pjk91

My torque wrench apparently doesn't read accurately under 20 ft lbs. You think it will leak? I don't want to take that f'er off again for a long time. Relatively easy but a pain in the ass. And why does the Haynes manual tell me to take the drivebelt off? That's not necessary

insylem

Most torque wrenches have higher innacuracies near the top and bottom of their rages. But if it's off enough to snap / damage a bolt then maybe you should send it off to get calibrated.

Only one way to find out.
Just make sure your gasket sealant is fulley cured before you try. It may leak more or less as the block/pan warm/cool. You may be able to drill it out, or get an easy out to remove the rest of the bolt. Then install a new one without removing the oil pan.

Validater

iTrader: (1)

Buddy broke a bolt on another buddy's car. he went and tightened the bolts with a ratchet, then when I handed him the torque wrench already set. he went to town not knowing that they were already too tight. I ended up already putting well enough RTV so it hasn't leaked yet. But if you're worried, get a bolt extractor and just pull the sucker out. Then just replace it.

kikal8

iTrader: (1)

It'll probably be fine. But unfortunately it'll be quite a bitch to fix that. There r ways buts its not usually the most entertaining thing. Btw. I dont know u and so idk if u know so im just throwing it out there. Torque wrenchs will go out of calibration if not set back to zero when ur done using it. Idk how the digital torque wrenchs work as ive never used one but the analog ones r that way. I never thought it would go out of calibration so bad as to snap a bolt at 20 ft lbs but ya. Just some info. Sorry to hear but it may be fine. Give it a shot before going through the hassle of trying to remove it

pjk91

Thanks all. I didn't know that about torque wrenches. It's a big one that goes to 120lbs and it's been sitting around for at least a year since I used it last. I might try the screw extractor if it leaks.

Powell Race Parts

iTrader: (3)

89 inch pounds is called out for this bolt. thats a loooong way less than 20 FOOT LBS. Do the math. 12 ft lbs = 144 inch lbs. so 20 ft lbs is 240 inch pounds.
it was not a torque wrench calibration issue here.

pjk91

Crap then I totally misread that spec

ItalianJoe1

iTrader: (10)

I use a 1/4" ratched and tighten them until they feel tight. If you are in there with a big-ass torque wrench, you're just asking for problems. Get a feel for what "tight" is on those small bolts, it's not very much. 6-7 ft-lbs I could probably do with a screwdriver

Omiotek

iTrader: (2)

Every bolt with a 10mm head on the ecotec engine except for a select few is 89 in/lbs. Other ones are 11 ft lbs(there's only 3 or 4 that are 11 ft lbs)

kcg795

I use the "two finger method" for tightening the drain plug. That's when you have your first two fingers wrapped around the wrench and you tighten the drain plug until it becomes uncomfortable. Been doing this with all my oil changes and never had it strip or come out. I just hate when those quick-lube oil change places use an air impact tool to reinstall the plug. I had to use a breaker bar the first time I did my own oil change.

Staged07SS

iTrader: (25)

This.

ItalianJoe1

iTrader: (10)

Air ratchets don't put out much torque, 30-40ft/lbs tops, so not that much over what most drain plugs require. I see techs at work do more damage by using a big bar with a socket to put in a drain plug. I never need any more than a regular wrench to get it plenty tight.

I have used impact guns to remove plugs that other people put in too tight, but thankfully only rarely. I'm the guy that's always replacing other peoples fucked up drain plugs in the shop, they just stick them back in with flattened out threads, I don't know how people accept that.

Powell Race Parts

iTrader: (3)

Most folks dont go underneath their car to check how the LOF guy did their work.lol

Darn wntrbtr2 has a big Ecotec motor with a crummy copper washer instead of the nice viton encapsulated seal on the little Ecotec motors we are used to. Also its a 13 mm wrench head not 15 mm and I always forget that when I go underneath to change the oil...

Good news is, the 2.3 Turbo uses just 4 litres of the good stuff , not 6.0+ like an LSJ

insylem

I just use my torque wrench and set it for I think it says 14 foot pounds. I always have to look it up each oil change.

ItalianJoe1

iTrader: (10)

I swapped my drain plug to a magnetic one from a truck, so the head size changed the same way.

I still have the oem plug and washer on my Z, and just about 60K miles on it so at least 10 oil changes, no seeping even from the original copper gasket. Helps if you know how to install them properly

I see rental nissans all the time where the washer is crushed down paper thin and pressing out around the sides. Makes me sad for other people's cars