Ironic, to find your post here Jason.

So here I am, finally getting around to my first oil change on my S2000, and the dumb f@#k who did the last oil change torqued the drain bolt so friggin' tight, I had to use a 1/2" breaker bar AND my big deadblow hammer get it loose.

I've never bothered to use a torque wrench on an oil pan drain bolt before either, in 20 years of oil changes on various vehicles, but this time–seeing as how badly overtorqued it was previously, and I'd spent the extra 26 cents on a new OEM Honda drain bolt crush washer (#94109-14000)—I thought I'd break with tradition and try to do it 100% right for once.

I went with 28 lb-ft by my trusty, probably-off-by-5% Harbor Freight torque wrench.

 

Is it possible to just tap the threads to accommodate a larger bolt? And possibly flush some oil out to make sure the are no metal deprise that got loose.

 

I haven't done it, but it seems possible... the S2000's oil pan is aluminum (I think? It's not steel anyway) so it's fairly soft and easy to tap (and any shavings that might get left in the pan will be less damaging to bearing surfaces than debris from tapping a steel pan). Use a lot of grease on the tap to catch the shavings and keep cleaning it off/applying new grease as you go. And yes, when you're done, flushing with some oil to hopefully blow out anything the grease didn't catch would be a good idea.

 

I've never in over 30 years of diy wrenching stripped a bolt using a torque wrench.

Here is the part I don't get, you guys want to do it by feel, instead of the torque wrench, right? Can't you still feel using a torque wrench? Stop when whichever tells you first says to stop. If feel tells you to stop, stop. If the torque wrench reaches set torque first, stop. Best of both worlds.

 

My hand is not calibrated to my torque wrenches (I have 5 for all the different ranges accounting for better accuracy through their usable range).

 

Get a Fumoto valve, never torque again, no leaks, change your oil from the open engine bay not needing to get under the car except sliding an oil pan, never burn your hands or drop the bolt in hot oil. Never leaks. Can't believe I went so many years without them. Put them on several of my current cars.

 

Lol, over 2 years late.

Anyone that does work on their car should at least own a half decent torque wrench.

A great investment for peace of mind. Plus it makes the next oil change SO much easier, trying to remove a sump bolt that seems welded to the pan and removing a crush washer that's severely deformed is No fun.

Lol, maybe I'm pedantic but I even torque my oil filter.

Cheers.

 

Torque wrenches were on sale at Harbor Freight last month. Well under $20 each. We're not torquing nuclear war heads so they're fine. Just de -tension them after use.

Engine oil drain bolt is 33 Lb-ft in both the owners manual and shop manual ever since the MY2000 models. I could not find a different torque and looked in several manuals.

-- Chuck

 

00-06 OWNERS MANUAL SAYS 33 FT LBS
07-09 OWNERS MANUAL SAYS 29 FT LBS

service manuals state 29ft lbs. it is def 29ft lbs as like all the other honda engines with aluminum oil pans. they are all 29 ft lbs

00-03 service manual below pic taken right from book

 

Thanks!

Honda lowered the torque after 2006. I admit I only looked back from 2006, not forward as this is the first torque setting I've seen that's been lowered.

Time to make a "pen and ink" correction in my shop manual.

-- Chuck