Hello All,
Doing my 1st oil change on my 997.2 S, last oil change was done when I bought the car a year ago @ Porsche. Everywhere I look it shows 37ft/lbs for the oil plug but my plug has 26nm on it? Maybe my plug isn’t OEM? Any thoughts/knowledge on this out there?

Thanks in advance,
Chuck

 

Congratulations. Looks like you car has a LN Engineering magnetic drain plug

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-ln-engin...SABEgKeOvD_BwE

 

Thanks for the quick reply, makes sense and best news there wasn’t any metal…. 😎

 

I never torque any oil plug. put it in normal wrist and hand tight. Especially allen head, even less than a bolt, you will flare them out

 

I don’t use a torque wrench on drain plugs anymore either. But I’ve done about 100 oil changes using one. I consider myself calibrated.

 

You need enough torque to compress the crush washers as well as prevent the plug from vibrating loose. 19 lb ft is generally safe. I wouldn't go lower. Why not 36? Because the magnetic (aluminum) after market plugs are soft and the hex hole will distort at higher torque.

Metal oil filter canisters do get hand tightened only. Plastic o ring filter covers generally get torqued. In either case a bit of oil should be rubbed onto the sealing surface before installation.

 

I've got the LN plugs on My 997.2, 970.2 and 957 and have gone through many, many oil changes and never had a single leak. I also torque according to their spec.

Causes for leaks could be under torquing, no crush washer or 2 crush washers accidentally in place (I saw someone do this once when the old washer stayed stuck in place during the oil drain and he didn't notice).

 

I did an oil change for a friend the other day. It looked like the previous owner omitted the crush washer. Actually it was hiding in the recessed hole, very well camouflaged. Couldn't see it until we shined a flashlight on it and saw the inside edge that was slightly off color from the pan. It required a pick to remove it. I can now see how having two washers could easily happen

 

That factory torque spec from Porsche is terrible when screwing any type of plug (steel or aluminum) into an aluminum pan. Use the 25nm on the plug or 19 ftlbs.

 

+1, Thanks!!!