Oil Change - Let down by mechanic!!

EdGasketTheSecond

What I do is lower the torque figure by 20% and use thread locker, the blue stuff you can undo with hand tools. Using the full torque specified in Haynes has resulted in stripped threads for me on ocassions.

roddydogs

My main stealer always charges for a new washer every service, the idea being they can only be compressed once.

AdrianC

EdGasketTheSecond said:

What I do is lower the torque figure by 20% and use thread locker

On sump plugs?

AdrianC

roddydogs said:

My main stealer always charges for a new washer every service, the idea being they can only be compressed once.

Yep, that's standard practice for any competent mechanic. Even Fred probably does it.

EdGasketTheSecond

AdrianC said:

EdGasketTheSecond said:

What I do is lower the torque figure by 20% and use thread locker

On sump plugs?

Yes on sump plugs. On rocker adjuster locknuts I dont rely on Haynes torque wrench setting either; do it by feel.

I've had no problems using that method with sump plugs. Only downside is you have to clean the thread locker off the plug threads a bit at the next change; I don't worry about thread locker left on sump threads; not a problem.

AdrianC

Apart from the fact that sump plugs are really low-torque for the thread size anyway, how does the thread locker cope with the oil in the threads?

fred246

I have a couple of Halfords Professional torque wrenches made my Norbar which I really like. Always set to zero after use. I remember buying a cheaper Draper one which I didn't like and binned it after only a couple of years. I didn't trust it and I thought I might damage something with it. Maybe if you have damaged things using a torque wrench the torque wrench might not have been OK.

shaun_from_Africa

AdrianC said:

shaun_from_Africa said:
I would certainly hope that they would remove the sump pan before carrying out the job.

You're assuming the sump is removable with the engine in situ. Or, even, that there is a removable sump.

Yes I'm making an assumption and what's wrong with doing that? Making assumptions is something that goes on all the time when you don't have all the information.
If the sump pan can be removed, it's generally easy enough to do so IMO it makes sense to remove it and if it can't be removed then the job will have to be done in situ.

fred246

That's assuming the job exists.

EdGasketTheSecond

AdrianC said:

Apart from the fact that sump plugs are really low-torque for the thread size anyway, how does the thread locker cope with the oil in the threads?

I clean the plug threads, quickly wipe off the sump threads and do it up. Next time I remove it, the threadlocker is set  fine despite some residual oil on the sump threads. There is a resistance to undoing at first which is the friction of the threadlocker so I know it works; also no sump plugs falling out with this method.