General Sump pan drain bolt

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General Sump pan drain bolt

don't think it really matters to be honest, obviously dont do it so tight that when it gets hot and cold it will weld its self tight. but as long as it doesn't drip then ur all good. the bolt will naturally get tighter anyway due to temperature changes.

from what I know anyways.
 
I bought a FIAT workshop manual on line. It states the plug should be torqued to 50Nm. I couldnt acess the ones linked in one of the replies here.


The plug appears to be a taper thread, there is not shoulder for it to tighten up on, so it must be a taper, really. If it's not tight enough and backs out at all, it could immediately become very loose (becasue tapered) , and could fall out, dropping the oil on the floor. So I would argue it is absolutely very important that it's tight enough.


Tapers are a bit unpredictable, they rely on a metal-to metal seal formed by the two threads distorting slightly as tightened, until there are no holes left for leaks to occur. PTFE tape is sometimes used to aid the sealing process, but I would not recommend trying this in this context unless you know exactly what you're doing.


The original plug on my (new to me) Seicento was tight af when I removed it. The aftermarket replacement I'd bought had thread sealant on it already (similar intent to PTFE tape, but easier to use). For want of a better idea I used the new one.


I only just now found the torque value, but I estimate I've done it about that tight. Interestingly, I've got it hot a few times and re-tightened it, and each time there has been a (progressively decreasing) amount of movement to be had for the same degree of grunt. This implies the threads are slowly getting the message and squidging into the sealed state (plus some rearrangement of the resident thread sealant is happening).

So - I would receommend using the correct torque, and re-checking it repeatedly until it stops moving. If the plug doesn't leak then great, if it does leak, it's probably OK to up the torque a bit to get it to seal.
 
holy **** you again....:eek:

sauroneye.jpg
^^ Eklipze3k
 
I bought a FIAT workshop manual on line. It states the plug should be torqued to 50Nm. I couldnt acess the ones linked in one of the replies here.


The plug appears to be a taper thread, there is not shoulder for it to tighten up on, so it must be a taper, really. If it's not tight enough and backs out at all, it could immediately become very loose (becasue tapered) , and could fall out, dropping the oil on the floor. So I would argue it is absolutely very important that it's tight enough.


Tapers are a bit unpredictable, they rely on a metal-to metal seal formed by the two threads distorting slightly as tightened, until there are no holes left for leaks to occur. PTFE tape is sometimes used to aid the sealing..

So - I would receommend using the correct torque, and re-checking it repeatedly until it stops moving. If the plug doesn't leak then great, if it does leak, it's probably OK to up the torque a bit to get it to seal.


On the 20+ cars I have regularly serviced employing a steel sump pan and a tapered plug.

I have used an allen key and a short length :mad:300mm.. of steel tube.

Never had an issue.. or leak.. just wiping clean..and winding back in until 'home'

Some have taken major force to undo for the 1st time :(
( same reason alloy sumps get stripped threads.. ) :eek:
 
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That's probably about 50Nm. The torque wrench I used is a fairly small one, about 300mm long, and it was about as tight as I was prepared to do it when it clicked. So we're probably saying the same thing. It's pretty tight.
 
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