Nearly stripped a drain plug on a 2014 Civic, then a trick with a cold chisel saved me 2 hours

Holly Gonzalez · 2026-09-17T19:30:03.902725+00:00

Was doing an oil change last Tuesday on a 2014 Civic that some quick lube place had torqued way past spec. My 14mm wrench started rounding the corners and I could feel it slipping. Instead of going straight for the extractor socket, which on these aluminum pans can crack the housing if you rush it, I grabbed a cold chisel and tapped a small notch into the side of the plug head. Then I angled the chisel and walked it counterclockwise with light hammer hits. Broke loose in about 4 hits. Whole thing took maybe 90 seconds once I committed to it. I know some guys swear by the hammer-on-a-smaller-socket method but that never worked for me on rounded plugs. Anyone else use the chisel notch move or do you just go extractor every time?

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Nearly stripped a drain plug on a 2014 Civic, then a trick with a cold chisel saved me 2 hours | Auto Mechanics - HW Forums