Let’s talk torque settings

[STORMY]

Dropped the oil / changed the filter on my Gen 3 1k today, first time I’ve changed it on this bike.
Took a squint at the torque values - sump plug (23N-m), and filter (20 N-m) wow! I was using a top end electronic Snap On torque wrench (my son’s), but those values naaa way tooooo much for me. Steel sump plugs in ally crankcases DANGER DANGER DANGER .
Seriously though, does anybody else have the balls, or am I just being a pussy?

[old git]

I can't remember ever using a torque wrench on a sump plug. Never had a plug fall out or a stripped thread. I just use the force 

[kwackboy]

Same here ...
I always go by how it feels   

[The Doctor 46]

I did the same years ago on a ZX10 but I used a cheap  torque wrench. After having the sump ally welded, I used a short ring spanner and have never looked back. Said wrench went in the bin.

[Brockett]

I use a torque wrench when  can but I always knock 10% off the values.

[STORMY]

As I thought, just use the force - Suzuki do seem a bit enthusiastic about some of their torque values thanks Gents

[Mr Nick]

I don't go much by torque settings on general fixings especially on the older bikes: the factory values might have been fine 40 years ago, but the ones that have been in & out of alloy lots of times over the years like drain plugs will have affected the thread's integrity. About the only place I'd use a torque wrench is head bolts/nuts & the like - the rest is feel based on experience: strip a few & you learn...

[STORMY]

I’d go with that Mr Nick, but I’ve got a hang up about sump plugs, they’re tucked away out of sight and if they do decided to say goodbye, well I guess we all know the consequences.
It’s never happened to me, but I have seen the results elsewhere.
Got my son living at home at the moment because of the lockdown he’s a senior tech at a Ford Dealer (hence my access to his fancy torque wrench), he echoed what everybody else has been saying - use feel, which I’m OK with. Just as an aside some of these new Fords have plastic sumps, sealed heads, and gearbox’s that a coded to the rest of the car (if they fail it’s a throw away). Jeeez I hope bikes avoid going down that road!

[Mr Nick]

It's always going to come down to what you are comfortable with: sump plugs aren't under any load and unlikely to come loose in a great hurry. I'm more concerned with the things that keep the likes of wheels & brakes in place myself & look over those from time to time just to check they're still tight.

[endintears]

Torque values are based on the threads being dry, reduce by about 40% if lubricated with engine oil seems to be the recommendation.

Personally I wipe everything dry and then quickly screw the drain plug back in with a spot of Loctite lock 'n' seal on the threads and then as others just nip it up by feel.
Knowing I've used threadlock helps me avoid the temptation to overtighten.

[Rusty Nuts]

The drain plug system has always seemed a bit daft. How much pressure is in the bottom end that you need an inch of fine  threaded bolt to stop it blowing out? People using Dowty washers, and semi permanent plugs with a drain tap in, suggest not much. It needs to be oil-tight, and not come loose, that's all. Lock tabs on washers, locking clips, even track type lockwiring, all sorts would stop you losing a plug, but they insist in putting a huge slug of steel into a cast alloy component. Barmy.

[kwackboy]

I can say with great experience that if a sump plug is left loose it'll undo and drain your entire engine of oil within half a mile ... Don't ask. 

As a side note an engine, if not revved hard will cover up to 30miles before it gives up, just incase 

[Mep]

I've torqued the sump bolts on my DL and previous SV. It's not as much as you think. I don't torque the oil filter though and prefer to follow the instructions and 'feel' it.

[Rusty Nuts]

Do they start to squeal at about 28 miles?

[kwackboy]

Probably ... 

[Mr Nick]

How much pressure is in the bottom end that you need an inch of fine  threaded bolt to stop it blowing out?

If your sump is pressurised, you've got other issues with the breather system that you need to check out. The oil should only be under pressure from the pump up through the galleries & bearings. It's only really gravity that's acting on the oil once it has done its job & returning to the sump. The precautions around containment are because it's bloody lethal if it gets loose: the lockwire etc are there to counter the vibration race motors develop when they're being caned constantly.

I suspect the over engineering is to allow for the fact that it's meant to be taken out & in multiple times in an average life so spread the wear & load over a greater area.