Posted: 4/29/2013 5:47:41 AM EDT
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I tend to overtighten things as a general rule. Sometimes to the point of failure.
I change all of my own oil in all of my vehicles. Chevy, GMC and Ford trucks, lawn mowers ATV's, etc. What is a good number to torque to when tightening the oil drain plugs? Thanks! |
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Clean oil plug, dip in red locktite, finger tighten, use wrench and 24" breaker bar to finish up 
Just kidding, read the manual and buy a decent torque wrench. This is the correct answer. btw, never use a torque wrench in reverse, i screws the calibration. |
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Especially when you have a gasket or o-ring under the plug head, you don't need to snug it tight at all for it to stick. Torque wrenches have such absurdly high error, it's pointless to use them for anything serious. Snug it and call it done. If it falls out and you lose all your oil and your engine siezes up, you didn't snug it enough
Seriously, just finger tighten it and give it another 1/8 to 1/4 turn after that. Over tightening things is not necessarily a good general rule to follow. |
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btw, never use a torque wrench in reverse, i screws the calibration. How do you torque left-hand threadded bolts?  Thanks, not very well stated. Never use a torque wrench to loosen a fastener. They can be used to torque tighten right or left-hand fasteners. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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Quoted: Toyota Tacoma spec is 30 ft-lbs. Seriously, google your vehicle make and "oil drain plug torque", I bet you'll find the actual value. Then you can buy a torque wrench and know you're doing it right, instead of this half ass snug + 1/4 silliness. How do you know your torque wrench is properly calibrated? |
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Toyota Tacoma spec is 30 ft-lbs. Seriously, google your vehicle make and "oil drain plug torque", I bet you'll find the actual value. Then you can buy a torque wrench and know you're doing it right, instead of this half ass snug + 1/4 silliness. The turn of the nut method is far more consistent for tightening to a given torque than any torque wrench. In this case, the plug is usually backed by a gasket that will provide some elastic deformation to hold the plug. The plug is not under load, so it takes extremely little to hold it in place. |
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What makes you think it's not?
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Toyota Tacoma spec is 30 ft-lbs. Seriously, google your vehicle make and "oil drain plug torque", I bet you'll find the actual value. Then you can buy a torque wrench and know you're doing it right, instead of this half ass snug + 1/4 silliness. How do you know your torque wrench is properly calibrated? |
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Toyota Tacoma spec is 30 ft-lbs. Seriously, google your vehicle make and "oil drain plug torque", I bet you'll find the actual value. Then you can buy a torque wrench and know you're doing it right, instead of this half ass snug + 1/4 silliness. How do you know your torque wrench is properly calibrated? Even if it is, the uncertainty in the measurement is laughable. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Toyota Tacoma spec is 30 ft-lbs. Seriously, google your vehicle make and "oil drain plug torque", I bet you'll find the actual value. Then you can buy a torque wrench and know you're doing it right, instead of this half ass snug + 1/4 silliness. How do you know your torque wrench is properly calibrated? Even if it is, the uncertainty in the measurement is laughable. Yeah, honestly...we're talking about 30 ft-lbs and we're talking about an oil drain plug. We're not torquing a cylinder head. |
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Having, learned the hard way  I finger-tighten and then give it a single "snugging-up" with a wrench. I have never had an oil drain plug come loose.Same, on both accounts. Didn't know Acuras (at least mine) had an aluminum oil pan.
Use a crush washer each time for some added insurance. |
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I'm pretty sure it's better calibrated than my arm at least.
This brings up a good question, how do I find someone to calibrate my $200 Mountz torque screwdriver that I bought for $35 on Ebay used? I can't seem to find anyone local that does cal. Quoted:
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Personal experience and surprise, after having my own calibrated. What makes you think it's not? |