James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Fri, 16 Dec 2016 16:52:06 -0000, Mr Pounder Esquire
wrote:
James Wilkinson Sword wrote:
On Fri, 16 Dec 2016 08:24:08 -0000, T i m wrote:

On Thu, 15 Dec 2016 19:29:11 -0000, "James Wilkinson Sword"
wrote:

On Thu, 15 Dec 2016 19:26:16 -0000, Mr Pounder Esquire
wrote:
jim wrote:
vw sump plug slow drippy leak....

I believe these vw plugs seal on the thread rather than the
"crushable/copper washer against the sump body" style....

This one drips even with a new sump plug.

Much goggling warns of stripping threads in sump body through
overtightening and dropped/damaged sump plugs wearing the
threads of the sump and causing the leaks...

Which is why I don't do as Mr Pounder suggests and change the oil
myself.

I was asked to advise a lad who was considering doing his own car
servicing about the tools he would need and I put 'torque wrench'
right up there. The point is, if you are 'new' to that game you may
have no idea what 20 ft/lb feels like and therefore there is a good
chance you could damage something.

But just like any subject there are 'tools for the job' and the
saying 'you can manage what you can measure is no less true for
tightening a sump nut (especially where they are known to be
'fragile') or testing a battery or broadband speed.

Now, *when* you know what you are doing you can sometimes get away
using less than optimal tools (especially needs-must etc) and I
have often tested my Leatherman PST II Multitool to what I thought
would be beyond it's limits (including where I should have used a
spanner). Now, if you don't have any patience or are 'cack handed' then
it
may be best to bend over and leave it to the professionals. ;-)

It can't be that simple, or I wouldn't keep hearing of garages
misthreading them.

I've lost count of the amount of times I've changed engine oil.
Sometimes flat on my back, sometimes with the car jacked up,
sometimes with the front wheels on ramps ---------- yes I know about
a bit of the old oil not being drained out.
I have Never cross threaded a sump plug. Easiest job in the world.

Maybe older cars have the problem, even with decent care taken? Or
maybe there's a few garages that don't know what they're doing. The
times I've heard it is one garage complaining the last one damaged
the thread. Never on my car though, friend's and colleagues, I guess
I've been lucky. Or maybe at some time in the past one of those
owners tried it himself without a torque wrench. Do you use a torque
wrench?

All the cars I used to service were old. I don't do that stuff anymore.
Can't understand how anybody can cross thread a sump plug.
Main dealers are "probably" expected to use a torque wrench. My garage uses
one, he is not a main dealer.
I just used a socket and tightened until it felt right. I never changed the
seal and the plug never leaked oil.