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Hit 312 oil changes before I saw my first stripped drain plug, so is it the quick lube shops or the DIY guys?
I track every job in a notebook and after 312 oil changes at my shop in Toledo, one stripped plug finally showed up, and it came from a guy who changed his own oil at home. Some of us say the quick lube places with impact guns are the real problem, but this one was hand tightened way too hard by the owner. So who is actually wrecking more pans out there, the shops or the driveway guys?
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xena88616h ago
Man, 312 changes with only ONE stripped plug is a wild stat and I bet the numbers get way worse once you start counting cross threaded plugs too. The driveway guy probably cranked it down thinking tighter means safer, which is the same mistake I see from rookie techs at shops. Did you happen to ask him if he used a torque wrench or just went by feel?
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ward.emery16h ago
Nine times out of ten it's the guy who thinks gorilla tight is the right tight. Torque spec on most drain plugs is like 18 to 25 foot pounds, which is barely more than snug, but nobody believes that so they lean on it until it creaks. Quick lube places strip them too, but usually from cross threading with a gun, not over tightening. Ask your guy if he used a torque wrench, my money says he looked at the plug, looked at the wrench, and just sent it. Best thing you can tell folks is to get a cheap beam torque wrench and a fresh crush washer every time, that combo has saved way more pans than any amount of muscle ever will.
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