Oil Drain Plug Torque

[Towncivilian]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Now for a quick lube the torque spec is 1,000 ft pounds.

I believe you're mistaken. It's eleventy-hojillion foot pounds.

 

[hooligan24]

never. Fumuto valve on one, finger tight then about an 1/8th of a turn on the other.

 

[DaHen]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Snug, never stripped one.

I also just tighten my oil filters by hand, snug, never need to kill myself getting them off.



Same here. And never had one leak either.

 

[Kestas]

After 38 years changing oil, I trust my calibrated hand.

 

[Merkava_4]

I use a Snap-on XBM1315A to tighten the drain plug.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Towncivilian
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Now for a quick lube the torque spec is 1,000 ft pounds.

I believe you're mistaken. It's eleventy-hojillion foot pounds.


Yes, the latter spec is the correct quick lube torque. I changed the oil on a buddy's Cummins last summer. I had to use a giant 1/2" breaker bar to open the drain plug. The oil pan was actually slightly flexing as I was fighting to open it. It was so bad, I had to actually check and make sure I was trying to turn it in the right direction.

 

[urchin]

Originally Posted By: rg200amp
I don't use a tq wrench.

I tighten the plug down by hand, without the wrench. Once I get it as tight as I can using just my fingers, I then throw the wrench on it and give it one 360 turn.


Works for me.



This is funny.

 

[onion]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: Towncivilian
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Now for a quick lube the torque spec is 1,000 ft pounds.

I believe you're mistaken. It's eleventy-hojillion foot pounds.


Yes, the latter spec is the correct quick lube torque. I changed the oil on a buddy's Cummins last summer. I had to use a giant 1/2" breaker bar to open the drain plug. The oil pan was actually slightly flexing as I was fighting to open it. It was so bad, I had to actually check and make sure I was trying to turn it in the right direction.


This wouldn't be an issue if you had a 1/2" impact wrench to break the drain plug loose.

And after the oil drains, you can hammer the plug back in with it.

 

[InvalidUserID]

I'll simply hand screw it on until it won't turn anymore and then use a wrench, which usually turns it less than a 1/4 turn and its on pretty snug. I've never seen any leaks from any drain plugs that I do.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: onion
This wouldn't be an issue if you had a 1/2" impact wrench to break the drain plug loose.

And after the oil drains, you can hammer the plug back in with it.

I do have a 1/2" impact wrench. I couldn't do that to my buddy though. He might have dropped the truck on me or something if he heard an impact running down there.

 

[hattaresguy]

I like using a 3/4 impact gun set to max, don't want it to come lose now!

 

[AITG]

I spent 30 years as a diesel mechanic and a fleet manager. I always required drain plugs be torqued - to the extent I put the torque right on the PM check sheet.

To get the techs to actually do it, I gave them the following "inspirational speech":
"You don't HAVE to torque the plug ... but if it falls out I will fire you. Still wanna take a chance?"

Nobody ever took me up on it, I never had to fix oil pan threads, and never lost an engine.

I torque mine, you can choose...

 

[Trav]

Not on steel pans i trust my feel but in aluminum always, best case it strips worst case it cracks the darn casting, then the excitement and postings about JB weld to fix it begins.

 

[LeakySeals]

The first oil change on the Camry I picked up the bolt was torqued on so tight I could see the oil pan gasket squishing. The "crush washer" on the bolt had an indent, almost flat. Went to Toyota they give them away. Turns out that washer made all the difference. Has a feel to it when tightening. The washer begins to "crush". Now its tight, but no where close to the point of straining. Loosening the bolt you can feel resistance which is good, doesn't pop loose like it did before I replaced the washer. A ford dealer would probably give them to you.

 

[surfstar]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
After 38 years changing oil, I trust my calibrated hand.


x2

change enough oil and your hand becomes calibrated. Same goes for plugs on my I4 engines.

 

[JOD]

I tighten it by feel, making it snug. This is not a particularly tension-critical joint. It needs to be tight enough not to vibrate loose. In nearly 30 years I've never had a problem, and most of the pans have been aluminum.

To all of those who use a torque wrench, I'm curious: how much do you reduce the torque, since the specs for oil plug bolts are generally expressed as "dry". Or do you drain the engine for a few days and clean the surfaces with mineral spirits first? I also wonder if you make sure to use an OEM crush-washer, both with the same material and thickness--and if not, do you alter the torque spec accordingly?

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted By: JOD
To all of those who use a torque wrench, I'm curious: how much do you reduce the torque, since the specs for oil plug bolts are generally expressed as "dry". Or do you drain the engine for a few days and clean the surfaces with mineral spirits first? I also wonder if you make sure to use an OEM crush-washer, both with the same material and thickness--and if not, do you alter the torque spec accordingly?


I tighten by feel. But for fun, I have checked my "feel" several times with a TechWrench by tightening by hand, put some marks on it, then loosen and torque back to the marks (crude). By feel, I am generally about 15% above the book torque.

My Caravan factory service manual does not indicate dry or lubed values for the oil pan bolt. I assume it takes into account that it will ALWAYS be lubricated. I don't worry much about it.