Hi all, so I have a problem with my VTEC-E D15B oil pan. Previous owner/mechanic over tightened the oil drain bolt and stripped it. I've been able to make it work for a while... but now it's so stripped the oil bolt doesn't even want to come out anymore or form a tight seal.

Question: can I remove the oil pan without dropping the engine? Do I need to remove the exhaust headers to get it out? Any special tips I should know before hand? Also... where can I find a replacement... hopefully not at dealer prices? Thanks

PS... I'm also having trouble identifying what year my engine is. So the car is a 94 civic 2dr. But the engine was swapped out possibly to a slightly newer model VTEC-E D15b... which looking at the engine indentifier chart could be up to the year 2000 it appears. How can I tell specifically what I have and are the oil pans going to be different?

 

The D15B (no number after the B) is a JDM engine. I think the VTEC-E used in the 96 to 00 HX was D16B5; they did not use 1500 cc engines in the US market after 1995. But that doesn't matter much, as all D series oil pans should interchange. You just need to unbolt the exhaust pipe from the manifold and the bracket on the back of the engine and lower it down, then you can R&R the pan.

There is a kit where you re-tap the hole and install an oversized oil plug to repair stripped holes on the car.

 

Have you tried vise grips. Those sumbitches work wonders.

 

The D15B VTEC-E should use the same oil pan as 92-95 D-series engines.

I have one for sale in my for sale thread... $15 + shipping.