grambles423
Automotive Engineer
I always hand tighten the oil filter
6
Torque specs for drain plug, etc.
- Thread starter Scotty2Hotty
- Start date
grambles423
Automotive Engineer
Damn skippy. I learned the hard way on my Ford Ranger.
Thumper
Autocross Champion
Why is this info NOT in our owner's manual? Am I missing it? Just really sad that there are instructions on how to add coolant and oil, there is NO info I can find in the manual on capacities or specifications.
As a note, be sure to pay attention to the size of the bottle you buy your oil in. I use the Mobil 1 ESP formula designed for our cars, it comes in liter bottles, not quarts. If you pour in 5 of them you will be overfilling.
As a note, be sure to pay attention to the size of the bottle you buy your oil in. I use the Mobil 1 ESP formula designed for our cars, it comes in liter bottles, not quarts. If you pour in 5 of them you will be overfilling.
Scotty2Hotty
Go Kart Champion
Yeah, the manual treats us like babies. They want us to bring the car in for everything.
Thumper
Autocross Champion
Ok, just changed my oil and here are some observations.
Normally I try to fill my new filter with as much oil as I can so that there is as little time of "dry" engine running on startup after the change. I could not get more than a tablespoon's worth of oil in the filter. That sucks.
Normally when you loosen the drain plug you have several turns before any oil begins to leak out. On ALL of my previous cars (mostly GMs, but never again) I could actually unscrew the plug completely without a drop coming out, then quickly pull the plug out and avoid any mess on my hands. With the GTI the second I completed 3 rotations of the plug it started dripping oil all over my Mechanics gloves.
At least next time I know to wear my latex ones for the plug.
Not sure if this is related to the above, but the factory did NOT use a washer on my plug either. On a related note, the plug from the factory was an 18mm socket head, the one from the dealer was a 19mm??? What in the world is going on?? Are they making this stuff up as they go along? LOL
Finally, I really must protest the capacity of 4.6L. Using only a part of a bottle is bad enough, but .6? At least if it was .5 I could easily just dump that .5 bottle in at the next change. but having .4 left over, I STILL have to buy 5 bottles next time, there is no time when the remainders will equal what is needed. Seriously, how hard would it have been to make the pan a LITTLE bigger and take a full 5 liters??? here's a call out to aftermarket companies, I would pay for an oil pan that holds 5 or 6 liters of oil, just to remove one headache. LOL
I think I will order the magnetic drain plug from ECStuning next time I order. LOL Feel kind of silly to pay $10 shipping on a $10 part, so I'll have to wait until I find some other stuff I want.
Normally I try to fill my new filter with as much oil as I can so that there is as little time of "dry" engine running on startup after the change. I could not get more than a tablespoon's worth of oil in the filter. That sucks.
Normally when you loosen the drain plug you have several turns before any oil begins to leak out. On ALL of my previous cars (mostly GMs, but never again) I could actually unscrew the plug completely without a drop coming out, then quickly pull the plug out and avoid any mess on my hands. With the GTI the second I completed 3 rotations of the plug it started dripping oil all over my Mechanics gloves.
At least next time I know to wear my latex ones for the plug.Not sure if this is related to the above, but the factory did NOT use a washer on my plug either. On a related note, the plug from the factory was an 18mm socket head, the one from the dealer was a 19mm??? What in the world is going on?? Are they making this stuff up as they go along? LOL
Finally, I really must protest the capacity of 4.6L. Using only a part of a bottle is bad enough, but .6? At least if it was .5 I could easily just dump that .5 bottle in at the next change. but having .4 left over, I STILL have to buy 5 bottles next time, there is no time when the remainders will equal what is needed. Seriously, how hard would it have been to make the pan a LITTLE bigger and take a full 5 liters??? here's a call out to aftermarket companies, I would pay for an oil pan that holds 5 or 6 liters of oil, just to remove one headache. LOL
I think I will order the magnetic drain plug from ECStuning next time I order. LOL Feel kind of silly to pay $10 shipping on a $10 part, so I'll have to wait until I find some other stuff I want.
