10
Saw a rookie change oil on a Cummins ISX and skip the torque wrench on the drain plug
Guy at the shop in Wichita last week just cranked it down with a ratchet, said he's been doing it that way for years. That pan is aluminum and the plug is steel, overtorque it once and you're helicoiling a hole in a $600 oil pan. How many of you have seen stripped threads from this exact mistake?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
kim_smith20d ago
Watched a guy at the last shop I was at do the same thing on a PACCAR. He stripped it out so bad the plug would barely thread in. Had to tap it and put a bigger plug in, which caused a leak anyway. That aluminum pan just can't take the abuse from a steel plug being cranked down with a 3/8 ratchet. If you're not using a torque wrench on a drain plug, you're just asking for trouble down the road.
8