I just have two quick questions (for now) going into my first oil change

I know that I only need to tighten the strainer bolt to like 9 lbs or hand tight. But is there any possibility that it could already be cracked and taking it off will just make it begin to leak?

Second, what oil are you guys using that is easily acquired at a auto zone or something of the like?

You should be able to find Kendall Titanium at Autozone. Most of the other recommended oils (Brad Penn, Joe Gibbs, etc. ) will need to be ordered or you have to have a distributor close to you.

If the strainer bolt is broke, or the plate is bent, You would know it by now! Once it goes it's almost impossible to seal. If not Immpossible.

Find a local race car shop or small performance shop. They will have Brad Penn. If there is one in my very small town (there is), there should be one close to just about anyone. In a pinch I think the Valvoline motorcycle 4-stroke 20w50 oil at AutoZone would work. It is formulated for air cooled engines. I think it even has added zinc with1154 ppm and Phosphorus with 1075 ppm.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessori...ier=365427_0_0_

Valvoline 20w-50 Racing is also fortified with zinc. We have run it in the 356 for years and now the 914 too. It is availabe in most, but not autopart stores.

Jonathan

Yes, Valvoline VR-1 (silver bottle) is fairly high in zinc/phosphorous and is available at Autozone:
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessori...ier=561829_0_0_

FWIW, it was one of the better rated oils in this report:
http://speedtalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30483

Oh my goodness I did this today. I was hesitant about pulling screen but there was literally sludge coming out around screen and attached to bottom of plate. So glad I did this. I am still waiting for remainder of oil to come out but can't wait to put it back together

You ARE using a good German oil filter, right? And, no, a Bosch filter isn't German.

The Cap'n

I was using the 20-50 Brad Penn, but switched to Valvoline 20-50 Racing after reading that oil report. Even said on the box, "added zinc." Always ran Valvoline Racing in all my cars before, so it feels right.

Yes I am using the German filter f on pelican and valvoline 20-50 vr1 oil. It gets even better. I didn't have a filter wrench big enough for filter so I tried to loosen by hand and voila; turns out that was one of my major oil leaks.

Only problem I'm seeing now is a slight leak around basket filter cover. I cleaned everything very good and put gaskets on one on top of basket and one bottom of basket and a new crush washer. I snugged it up finger tight because I don't have a torque wrench and I don't want to over tighten. I am nervous about putting a wrench on it but think that it needs another 1/4 turn. Any advice on this? How does over tightening mess this up? It didn't leaks before but now it seems like plate is not quite level with bottom of motor. Almost seems to stick out more towards front of motor but its not leaking visibly from that area. I was thinking of backing out screw a turn to make sure its all seated right but just scared to over tighten.

A gallon jug of water weighs 8 pounds. Get your 12 inch (1 foot) breaker bar with the correct socket on it. Pick up the jug of water with one index finger & feel it. Then apply that much pressure to the end of the breaker bar....you'll be close enough.

I'm not confident using a torque wrench on something that requires 9 lbs. Mechanical torque wrenches have a fairly big range, from 0-150. I don't trust them in the low range. Considering you have this long handle, if it's not accurate on the low end of the scale, with all that leverage you really run the risk of over tightening. Short of getting a Snap On Digital torque wrench, I feel much more comfortable "choking up" on my standard 3/8" ratchet wrench to snug up the bolt. I've used this method for over 40 years and never over tightened any bolts or nuts while changing the oil on my Porsches or VW's.

Try snugging up using my technique. Dpn't back off on the bolt since the gaskets have a memory of what the are tightened to. Doing so you really run the risk of leaks. Just leave it the way it is, check for leaks after running, and you should be fine.

Dave

I learned that the hard way long ago. With anything that requires low torque or is going into aluminum, whenever possible I go with the smallest wrench possible, preferably a 1/4 inch. If I need to use a 3/8, I choke up on it to lower the torque and gain a better "feel" for what the fastener is doing. I think the majority of people overtighten oil plugs and filters anyway - not necessary.

Why not buy a proper torque wrench that is in range? It would probable read in-lbs (9 ft-lbs=108 in-lbs). It will have a relatively short handle too.

As a rule of thumb never use the bottom/top 10% if you can help it. So a tq wrench that reads 50-150 should only be used 65-135 (0-150 = 15-135) without testing or very good quality & documentation.

A pos harbor-freight is going to be better than your calibrated fingers. Now that Craftsman is made in China too they are priced quite reasonably.

After tearing up enough stuff. I bought the HF 1/4 inch torque wrench.
I like them better than my plastic/rubber Craftsmen ones.
The tool whore has both ................

And the torque wrenches aren't covered by the lifetime warranty.

If I had to do it over again I'd buy S&K to start with. I cross the 1/2 ones occasionally. They both measure the same if that helps.

Well I think I got it using the choke up technique. The good news is that I don't see any other leaks now so maybe I'm all good (for now). I still can't believe the gunk that was in there. I guess I should probably do another change pretty soon to wash the rest out.