DIY : Loosen over torqued oil drain bolt

[anom3]

So I figured I would create a seperate thread for this as its a common issue and mentioned a few times in the oil change DIY but a bit tricky to find using the search.

Many shops take the lazy route and air gun the oil drain bolts. I had an issue with this when I attempted an oil change a year or so ago, and ended up with a stripped oil drain bolt.

I just did an oil change today and decided to do a bit of research on here on the subject before diving in.

So, the method is pretty straight forward.

Once you get your wrench in the bolt the trick is to give it multiple "pops" rather then a single smooth "unscrew". This worked like a charm for me. Even though the bolt was clearly over torqued, 3-4 pops and it released no problem.

I also went ahead and gave the bit a few taps of a small hammer before doing this to make sure the bit was seated fully.

Just thought I would share.

When reinserting the drain bolt the correct torque appears to be 25nm.

[Agent-GHQ]

Why bother torquing? At 25nm that's just a firm hand tight.

[wheatpaste]

Originally Posted by Agent-GHQ

Why bother torquing? At 25nm that's just a firm hand tight.

^^^This. People get so hung up on torque values sometimes. Good n' tight works well enough for many things.