Tried to drain the oil & the sump plug won't come out. I undone it no problem, wasn't overly tight but it only unscrewed a few turns & is now loose but can't pull it out, it just spins loosely. Had to leave it on a slow trickle to drain out. 2004 RR 4.4 V8 Autobiography

Can you get a knife blade or similar in behind the head of the plug to apply some pressure as your turn it. Might come out, but then you have the problem of getting it done up tight again  .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999

I'll have to give it a try tomorrow, weather was horrible today so i left it. The oil has drained out now so maybe just do it back up. Question is why has this happened, never had a sump plug just get stuck. My thoughts were its stripped the thread but then it would just come out I would have thought. 2004 RR 4.4 V8 Autobiography

unless the thread has been formed from parent metal of the sump, it is possible that the weld nut with the thread has come adrift. May be a sump off to repair/replace.

As said your issue is to retighten the sump plug.............  Regards
Royston

2008 4.2 Supercharged Autobiography
1994 Classic Vogue SE
1999 Rover BRM
1987 Rover Vitesse Twin Plenum

Stripped half the thread off the bolt, some thread on the inside of the sump is still fastened to the bolt and therefore the sheared part of bolt is just spinning and the remaining good bit of thread is stopping it coming out further?

Very unfortunate pal, probably won't fasten back in either so it will no doubt all have to come off (on the bright side, at least that gives you good access to clean all the gunk and old metal flakes out the bottom of the sump.) Dan

2002 Zambezi Silver

Men And Motors RR Quote - It's like having wheels fitted to your living room!

Sounds like a nightmare to me!!!

Can i suggest you remove the battery terminal whilst your dealing with this! Wouldn’t be the first to forget (or a family member) and start the engine with no oil in!

Does anyone on here know if the 4.4 petrol engine suffers any ill affects from being empty of oil?

Craig, this whole car is a nightmare............ If it wasn't an Autobiography I think I would be looking at starting a Range Rover breaking business with this being my first victim😁

And Dan, I like your positive thinking....... I can clean my sump 😉............or buy a new one 😮 2004 RR 4.4 V8 Autobiography

Found myself whistling when i read Dan’s “look on the bright side” good old monty python

I hear that Craig  2004 RR 4.4 V8 Autobiography

All may not be lost

IIRC, the sump plug is screwed into the lower part of the sump, which is held in place with a ring of bolts. Not particularly cheap at £230 (minus any discount you may get)

Or, if you can do without the car, remove it, and take it to an engineering shop. They will be able to remove the plug, and drill/re-tap a new thread into it

to be fair guys, I've not even picked up my first ever RR yet (tonight at 6 - get in!) so I could be classed a naïve to the up and coming headaches that I'm likely to face! Dan

2002 Zambezi Silver

Men And Motors RR Quote - It's like having wheels fitted to your living room!

Paul,

Happened to me on a Jag sump. Undid it a couple of turns and then it would unscrew no further. I used brute force eventually to remove the plug but it stripped the threads out of the sump completely. The alloy sump had 'age hardened' and the threads became brittle so when at the previous main dealer service (I assume) some ape over-tightened the plug the threads sheared. I borrowed a Helicoil insert kit from a Jag Indie but made a bit of a hash of tapping the new threads 'square' (access in situ difficult on the Jag) so the sump plug never sealed completely afterwards without the use of sealing putty.

Tired of doing that at every oil change, I eventually used JB weld to seal the plug in place permanently and bought a vacuum pump with which to drain the oil thereafter!

If you can re-tighten the sump plug on your car so that it seals properly, investing in a vacuum pump of the type they use on boat engines (e.g Pela 6000) to suck the oil out via the dipstick tube may be cheaper than removing the sump and repairing or replacing it.

if its stripped and wont tighten without dripping/gushing etc, then, you could just remove the lower sump, and fit a secondhand one. cant really be more than about £50 on ebay, if not too goosed around the threaded area, then drop it into a machine shop to drill out and fit a larger sump plug etc. plenty of larger ones available. its just a typical bolt really with a copper washer! could even be grease tapped from underneath.

interesting to know why it happed in the first place, but maybe there was an air tool used in its history.

Well I've been out today & it did tighten back up after I got it to catch. I would still like to know the issue but without removing the sump I won't really know. I'm not even sure if it's the correct bolt, do they have two washers or is it yet another bodge I've found? 😁

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

That's not the correct bolt.

I suspect someone previous has stripped the threads on the sump, and just mashed in any other bolt they had lying around...