Dear Tom and Ray:

I hope you can help me find a product you mentioned in your column. The product is a repair kit for Honda oil pans. My drain plug is stripped, and I've tried several auto parts stores and none of them had the product you described which fixes this. Can you tell me where you get your kits? You can sign me "dripping in Cincinatti." Ken

Tom: We get our oil pan repair kits for Hondas from a company called "Wurth USA" in Ramsey, New Jersey.

Ray: The kit consists of an insert that fits into the existing hole, and a new drain plug and gasket that fit into the threads on the insert.

Tom: Unfortunately, I believe Wurth sells them in boxes of ten. So if you order through them, you'll get ten inserts, ten drain plugs, and ten gaskets. And it'll could cost you 50 bucks.

Ray: But if the alternative is a new, $200 oil pan, you'll still come out ahead.

Tom: Then you can go into business. Find nine neighbors with Hondas and see if you can convince them that their drain plugs are leaking.

Changing your oil is the cheapest insurance you can buy for your car, but how often should you change it? Find out by ordering Tom and Ray's pamphlet Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It! To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1996 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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