Torque for oil pan drain plug

“Breakaway” torque is always much higher than installation torque. Many years ago as a young engineer in the manufacturing industry I had occasion to do a study on a particular application, and in that application the breakaway torque was pretty consistently about 40%-45% higher than the installation torque that was used. Different materials, thread types, thread depths, and other variables will cause the torque difference between installation torque used and breakaway torque to vary greatly by application. These numbers cannot be transferred to any other application.

Me, I’ll stick with “snug”, when using a “stubby” wrench. I think it’s the best torque spec for oil drain plugs overall.