Drain plug torque Bx2370?

[chucky79]

i know i know, snug it up. I learned the hard way one time that its best to use a torque wrench on oil/differential bolts. Its time for my 50 hr service and would like to know if anyone knows the oil pan drain plug torque value and the hydrostatic drain plug torque value as well. Me and the dealer looked through the service manual for 20 minutes today and found every torque number under the sun but those two. The techs laughed at us and said you just snug it up. Im sure to a guy who does it day in and out thats fine but i just wanna know because well.....i do.

 

[skyhook]

Put your torque wrench on it before you take it off, set it at 10lbs and see if it "clicks",
keep going up in lbs until you find the setting its set at now.
When you remove it, torque it back at the same setting, which should be about "snug"....lol

 

[dragoneggs]

Good and snug is enough... no need to fret... or over tighten. Grease your zerks and change your fuel filter more often if you want to worry about something. Don't take me wrong here.

 

[s219]

Put your torque wrench on it before you take it off, set it at 10lbs and see if it "clicks",
keep going up in lbs until you find the setting its set at now.
When you remove it, torque it back at the same setting, which should be about "snug"....lol

I suspect that would give too high of a torque reading. Same problem can happen when tightening an existing bolt that has been snugged. There is usually a spike in the torque to get it started, which makes the initial reading a little bogus. You can see this on an old-school torque wrench with the beam and pointer, but it's almost impossible to register with a click-type wrench.

Back to the topic though -- I think it's way too easy to strip out the Kubota drain plugs. So I normally choke up on the wrench with my hand up around the socket, to minimize my leverage.

I'm also not a fan of re-using the crush washers. They get pretty deformed from the initial factory snugging, and you can see the visual damage. Once they are smashed, they don't have much more elasticity in them to seal and minimize stripping. I reused them at my 50 hour change, but plan to order new ones for the next service. A fresh crush washer will give gently when you get to the right "snug" point, which makes it easy to know when to stop.

I might see if I can get the stamped type of crush washers. I like those over the solid aluminum or copper ones, as they very obviously "crush" when you approach the final torque. You can feel them crush and then resist, which is when it's time to stop.

 

[G31]

Do NOT overtighten the HST screen bolt. I tried to put it back as tight as it was to remove, and I snapped mine off. Thank goodness the threads survived, and it was loose enough to back out with a drill bit. The manual tells you torques based on the bolt size and head stamp. I think the 12mm bolt is ~50 ft lb. I noticed "snug" will eventaully walk it's way loose after a bit.

The only torque spec I could find was in the loader manual.

 

[k0ua]

Idon't know about the Kubota, but the Kioti plugs go into aluminum.. So just "snug" will do.. NO MORE.

 

[chucky79]

50ft llbs on 12mm seems VERY excessive to me but who am i. I have a beam type wrench in shop so i used it to remove the factory tightened plugs just as a test. the oil pan broke free between 15 and 20ft lbs and the hyrdo train went between 45ft lbs and maybe 50lbs lbs. It was tight fit under there. When i put them back i did the "choke up on the wrench" approach and then went behind with my torque wrench and did the oil plug to 15ft lbs and the hyrdo plug to 40ft lbs. I was remarkably close with both and hand tight so ill probably just use these figures for the duration as they "felt" right. I also worried about the screen bold and choked up on a 1/4 ratchet when installing as to not break it off of strip. All in all not a bad night. I blew out my air filter but will probably go get a new one since its a year old even though only at 50hrs. I may do my fuel filters soon too just because. I also went and tightened up all my coolant clamps after warm as i think i may have lost some coolant over the summer to seepage. Put prob a turn on each clamp so that should do it. I did find some interesting stuff in my hydro fluid but i will start a new thread for that. Stop by and take a look and give me your opinions if you dont mind.

 

[dragoneggs]

Back to the topic though -- I think it's way too easy to strip out the Kubota drain plugs. So I normally choke up on the wrench with my hand up around the socket, to minimize my leverage.

I'm also not a fan of re-using the crush washers. They get pretty deformed from the initial factory snugging, and you can see the visual damage. Once they are smashed, they don't have much more elasticity in them to seal and minimize stripping. I reused them at my 50 hour change, but plan to order new ones for the next service. A fresh crush washer will give gently when you get to the right "snug" point, which makes it easy to know when to stop.

Exactly how I grip my socket wrench! :thumbsup:... and always a good idea to replace the washer if you can. Most of these type plugs don't have enough pressure behind them to worry about torque. If it does drip, give it another bit of turn and you are good. I never use torque wrenches on drain plugs... the last thing you want is a stripped, cracked, or broken plug.

 

[BXman98]

try to put some thread lock on the oil drain pan plug threads, snug it in, then put in the new engine oil.

 

[servmgr64]

In my shop we service about 60 cars a day & always replace the drain plug gasket & torque to 18 ft lbs. the manufacturers spec. When I service my BX2350 I replace the drain plug gasket & use a torque wrench set to 20 ft lbs. never comes loose & is not in so tight that you need a breaker bar to get it out.