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Err ok, so started doing an oil change & when I took the sump bolt off this sleeve came with it too?

I use an after market magnetic sump bolt & have been since I bought this car about 6 years ago. I don't think having kept using the original bolt would have made a difference to this happening today though. The sleeve has 3 circle holes in the side. The bolt didn't pick up anything metal & the sleeve itself is magnetic too.

Should I be worried? Or do I just get a new sump bolt that now matches what's on the sleeve instead?

Engine isn't an MX-5, but is a Mazda BP from a 93 Mazda Familia GT-R.

The bolt on the right is an old spare I have for comparison.

It looks like someone in the past has stripped the original thread and had a threaded insert put in there. Maybe you could clean it out and put the same insert back in with a bit of high strength thread locker?

Seems like that is the case now after asking elsewhere too. I just don't want to the sleeve to fall off inside the sump though if I put it back in.

Simple: go to a specialty fasteners shop and get a big bolt to suit. Drill out the centre of the bolt if you feel you need the magnet and swap it in, being sure to make it a interference fit, or use an adhesive/thread locker.

You could reinstall the bits you have, as manga suggested, but I think I would do as above if I were in your position.

Job done, no dramas.

You're lucky oil didn't spill out as those RE-threader things aren't meant to be fitted in an application where liquids are involved.
Whoever did that "fix" needs to have it inserted in a lower orifice to teach him a lesson about where things ought NOT to go.

As for a proper fix.... wouldn't replacing the whole sump case be the best solution?

I was leaning towards getting a thicker bolt to match the thread that was made for the sleeve & ditching the sleeve. But I didn't think of going to a coventry store to find a suitable bolt though, so good idea on that one as I was thinking what'd be the chance of SuperCheapAuto & similar happening to have the right bolt in stock.

Apparently using a sleeve on the sump is common in heavy industrial vehicles to avoid damaging the sump thread but rarely done in cars.

Just my luck that the coventry shops here aren't open on weekends & I can't really get to them easily on weekdays during work hours.

Steampunk wrote:As for a proper fix.... wouldn't replacing the whole sump case be the best solution?

Let me just search on ebay for a 92-94 Mazda Familia GTR sump. Zero.
Lets search yahoo. Zero.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the above sleeved option. It has worked for 10 plus years without issue.

greenMachine wrote:Drill out the centre of the bolt if you feel you need the magnet and swap it in, being sure to make it a interference fit, or use an adhesive/thread locker.

I use magnetism to hold my rare earth magnet in place. It prefers to be hugged by a steel sump plug rather than swimming in oil. I can barely remove it from the plug by hand, so I figure it won't go anywhere in the sump, and it hasn't yet.