Oil drain plug torque spec?

I have never torqued one in my life. With crush washers it is expected to tighten them until the copper washer yields. Most times if there is a leak it is the wrong washer.

 

Rifledriver is absolutely correct. However I do torque most drain plugs to 216 in/lbs (18 ft/lbs).

 

Torque spec from Ferrari of Atlanta for the 355 is 38.8 lb-ft for the drain plug. Probably standard for the Ferrari line.

 

Well is it a 16 or a 22 drain plug? If a 22 is it one of the hollow plugs with a magnet that breaks so easily?

Is it a hallowed out 330 transaxle plug that is so fragile you don't so much tighten it as safety wire it in place?

Is it one of the very short 22mm plugs that only engages about 4 aluminum threads.

There is no standard and certainly not 38 lbs unless you have a good supply of helicoils.

In a TR sump it is a 16 mm with a factory installed helicoil but the trans drain plug is probably 50+ lbs. The TR oil tank drain is the same but with no helicoil. I know because I have put so many helicoils in them. It has fewer threads and in aluminum.

 

Sounds like just modify them all for safety wire! Or just use common sense tighten.

 

Probably like using a belt and suspenders, but, on drain plugs that are continuously-wetted (i.e., below the resting level of the liquid in the reservoir), I like to put a little film of Loctite PST 592 on each side of the (new) copper washer just to ensure that it doesn't leak. IME, sometimes the flat aluminum surface of where the drain plug goes gets a little scarred/chewed up from crushing/removing the copper washer -- especially if someone had previously "jumped" on them afterwards to stop a prior leak, as the copper gets about as hard as the aluminum, if not harder, after being crushed (i.e., after being strain-hardened). Not an issue on the various fill plugs as a leak there can be address without making a mess so I just use the bare copper washer there (unless it leaks). JMO.