CCx

iTrader: (2)

doing my first oil change ever....took off the wheel well cover and crawled underneath....trying to get drain plug off with 14mm socket, the socket kept slipping it seems like the plug is on SUPER tight....it didn't even occur to me to try using a box wrench til i re-read the motorvate instructions last night...is it normal for the drain plug to be this tight/sockets not the preferred method of removing it? i'm shady about removing bolts that are too tight since when cleaning my TB, i lost two heads of bolts taking them off and one other yesterday taking the wheel well cover off, they all are rusted to hell....thanks for the info, apologies for being such a freaking newb at this..
-C

Jatan

iTrader: (3)

Maybe the guy that did the last oil change was really really strong or he used a power tool to put the screw back on

talkinghorse

iTrader: (121)

It really shouldn't be that hard to remove...torque spec on the oil drain bolt is 22 to 29 lb ft. I've always used sockets on my drain plugs with no problem...yours was probably grossly overtightened. Ed

Bman

Yeah I'll bet that the last grease monkey really over torqued that bolt. Overtightening of drain bolts and filters seems to be so common.... I had to get a quick lube place to change my oil once and later found the drain plug to be super tight. On other occasions they've way overtightened the filters on my parent's vehicles.

CCx

iTrader: (2)

thanks for the info guys, going to go at it with a box wrench today and see if i can get it off, luckily i bought an oil filter wrench in advance in case i run into that problem (crossing fingers)

Jatan

iTrader: (3)

When I did my first oil change, the thing wouldn't come off (the dealer put it on too tight when I bought the car). My dad sprayed some WD40 on the plug and he put the wrench on the bolt. Then he used a hammer to get it loose. Now I tighten it by myself and it comes off fine

twiggy144

Happy WD40 worked for you. Actually WD40 is a bad nut/bolt loosener. There are products out there much better for that purpose, for about same price.

JeEvE

iTrader: (10)

I thought WD40 was the best, what is better?

Jatan

iTrader: (3)

Had WD40 laying around so I used it

twiggy144

I forget the name of an industrial product that was posted some time ago. Liquid Wrench from Gunk is already an improvement over wd40 as a nut loosener. Maybe a member can enlighten us?

husker_max

WD-40 is a good lubricant...but what works better in a situation like this is a good "Penetrating Oil". Spray it on and let it sit...no problems at all. I had to use penetrating oil on my 1980 Jeep CJ5 engine rebuild....almost every bolt was rusted tight.

CCx

iTrader: (2)

everything went well, thanks for the help guys (invested in a torque wrench and BLAMMO, came right off) -- never having to visit another quicky lube place for as long as i own this car is a great feeling

Bman

While I'm glad that you got the bolt off, I really hope you didn't use the torque wrench to break it loose. Torque wrenches are for precision tightening, not loosening or heavy grunt work. Unless this is one of those cheaper beam-type torque wrenches with the indicator needle, I'd think about getting it checked out if you had to apply a ton of force to it.

CCx

iTrader: (2)

No, i think the only thing using the torque wrench with the longer handle on it allowed me to do was get a little more leverage on it, since i was using either a small box wrench and a small ratchet to try before -- like i said, it popped right off, and i inspected the threads on the plug to make sure they looked good, just some ******* overtightened it, but i re-tightened it to spec and will never have this trouble again (oil filter was stuck on there like a son of a b!tch too, must have had he-man do my oil change last time)

wcasskicker

iTrader: (2)

One more thing, Remeber to change the Drain plug gasket too, coz if you don't, there might be oil leak afterwards