i thought i'd relate a repair i just did... the hole in the case of this '87 i have stripped out this weekend, again a victim of dealer servicing. after calling many people and talking to the dealer here (not the one that stripped it) i had quite a plethora of possibilities for repair ranging from one of those cheapo rubber plugs you insert with a 'needle' to tapping the hole with a spark plug insert and brazing up a 14mm spark plug for an oil plug. the most expensive repair was to install a heli-coil (dealer did not have the 'kit' to do this) so i choose that route :) let me say that after completeing this, it is absolutely the best way to go. i bought a new drain plug to go with the new stainless steel threads of the heli-coil and that ol' plug just threads in so fine until it hits the gasket. the only resistance is the film of oil... we're talking smoooth, folks! costs: heli-coil kit for 14 mm X 1.5 mm $77.00 comes with 6 inserts 9/16 drill bit $16 new drain plug $5 a couple comments-- the heli-coil comes about 1 inch long, the casing is about 3/8" thick so they need to be cut down. this is easily accomplished by snipping one coil at a time with a diagonal side cutter. when drilling out the casing and tapping it i was paranoid about filings. i stuck an air hose in the dip-stick tube and had air flowing all the while i was drilling and tapping. this really kept the hole clean and the chips shot out of the hole as they were released. break off the heli-coil 'tang' not by punching it like the instructions but just wiggle it back and forth with a needle-nose-- it snaps right off and stays in the needle-nose. now here's the best part... the VW service manager said he'd buy the heli-coil kit from me when i was done as they run into stripped threads quite a bit!!! sometimes it pays to get out of bed. -dan houg
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