Oil pan bolt tightness

[AlphaAssault]

How tight should the bolts on the oil pan be? I have a small oil leak from the oil pan, and the bolts may or may not be to blame. I crawled under there and found one bolt that was blatantly loose. Most of the others I can tighten with a small wrench. How tight SHOULD they be? Tight enough so that I cant tighten them by with that wrench anymore?

 

[Laysher91]

Off the top of my head...I believe the torque spec is 5 ft-lbs for the oil pan bolts. There are two shorter bolts that go by the timing belt so make sure the bolts are in the correct spots. A long bolt where a short bolt should be will cause a leak and possibly tear up your timing belt.

 

[FORMONTOYA]

The 2 that are in the oil pump housing are very easy to strip-out...so be careful there. Can't remember the torque value either.

 

[turbosax2]

6-8 Nm
4-6 ft.lbs.

 

[AlphaAssault]

since I dont own a torque wrench, could someone give me an estimate of how tight 5 ftlbs is?

 

[turbosax2]

Buy a torque wrench:

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

[dsmfa9nutter]

5 ftlbs is like the amount of twist it takes to get a soda bottle open. It's not much at all and unless you buy a very sensitive (expensive) torque guage, it won't even read that low. Just gob on the RTV, let it set for an hour, put it on and get the bolts started, let it set for a few hours, tighten it down until you feel resistance and give it half a crank on the ratchet.

 

[Defiant]

Don't try to use a torque wrench on fasteners that small. Go ahead and grab a bolt that size, put a nut in a vise and see how easily it twists off with a wrench.
Your best bet is to use a nut driver instead of a ratchet or T-bar on such fasteners. Over-tightening them will also distort the pan, causing leaks you'll never get fixed.
If you can strip one out with a nut driver, then you should find a hobby other than anvil juggling.