Oil Drain plug loosen- which way? Up or Down????

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Jul 11, 2007 | 06:56 PM

audesign

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Oil Drain plug loosen- which way? Up or Down????

This is my first time ;P so newbie question...

and I don't want to strip the plug. I have searched high and low on the forum, and while I found great info, I have no idea on which way to loosen. Not sure if righty-tighty lefty-loosely even is applicable here.

BTW, why are you guys jacking the car up? I can reach everything with car on the ground. Of course, I haven't tried yet to put the belly pan back <i>on</i>.

**NOTE-This may be a repost- I tried to post a follow-up but can't find it. Sorry and thanks.

Jul 11, 2007 | 07:32 PM

jhoeppel

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kidding, right?

same as the previously-owned A4 listed in your sig, and every other car I've ever worked on, for that matter... counterclockwise to loosen.

Get ramps or jack it up. Search the FAQ for more help.

Jul 11, 2007 | 08:52 PM

Vegas-roadster

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From: Las Vegas

When twisting any bolt: Righty tighty - lefty loosey

Jul 12, 2007 | 03:34 AM

audesign

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Nope. My 1930s Ford has some that are backwards in the bumpers

and my Unity foglamps ( NOS accessory from the 1950s ) are are also threaded lefty tighty righty loosey.

Our guys in the metal shop at work have several times created a thread, tapped the part and put in upside down which reverses the procedure.

I figured its better to feel stupid and just ask. Of course, my Jeep and other A4 are all correct, I guess I was scared by all the leaks I read about in the FAQs with stripped drain plugs.

Jul 12, 2007 | 03:53 AM

Scenic Driver

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I remember one car (forget what kind) where the screw holding the rotor on was reverse threaded

Jul 12, 2007 | 06:47 AM

jhoeppel

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My '69 beetle had the left front wheel bearings w/reverse threads...>

apparently they feared the wheels on that side of the car would loosen while spinning. Once they realized other cars weren't losing their wheels all that frequently, they must have decided to get conventional.

But the only time I've ever seen reverse-threaded bolts is on spinning mechanism where they fear the bolt might come loose. Never on something stationary like an oil drain bolt.