Nice work, and thanks all for the posts -- I also learned something new here!

 

Thanks, for the photos! Learn something new, everyday. I've been using EZ-OUT for years. But, this maybe better & easier.

 

Since the torque spec for these bolts is so low (8.7 ft-lbs) I usually never bothered with a torque wrench because I didn't have a quarter inch lying around. I always torqued these by hand and never had a problem. I feel that it is pretty easy to get a feel for what is too tight on these bolts.

Wonder if OP was using a 3/8 torque wrench?

 

I never used a torque wrench for oil pans, either. One thing... those pans made of stamped steel often had the bolt holes "pooched-out" from previous R&R's. Had to do a little body work to flatten out the "pooches," so the pan would sit flush and not damage the gaskets. Ball peen hammer on the flat head of a vise.

I know this Honda doesn't have stamped steel pan or old-school cork/fiber gaskets --- but making sure the surfaces are clean and void of any leftover gasket material is a must for being leak-free. NOT over torqueing a bolt!

 

Yeah, mistake #1 was over-torqueing the bolts. Mistake #2 was probably not making sure the surfaces were degreased and not scrubbing old gasket material completely. I'll be under the car today and making sure that everything is clean and dry before I put the pan on. I bought a new wrench that has the lower torque settings, so I believe I won't make mistake #1 again.

 

Try to avoid getting oil or sealant on the bolts or in their holes as well. Contamination will change the ability to achieve torque. I see this at work all the time a little bit of oil on the bolts and they won't torque at all and end up stretching and eventually breaking the bolts.

 

Putting oil on the bolt reduces friction, and since torque rating on a bolt is nothing but resistance to turning, if you have less resistance the tension the bolt is under increases for the same turning resistance.

Torque is not the same as tension, ultimately when you tighten a fastener the thing that holds stuff together is bolt tension. Bolt torque is associated with bolt tension, but they're not the same thing. A rusty bolt and mating surface can have the correct torque but insufficient tension, a super clean surface, and oiled bolt can have the right tension with lower torque.

It's why the manual tells you to oil the head bolts, and axle nuts, but not other fasteners.

 

You need sealant on the bolts, it could leak if you don't.

 

I disagree. Oil is in the block, but not in the bolt holes. So long as you have a good seal all along the inner edge of pan to block (well, pan to lower pan), you're good. No need to seal bolt threads of oil pan.

What people usually do is run a bead down the center, then make a full circular loop around each bolt hole. A big enough loop that the sealant won't squeeze into bolt holes.

 

I am fairly certain the helms has you put sealant on the bolt, also I think they follow this procedure at the factory as my bolts had sealant quite a ways up on them.