How tight does the drain plug have to be again?

in my youth i used to just snug them up . this was when torque wrenches were like gold to the home user. now i torque every drain plug to 30# on all my vehicles. never had a drain plug come loose
 
That’s why I always double check myself. Everyone makes mistakes. My first and last one I never did it again after that. My coworker unfortunately blew one up doing that but the customer also ignored the light and drove it for a week. Mine the customer had it towed back in. Had an oil filter come loose once too but that wasn’t my fault completely as a TSB was issued shortly after for the ACDelco spin on filters. Have had a few come in where the plug was finger tight and wasn’t leaking too. Those people got lucky. You did too.

It happens especially if management has the bad habit to call mechs to the service desk to answer customer questions, in the middle of a job.
 
Plastic engine, plastic oil drain plug on my 2016 Beemer. Tighten until it gets stiff/stops. Remains in and while a bit nervous in getting it out, never been an issue. Mann replacement kit comes with O rings, filter and new drain plug.

Something to consider is should you clean the oil pan drain hole threads or just put the drain plug in after a quick wipe? If considering torque spec. makes a difference with or without(clean) threads! Almost impossible to remove all oil as continues to drip.
 
2x above ^^^^
"...this was when torque wrenches were like gold to the home user...."
if nota daily wrencher - the wrist (& eye, pick ratchet bar lenght/drive sz)
do not guage very well - lack of experience. I now weigh 222 so need to
keep that in mind too. I read more owner's manuals in my shop than I
ever did asa car owner (amount of qts, # of fuse boxes, reset oil light, etc).
 
Hmmmmmm ....... I interpreted the OP as making mindless mistakes that one managed not to get bitten in the rear end from. It's evolved into a discussion about proper oil pan nut installation .

I've had a "few" of those OP "uh oh" experiences, as do the professionals occasionally: The time my student employee pointed out the missing dish-to-rim tractor wheel bolts. My clothes hanger caliper hanger wire found attached to my daughters front strut spring a year later. My workplace walk-in cooler the day after I forgot to turn the breaker back on (ouch). The aerial lift bucket arm I forgot to lower while passing under a cable television line.......... thought the truck tranny was going out when the wheels started spinning....... the slightly leaning utility pole caused me to turn white (fixed with a gentle nudge from a tractor loader, LOL). 🥵
 
Fortunately, that's one of the many threaded fasteners for which the maximum safe torque (risk of stripping) is many many times the minimum safe torque (risk of leakage or working loose and falling out).
 
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In another thread, I mentioned a co-worker who was trying to remove a drain plug but he had his ratchet set the wrong way. He made it tighter and tighter and was baffled why he couldn't get it to come loose. He even tried a breaker bar on it.... I bet he he'd put 300 ft/lbs into it eventually!
 
Hrm...

After 1,000 miles and 20 cold starts, decided today to do a check. Idiot me, I should have checked with my fingers--instead, I just put a wrench on it. Loose! !!!! Not majorly loose, but where I failed to give a finger check I can't say it wasn't. Am going to have to check again, maybe I have a problem here...

Before anyone asks, I've done the last twenty-some-odd changes on this car, new crush washer each time (OEM one at that), and never noticed anything stripped or otherwise off. Nobody but me has touched this bolt in the last 6 years. I've never used a torque wrench on it, because, well, you don't need to, just give it a good snug and it's done.

Wild.

[In other news I think the o-ring on the oil pump for this 5S-FE must be on its way out, something is starting really pour the oil out--and yes, I did change that 6 years ago, but not the crank seal, but the leak looks more to the rear than on the pan. Could be either or both. Need to wait until warmer weather and when I can take a week off to do the TB. *sigh*]
 
I heard the surest way to tight a drain plug is with a high impact wrench set at max with full batteries.
/s
 
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