Some caution about tightening the oil drain plug. I’ve been changing oil in my cars for almost 30 years, so I know what I’m doing. The dealer put the plug on very tight the first time. I figured they must have used a torque wrench. So just for the heck of it, I’ve never used one before, I bought one. A Craftsman, which generally makes good quality American made tools. And just to be extra careful, I set the wrench to about 18 ft-lbs. Much lower than the owner’s manual spec, which is 31 ft-lbs. Stupid me, I didn’t read the directions. I figured when the torque setting is reached, the wrench would just free turn, without turning the nut. Just like my power drill.
Not! Turns out at the lowest settings, the only indication of hitting the torque setting is a “gentle release”, without any audible click. It will keep turning as long as you keep going, it doesn’t actually prevent you from over tightening. You have to stop when you feel it give. I didn’t feel it, and fairly gently kept turning the wrench. I didn’t have much fear of over-tightening it, the dealer had put it on so damn tight in the first place. Well it’s a long wrench, so you get a lot of torque with little effort. I stripped the damn threads! Lesson learned: I’ll never use a torque wrench on the oil plug again. Snug tight, like I’ve always done, is good enough.
One other thing. I learned that the washer on it is a crush washer. If you put a new washer on, you should feel it gradually getting tight. First time I changed the oil, the dealer had tightened it such that the washer was completely crushed. I couldn’t feel it getting snug, it just kind of stopped hard. I’ve had cars which used plastic washers, which give you a good feel that it’s gradually tightening, and it makes it tougher to strip it. Washers are cheap enough, I’ll probably change the washer with every oil change.
I hope this helps prevent others from the same headache I got from a simple oil change. Don’t use a torque wrench unless you are comfortable using them, or practice first on something harmless.