Finally came around on using a torque wrench for oil changes

I used to just tighten drain plugs by feel and never had issues. Then I helped my buddy do his oil change and he showed me the plug was barely snug, like 10 ft-lbs when spec says 30. Bought a cheap $25 torque wrench after that and now I use it every time. Has anyone else had a close call with over or under tightening stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

mitchell.mark17d agoProlific Poster

God yeah, @morgan.nancy is totally right about that. I had a buddy strip his oil pan threads on a Civic because he cranked the plug down like he was tightening lug nuts. Cost him a whole new pan, which was way more than a $25 torque wrench. It's funny how we think "I know what feels tight" until you actually check and you're way off. I had a close call myself with a transmission pan bolt - thought I was being careful but it was barely hand tight when I finally measured. These little tools just take the guessing out of it.

morgan.nancy18d ago

Doesn't it seem like a lot of little shortcuts we take end up causing the biggest headaches? I work in retail, not cars, but I see people all the time skipping one step on something simple, like not checking the tightness of a bolt on a lawnmower blade. Then it wobbles off and they're stuck replacing a whole spindle, you know? It's that same mindset of "I've done this a hundred times, I know what it feels like" that gets you. Someone who over-tightens their drain plug strips the threads on the pan, which is way more expensive than just using the wrench in the first place.