[ilmiont]

I've not tried the pipe wrench - it only turned up today. But ITSv40 is right - I'm not sure it will easily fit on, I've struggled with clearance on small vice grips. There's very little depth and if not careful you can scrape the surface of the sump above, as the plug is just recessed lightly into it. I've got a 10-inch pipe wrench now but looking at it, I don't see it fitting without scraping against the sump protruding above the plug. Apologies I've not taken any photos of any of this yet.

I might get back under the car again tomorrow if it stops raining as my new undertray has arrived from Sweden (my car's not had one the whole time I've owned it, I suppose some previous mechanic threw it away). I'd like to get that on ASAP as being under the car has made me appreciate how exposed the sump is. I had to run over a large piece of hard plastic in the middle of a B-road on Exmoor a few weeks back; there was nowhere to go and running over it about 45mph but slowing it whipped up and made a right thump against the underside. That incident prompted me to add the undertray to my FRF order.

Thanks for all the suggestions but I'm not going to touch the plug again before the trip, too risky in case I pull the pan threads out. I've already been using six-point sockets but the plug was too rounded to begin with for them to work. Now it's chewed up and useless with regular sockets so those options are out. I don't even have buying an impact as an option as it's not going to fit tightly on. If I try again I'll jack the car up as high as possible, try and get a twist socket on with some more aggressive tapping, and use a breaker bar again.

James