it back on the time expected I phoned them up to make sure I was getting it back to be told they're unable to complete the service because the sump plug would not tighten up and would need a new sump fitted and sump plug of an extra cost of £400.00. I questioned that I was surprised it was worn and told due to the sump plug being removed 13 times it has worn away the thread. To my knowledge the thread should not wear away no matter how many times it's removed and refitted. My question is as the car always been serviced at the same dealer for years, I'm I correct in saying the dealership are at fault for this as it's more than likely it's been overtightened or not fitted correctly when being serviced either this time or on a previous occasion. The oil has only been changed on service and never been done at at any other time. Do the threads wear overtime? If so I feel it's very poor product if after 13 times of being removed it causes the thread to wear. I'm wondering if I have a case of complaint or the dealer has responsibility for the issue.

Be grateful for advice on the matter and if anyone else has had the same experience with a dealership

Thank you

[c1800]

I think you have a case. The sump plug should not "wear out" if properly removed and installed. I recommend you escalate this to management, and if no satisfaction, to Volvo Corporate.

[dingov70]

Worn threads occur when some one over tightens the damn things ! . £400 to replace is not acceptable & the quickest & easiest is a helicoil repair . Another usual cause of duff threads is the trainee monkey buzzing them in with ( in my day ) windy gun or nowadays the must have cordless impact wrench & a gung ho attitude

Repair kit about £30 , Have done many especially into alloy sumps with no problems , just ensure the mating face is FLAT after installation , a quick dressing with a file after install of insert , JOB DONE .

£400 , my elbow

[Familyman 90]

Why risk a helicoil if a new sump is available? Helicoil is what you turn to when all reasonable options are exhausted, not a first port of call.

Unless its been to the same garage for evdry single service from new its impossible to establish where the damage may have originally occurred.

[c1800]

Originally Posted by Familyman 90

Unless its been to the same garage for evdry single service from new its impossible to establish where the damage may have originally occurred.

The OP advised in post #1 that the vehicle has only been serviced at the same Volvo dealership since he bought it from them.

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

They've over tightened it!

Only time I ever seen this was on a 1994 Mitsibushi Carisma TDi with 350k which had the oil changed EVERY 4500 miles.

Are they seriously trying to tell you the threads can't survive more than 13 oil changes - TOTAL BS

[Rocinante]

Originally Posted by c1800

The OP advised in post #1 that the vehicle has only been serviced at the same Volvo dealership since he bought it from them.

But he bought it at 2 years old, so potentially, it had it's first service or two from someone else.

Even taking this in to account though, it has had 11 or 12 services from them since anyone else has potentially touched it.

[dingov70]

[QUOTE=Familyman 90;2778592]Why risk a helicoil if a new sump is available? Helicoil is what you turn to when all reasonable options are exhausted, not a first port of call.

A Helicoil insert ( other makes are available ) into soft metals actually has a better mechanical wear & load capacity when compared to the original metal .
Helicoil inserts are used by aerospace & aviation manufacturers and most certainly meet their stringent requirements .

https://www.boellhoff.com/gb-en/prod...s-helicoil.php

My suggestion of insert repair was to ensure the poor OP got their vehicle back quickly & without a having a massive bill foisted onto them by an A-Hole dealer & their clearly ham fisted butchers . It is also backed up 45 years mechanical experience across a wide field . I have repaired stripped threads in engine blocks with inserts & never had an insert fail or cause a gasket to leak due to reduced clamping pressure on the head bolts / studs & bolts . You risk nothing using inserts & actually gain from their use for all the reasons I have given

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Familyman 90

Why risk a helicoil if a new sump is available? Helicoil is what you turn to when all reasonable options are exhausted, not a first port of call.

Unless its been to the same garage for evdry single service from new its impossible to establish where the damage may have originally occurred.

A helicoil repair will be just as strong as the original if not stronger, and a sump plug is never tightened to the full "strength" a thread of this size can deal with anyway.

[baggy798]

Well done for not just rolling over and accepting it.😉

Originally Posted by Ian21401

Since when did a mechanic doing an oil change actually torque tighten the sump drain plug...

Hey now, I always do that! 😅

Originally Posted by Othen

...the motor car is a 13 year old machine that has been in daily use and probably stored outside.

What's that got to do with the price of fish? There's hundreds of 'will it run?' videos on youtube of 50+ year old cars sat in a field for most of that time, and the sump plug threads are fine when changing the oil.

The service manager has said all the right things to support a very strong legal defence (whether forum correspondents believe him or not is of no consequence, it would just be up to a county court judge who may have no knowledge of running a garage). If the service manager stands up in the county court judge's chambers and says what he told mack625 then the arbiter would have to believe he was lying to find in favour of the accuser.

It's not a very strong defence saying that them removing and refitting the sump plug 13 times has worn the thread out. The low mileage supports the fact only they have fingered it.

The 'we always have two people check the sump bolts' is easy to debunk by checking the CCTV footage covering the garage bays, or just having someone go there undercover and watching through the big glass window.