Does anyone know how tight the oil drain plug should be when reinstalled? In ft/lbs or Nm.

Thanks

Jon

 

Just a question also. How do you measure how much torque you are putting on the bolt?

 

26 Nm (19 lb-ft).

Colin, you will need a torque wrench.

 

Thanks for the info.

Jon

 

1/4 turn past tight works for me

 

Tighten it till it starts to strip, then back it off a half turn.

 

I havent used a torque wrench for any of my auto projects for a few years now. After a while of constant wrenching it becomes pretty easy to estimate the correct needed torque. In other words, Im the torque wrench.

For the oil drain plug, you really shouldnt have to apply much force to tighten it, a socket wrench with a bit past "hand tight" is good.

-Dan

 

Or install one of these and never worry about it again:
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=39655

 

Bringing a 6 year old thread back from the dead, but does anybody know if this is really correct? Seems really low to me.

 

The shop manual says 19 ft/lb.

Mine doesn't leak and is not stripped either.

 

no way! What about your lug nuts? You can tell they are all at 100 ft pounds with out a tq wrench?

 

I've never used a torque wrench for the oil drain or the wheels. And I change wheels (studs) twice a year. You either have the feel or you don't.

 

There's a torque spec for that?!? Lol. I never torque down oil plugs or lugnuts.. what do you thinks gonna happen if ones at 75 ft pounds and ones at 150 ft pounds??? The wheels gonna fall off????

 

warp a rotor?? play hell getting the 150 off on the side of the road when you get a flat?? Kinda worries me to have a ford tech talk like that

 

Lol warp a rotor? How? It's still tight. Just not super tight.

 

I always torque to spec, the spec for the oil drain plugs is "tight but not too tight".

 

Exactly

 

have to say I have never used a tq wrench on the drain plug but on lug nuts I use one almost every time.

 

The specific impact gun I bought maxs our at 120 ft pounds. So I know if I don't just hammer it till it completely stops turning that i am pretty close to the 90-100 ft pound mark. I can say that 20 lbs difference will not warp a rotor.

 

That's why I hate 'air impact torque'.

If I tighten them myself, I can loosen them myself.