I thought their magnetic drain bolt was a nifty accessory to install for my next oil change, so I bought one. Before I even finished torquing it on for the first time, it snapped. For a moment, I thought I was screwed (no pun intended) since the bolt was stuck inside the oil pan. Then luckily, as the bolt is magnetic, with patience and a screwdriver, I was able to back it out.
But what material is this made of? I expected better.
I have no experience with the ECS bolt but that happened to me with the factory bolts due to me over tighten it.
Sold95 M3 - Ground Control Track/School coilovers | Eibach Sway bars | Powerdyne supercharger | Dinan Exhaust | WAR Chip
Yeah, it could happen with any bolt if overtightened, but I didn't. I didn't even torque it down.
I hope you bought that with the oil change kit. That is not worth 10 dollars.
I have seen BMW plugs do that many times. Have had to remove some with no heads because previous people over tighten them and have them break in the pan. It's is weird how BMW plugs are basically hollow.
Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, torque is how far you take the wall with you.
How much torque were you applying? And is your torque wrench calibrated?
Looks like you overtightened and the bolt did what it was supposed to do to prevent further damage....
I believe I read somewhere that oil drain plug bolts are made to break at the head to prevent over-tightening and/or stripping of the oil pan...
How tight are we suppose to tighten the oil drain plug?
Sold95 M3 - Ground Control Track/School coilovers | Eibach Sway bars | Powerdyne supercharger | Dinan Exhaust | WAR Chip
Last edited by deathwarden5; 10-03-2009 at 09:33 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, torque is how far you take the wall with you.
Cheap Chinese steel/ metal...
Looking for an E39 belly pan , passenger front inner fender liner …
key being NM, probably was using ft lbs. I admit I did this once with a oil pan bolt.
No, I didn't buy it separate, it was part of the oil change kit.
Yeah, I didn't use my torque wrench, but I have a good feel for things as I have tightened down the OEM one.
It could happen to any bolt.
This is why I have over 10 pcs of new oil drain bolts sitting around waiting for this day to come.....
So far with 120,000km, I've replaced 2 oil drain bolts.....
Actually that is a nifty feature. I rather snap a bolt and then fiddle with it until it's out (bolt extractor works great), than to change the oil pan due to a bad thread due to overtorquing a plain bolt (which is more than 25 Nm to break). Especially on a i6 engine.
+1,000,000 on how those bolts were previously torqued by their owners:
My oil pan bolt snapped this year at my last oil change. I use torque wrench.
I have already 4 wheel bolts snap on me (they are supposed to be tightened at around 90 ftlbs I think), and I always tighten these with another torque wrench.
People who do the ATF, pay attention to those little bolts from the pan, their torque spec and sequence of tightening. One can loose the fluid if it's not done right and the tranny is toast.
Most of the BMW bolts have to be tightened using the published torque settings in the Bentley.
0.02
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I always carry two or three of those bolts in my glovebox. They always break. Same as in my dad's E34.
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I rarely use a torque wrench for oil changes. As long as you always use a new sealing crush washer, then simply tighten until you feel the washer start to crush or yield, then stop. What works for me for the past 30 years of DIY oil changes...never stripped, or snapped a bolt. (knocking wood)
I have replaced many drain bolts after having the oil changed by whatever dealer performed it before, due to the threads being stretched such that the bolt no longer threads smoothly into the oil pan. Another good reason to have spares. I have them for both my cars presently.
The BMW ones are super inexpensive, $2.00 to $3.00 online.
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