Yes the book says 18 ft. lbs. A major consideration for this is the material of the washer used. At some point as things wear the threads in the case may no longer take this. I now use the fiber or nylon washers and torque around 12 ft. lbs or the hollow copper "crush" washers. The solid washers really don’t help much on the soft aluminum case. They do work well on the steel pans of the I4 engines. 

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Eric Caron
Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2016 6:11 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: exact foot pounds for the oil plug?

Hi folks,

Time for my yearly oil change and I believe the Bentley gives a exact foot pound reading for the oil plug.  I always just guess and am always concerned.  I now have a torque wrench and would like to take the mystery out of the oil change.

Can someone double check my memory and confirm it is 19 foot pounds?

Sorry to ask but I don’t have a sighted person available to double check the book for me.

Eric Caron 
85 GL Auto Westfalia