Oil drain plug

Last night, I finally used my Craftsman micro-click 3/8" torque drive on the drain plug. I set it to 30lbs. I heard one click but attempted to hear another click, but it never came on. The nut kept going. Anyways, I brought out my old torque wrench and it did click.

I removed the nut and retried again. This time the nut couldn't be turned all the way up (only goes halfway) by hand. The rest has to be tighten with the wrench.

Have I screwed it up? Currently it has no leak.

I have a bad habit of over tightening stuff

 

i have a buddy, a car buddy. we have nicknamed him, "cross-thread".

 

What do the threads look like? If it doesn't leak, I wouldn't worry about it just yet but keep an eye on it. You might have an issue during future oil changes if the plug was cross threaded into the case.

 

Is there a good change that the damage is on the nut since I was able to turn the nut by hand halfway? I might get a new nut and try it tonight . Hopefully the thread on the case wasn't damage.

Pugga, didn't look at the thread on the nut last night

 

Do you mean the bolt? There is no nut, you have a bolt and a threaded case. You likely started to cross thread one or the other, whichever is the softer metal (which i believe is the case). Worst case, you have to re-tap the case and get a new, larger plug.

 

I meant the bolt.

 

Honestly, if it's not leaking, I wouldn't pull it out again until you need to do your next oil change, or at least until you're really ready to address the potential issues because it might not go back in and seal up. Just a suggestion but it could leave you S.O.L. if you pull the plug, can't get it back in and now you have a truck with no oil to drive.

 

^^^This...sort of. I my torque wrench clicks once for "hey knucklehead, I'm tight" and clicks again as I release torque/pressure after the first click.

Make sense?

My guess is you are fine if it's not leaking. Now the question is "can you relax and not worry about until your next oil change"?

I doubt it.

 

What pugga said!

 

X2. They are made for just 1 click.

 

Yes, I know they are made to click once

 

I can click tunes with mine

 

yep, like I tell my kids. Read the manual. Case will always strip before bolt. That is just the way it is. Check at the auto parts store a d see if they have a 2 piece. Oil drains a little slower but that is the price you pay.

 

You probably should be paying for someone to do ur oil changes from here on out...

 

Meh... live and learn. If a little mistake like this scares you away from changing your oil, then why bother being on a site like this with all the DIY maintenance write-ups and mods. There have been plenty of bloopers and I've seen some of those blooper members come back with a badass build!

 

Because if you don't know how to properly use a torque wrench then shade tree maintenance probably isn't something to be dabbling in.

 

People learn. It was a new torque wrench, he made a mistake (potentially, we don't even know if there was any permanent damage). Take a look at KrazieSJ's blunder where he drained the tranny fluid, then realizing his mistake, refilled it into the coolant reservior because it was a red fluid under the hood. Then take a look at his build thread and see where his truck is at now, and he did all the work himself. Shit happens, learn from your mistakes and move on. I wouldn't recommend jumping into an engine rebuild but I certainly wouldn't discourage him from future oil changes.

 

Thanks for the encouragement. I had to remove the drain bolt and see it for myself.

Kind of disappointed. We have had 9 cars since 2003 and I have done all the oil change and maintenance except for my wife's lexus 350 until recently (car has had numerous issue since day one so I decided dealership was best). Also currently on my 4th jet ski, so I know how to use a wrench .


Found part of the thread piece broke near the end (inside perimeter). That was why I only could turn halfway by hand. I used a paint mesh filter and see if I could find any metal shaving, but none show up. Only on third oil change (2012 taco) so I blame on weak metal or bad wrench

In a serious note, I could not have torqued more than the specify spec. I am sure the dealers would have done better.