You are right they are there for the ham fisted shadetree mech that puts a necked down 3/8" socket on his 1/2" drive ratchet and puts all his body weight on it and low and behold snaps it off........what a shocker!!!!!!!!!

 

there is no plausible reason to not use a torque wrench. After all if you have to grab a wrench,why not just grab the right one. Especially With all the different grade fasteners and alloys you find on today's motorcycles.

 

Actually, I break out the air wrench and hit her with 120psi until she stops...getting prepped for NASCAR tire swaps as well...

JK, personally NEVER use torque wrench on any fluid drain plug...I've got the feel, after 50-yrs of practice.

 

This is funny. I can't believe there are this many replies to "Drain Plug Torque". Glad I could pad one more on. Lol

I just tightened it snug and a little more bout 1/4 to 1/2 turn. I have never had an issue. If you crush the oring you could possibly develop a leak. Also, I have torque wrenches to. They hardly get used. I only use them when they are on critical pieces, ie head bolts, or some other gasket type connection. I don't consider the oring a gasket.

 

I've thoroughly enjoyed this thread as well. It's a drain plug, with an O ring. Snug is good. Don't over think it!

David

 

They give a torque range for liability reasons. 14 and 21 ft-lbs. are the "safe" limits. If you choose to torque outside that range or not use a torque wrench at all, then you do so at your own risk!

 

Yep I agree. Only use torque wrench on critical stuff. Too many people go overboard with torque specs. You're not working on the space shuttle. Never torqued a oil drain plug in my life and don't plan to. Why is a HD drain plug any different than any other motorcycle, car, truck, lawn mower, etc engine? They all have torque specs but who torques those? Now if you've never tightened many drain plugs and don't have the feel for it then you might want to use a torque wrench.

 

Which way do you load the TP roll...pull under or pull over?

 

Over.....its right there in the manual.

 

Don't understand that at all. All the drain plug o-rings seat against a counter sunk chamfer in the case when tightened. You can torque a drain plug until the veins in your next bulge and the o-ring won't compress any more. That's providing you have a right o-ring. Now some big fat o-ring from the local hardware store is a different story. It takes very little torque for the drain plug o-ring to actually seal. Beyond that snug enough to keep it from coming loose is all you need. Harleys torque number is likely an standard torque based on the size and material make up.