Question about torque specs on those aluminum oil pan bolts

I've seen three different techs in our shop this month snap the same 8mm bolt on a common 4-cylinder engine. They're cranking them down to 20 ft-lbs like the old cast iron pans, but the manual for this specific model (which I finally checked) says 12 ft-lbs plus a quarter turn. The aluminum threads just strip out. I keep a printed copy of that page taped to my toolbox now. Anyone else run into this with newer engine blocks?

3 comments

3 Comments

reeseb731mo ago

That quarter turn spec is interesting. Is that for a specific type of bolt, like a torque-to-yield design?

evan_nguyen231mo ago

Yeah, it's like how everything's over-engineered now.

pauljones8d ago

My old Ford manual, reeseb73, has that spec for head bolts. It feels like they just want you to buy the special tool.