Scotty2Hotty
Go Kart Champion
My factory plug was 18mm, and the dealer one was 19mm as well. My factory bolt definitely had a washer, though. I hope yours wasn't stuck to your pan or something weird.Ok, just changed my oil and here are some observations.
Normally I try to fill my new filter with as much oil as I can so that there is as little time of "dry" engine running on startup after the change. I could not get more than a tablespoon's worth of oil in the filter. That sucks.
Normally when you loosen the drain plug you have several turns before any oil begins to leak out. On ALL of my previous cars (mostly GMs, but never again) I could actually unscrew the plug completely without a drop coming out, then quickly pull the plug out and avoid any mess on my hands. With the GTI the second I completed 3 rotations of the plug it started dripping oil all over my Mechanics gloves.
Not sure if this is related to the above, but the factory did NOT use a washer on my plug either. On a related note, the plug from the factory was an 18mm socket head, the one from the dealer was a 19mm??? What in the world is going on?? Are they making this stuff up as they go along? LOL
Finally, I really must protest the capacity of 4.6L. Using only a part of a bottle is bad enough, but .6? At least if it was .5 I could easily just dump that .5 bottle in at the next change. but having .4 left over, I STILL have to buy 5 bottles next time, there is no time when the remainders will equal what is needed. Seriously, how hard would it have been to make the pan a LITTLE bigger and take a full 5 liters??? here's a call out to aftermarket companies, I would pay for an oil pan that holds 5 or 6 liters of oil, just to remove one headache. LOL
I think I will order the magnetic drain plug from ECStuning next time I order. LOL Feel kind of silly to pay $10 shipping on a $10 part, so I'll have to wait until I find some other stuff I want.
As to the oil capacity. It's 4.9 quarts, so I just threw all 5 quarts in. When I check it, it's definitely not over the full mark on the dipstick. Anyway, trying to get it down to the tenth of a liter is an exercise in insanity, isn't it?
Thumper
Autocross Champion
I use Mobil 1 ESP, it comes in liter bottles (check your bottles, you won't be able to tell a quart from a liter by sight). 5 quarts on a recommended 4.9 quarts is no big deal, but 5 liters on a 4.6 liter recommended is not a good idea.
BTW - The Mobil 1 bottles have easy to read .1 increment measuring window. I poured .4 out of a new bottle into one of the empties and then dumped the remaining .6 in. Easy. :w00t:
Thumper
Autocross Champion
:mad0259:
Ok, now I am pissed off.
Went out to drive my car and found a small puddle of oil on the garage floor!!!!!
I always check the seal of the plug and the filter with the car running after a change. Everything was fine. Now it has been leaking with the car just sitting there. I haven't driven it since the oil change. It leaked about 3 cap fulls worth.
Makes me wonder if I should have left the washer off since the factory didn't use one. But you should always use a washer. The one from the dealer was steel though.....usually they are plastic, or copper.
What a wonderful end to a wonderful day.
Ok, now I am pissed off.
Went out to drive my car and found a small puddle of oil on the garage floor!!!!!
I always check the seal of the plug and the filter with the car running after a change. Everything was fine. Now it has been leaking with the car just sitting there. I haven't driven it since the oil change. It leaked about 3 cap fulls worth.
Makes me wonder if I should have left the washer off since the factory didn't use one. But you should always use a washer. The one from the dealer was steel though.....usually they are plastic, or copper.
What a wonderful end to a wonderful day.
barische
Go Kart Champion
did you tighten it a bit more...
Scotty2Hotty
Go Kart Champion
You definitely should use the washer.
Did you torque it down?
Did you torque it down?
Thumper
Autocross Champion
Yeah, I used the washer....LOL...
I did torque it down, but evidently my cheap torque wrench (shows inch pounds) and my bad math or something. I re-did the calculations, rounded UP and got another 1/5 turn on the plug this morning. No leaks over an hour, drove it a bit, and still no leaks.
Just another reminder kids, stay in school, get good at math, you WILL need it in life.