I usually take my car to the dealership and get an oil change.... but i was planning to start doing it myself since i don't know what the dealers actually does on my car... anyway, i jacked up my car and i tried to remove the drain plug.. i couldn't even budge it... now, i am not a body builder, but does it really require that much force to break the torque???? is there any other methods of removing the bolt with ease... ?? like... a longer handle ratchet??

 

yeah some places put those on with an impact wrench. Sucks getting them off.

Yes a longer handle will make it easier... Unless you have an impact wrench...

Make sure your turning it the right way too

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sephro &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah some places put those on with an impact wrench. Sucks getting them off.

Yes a longer handle will make it easier... Unless you have an impact wrench...

Make sure your turning it the right way too </TD></TR></TABLE>
yup

 

time to break out the MFP: medium ******* pipe, and use it to elongate your moment arm.

make sure you're working on jackstands.

 

thanx for the input~
yea, i'm turning the right way (counterclockwise) and i have jackstands...

what does an impact wrench do? how to use it?

 

impact wrench is an air tool that looks sort of like a drill but they put out tons of torque

They make electric ones but they are crap for the most part. All though my neighbor had one I borrowed once that was actually really good. But he said it was very very $$

 

i bought a chicago electric cordless impact wrench at harbor freight for 129.99 the other day.

so far so good, works really really well. i won't try to dismantle my whole car with it, but for what i need it for (portable impact wrenching @ auto-x and the track) it seems like a great buy.

 

i bought a 700lb impact wrentch, saves so much time

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i bought a chicago electric cordless impact wrench at harbor freight for 129.99 the other day.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

How many ft/lbs is it rated at? Now how strong is it really? Curious because I might be interested....


Modified by Sephro at 4:03 PM 12/23/2003

 

Also regarding the filter, get a cap wrench, especially if you have an SH. I usually tighten it by hand but the first time might be a pain bc the dealer usually does it super tight. If its a base model it should be easier bc its accessable from the bottom, but on a type SH you have to get to it from the top and there is hardly any clearance. I've tried evey type of oil filter wrench and the cap wrench is the only one that could work (but only with a short handle). good luck.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sephro &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

How many ft/lbs is it rated at? Now how strong is it really? Curious because I might be interested....


Modified by Sephro at 4:03 PM 12/23/2003</TD></TR></TABLE>

it's a 19.2 V tool, with i think 240 lb-ft of torque.

it's handled my lugs and some suspension bolts easily. i haven't tried other, harder to torque bolts with it though. it's a half inch drive, and the battery lasts 45 mins of cont. use. recharge is 1hr.

it's not a snap-on or dewalt, but i'm not using it for heavy duty work so i think it'll be fine. 1 year warranty on it i believe.

 

The spec for that bolt is about 15 ft-lbs. That's barely tight! I hate mechanics that don't torque to spec, and that's 99.9999% of them

I would not let a Honda dealership mechanic touch my car ever! sorry I'm just ranting about mechanics and how they all suck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 57STS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The spec for that bolt is about 15 ft-lbs. That's barely tight! I hate mechanics that don't torque to spec, and that's 99.9999% of them

I would not let a Honda dealership mechanic touch my car ever! sorry I'm just ranting about mechanics and how they all suck
</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah you should always take your car to a mechanic that
you know and trust or do it yourself

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 57STS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The spec for that bolt is about 15 ft-lbs. That's barely tight! I hate mechanics that don't torque to spec, and that's 99.9999% of them

I would not let a Honda dealership mechanic touch my car ever! sorry I'm just ranting about mechanics and how they all suck
</TD></TR></TABLE>

why is it that all dealer mech's put on oil filters so damn tight that you can never get it off yourself? it's supposed to be HAND TIGHT YA MORONS!

 

I hear that! Last time I had to use sandpaper to get some friction and it woudn't budge until I put a punctured metal strip on it to dig into the filter and pry it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 57STS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The spec for that bolt is about 15 ft-lbs.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Uhm...my Helm manual says 33ft-lbs.

 

I just take some grippers and rip that bitch till it turns, even though i tightened it by hand.

I feel bad for the SH, I thought it was hard chaning the base's oil.... that damn thing gets in the way and I almost burn my face everytime...

 

so the impact wrench requires an air compressor, is that right??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 99lude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so the impact wrench requires an air compressor, is that right?? </TD></TR></TABLE>

yes if it's a pneumatic impact wrench.

but there are electric ones too. corded and cordless.

 

aren't you not suppose to use an impact wrench on stuff like that? at least i remember someone telling me not to use one on lug nuts

 

You can use them to get nuts OFF, just don't use them to put anything back on. You should use a torque wrench for putting the nuts back on.

 

that's what i thoguth

 

yeah i put a rag over my o2 sensor and my exhaust pipe
because the oil still comes out of the filter when your
unscrewing it even after you've drained the oil from the pan

 

u are suppose to hand tighten it, then the heat from the engine tightens it more.

 

5th gen Helm manual shows the torque spec of the oil drain bolt to be 33 foot pounds. Always use a torque wrench. Always replace the crush washer.