This may be a stupid question, but it's eating me alive right now.

When the Mitsu dealer told me the Tranny oil change was going to cost me 1000$(Canadian) with filter, I decided to follow some of the tutorials here so I could buy and use a more reasonably priced oil. (One that was recommended by others in this forum who does track with it)

The whole job went down smooth, except the next day I noticed there was a very slight leak, VERY. But it is there, and I have to do something about it. I even went to Jiffy lube to get the Diff oil changed and the serviceman there told me the plugs were definitely leaking very slowly. The plugs were wet, basically.

Is it likely I just didn't tighten the plugs enough? Can this leak be a sign of damaged threads? (They didn't look damaged when I looked at them). Is it possible that I tightened them too much? How important is it to measure the torque?

I'm paranoid that if I bring it to the dealer for an inspection they will either refuse because I did the job myself with an aftermarket liquid, or they will simply drain my oil to check the plugs and refuse to put back that oil, forcing me to pay the outrageous 450+$ for the Diaqueen.

 

How hard did you tighten the drain bolts? It's very similar to an oil change. I usually do hand tight + half turn with a wrench as the rule.

 

Just buy a torque wrench on amazon or the auto parts store. They are usually around $30-50 and you should have one anyway if you plan to work on your own car.
The torque specs for the fill & drain plugs are 25.8 ft lb.

 

You're right, maybe it's time I buy a torque wrench. It's probably just not tight enough right? I only used my hand. It also looks, from the spill puddle, that it's only one plug, the one I thought I might not have tighten hard enough... I really hope this works out. I was nervous to do this myself.

 

Make sure the plugs are clean too. Sometimes debris can keep you from snugging it down completely.

Worst case, you'll have to drain and redo it.

 

Hey guys, Just to update, I have gone under the car and tighten the bolt some more, seems to have done the trick.

 

Good! Maybe pour a little more in since you leaked a bit.