Had a guy bring in a car with a loose oil drain plug yesterday

He told me he'd been tightening it 'real good' every oil change with a breaker bar. I had to helicoil the pan after I got it off. Has anyone else seen people just cranking down on those plugs like they're trying to hold a bridge together?

2 comments

2 Comments

pat_hart1mo ago

You're saying "tightening it real good every oil change with a breaker bar" like that's a bad thing? I mean, sure, he went overboard (way overboard) but honestly, I'd rather have someone overtighten than undertighten and lose their oil on the highway. A loose drain plug can ruin your engine way faster than a stripped pan, especially if you don't catch it right away. And a helicoil fix is a pain, but it's not the end of the world (a few bucks and an hour of your time). The real problem here is the oil-change places that use those cheap crush washers and torque specs that barely hold - you see those plugs backing out all the time. So maybe give the guy a break, you know? He was just trying to keep his car from blowing up on him.

stella_roberts1mo ago

Ugh I don't know about that. How many oil pans have you actually seen fall off from being too loose? Feels like one of those things that sounds scary but never really happens.