Why does nobody talk about how easy it is to cross-thread an oil drain plug on a Subaru?

I was under a 2015 Outback last Tuesday in my driveway in Portland, torqued it to 30 ft-lbs like the manual says, and still got that awful grinding feel halfway in - should I have just let it ride with some thread tape or is that asking for a $400 oil pan replacement down the road?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamie_carter871mo ago

Portland here too. 2011 Forester. That pain is real. Try a fumoto valve instead, never touch the threads again.

taylor121mo ago

Ha! @jamie_carter87 swears by that valve but I've got a '11 Outback and I'm pretty sure the previous owner used red loctite on everything. At this point I just buy a new oil pan every spring.