Do you replace oil drain plug washer...
- Thread starter Carlostrece
- Start date
They really are the best design, i still have the factory drain plugs on my old trucks too. It feels like a bn70 o ring, doesn't feel as hard as 90.The GMs with the built-in hard plastic (or is it rubber?) seal is the best design.
Or are you supposed to replace the plug periodically?
Yea, because everyone prefers replacing the entire drain plug, when it starts leaking, instead of just a flat washer.The GMs with the built-in hard plastic (or is it rubber?) seal is the best design.
(That is sarcasm, in case you couldn't tell.)Not sure if this is quite the same topic, but recently did the 3x drain and fill on an Acura MDX with the Aisin Transmission. They have Allen Key plugs, which have washers built in, and are specified as ONE TIME USE. The job requires a fill plug, a drain plug, and a check plug. I mangled the top plug and had to get a replacement at the dealer. That new plug ended up on the bottom drain position and I reused the other two.
The punchline is that the replacement plug at the dealer was just under $34. That's more than $100 every time you perform the service. While I like to replace oil drain washers every so often, if I have them, any reasonable person has to watch spend on a car with nearly 200K on the clock.
The punchline is that the replacement plug at the dealer was just under $34. That's more than $100 every time you perform the service. While I like to replace oil drain washers every so often, if I have them, any reasonable person has to watch spend on a car with nearly 200K on the clock.
The Jiffy Lubes and their 300-ft/lbs installers probably are the only things that can make them leak. The seal probably deforms eventually.Yea, because everyone prefers replacing the entire drain plug, when it starts leaking, instead of just a flat washer.
I had a GM car a long time ago with over 150,000 miles on the original drain plug and it never leaked. You can replace the seal. Plug is under $3 at Rock Auto.
I used to drive an Alero with the 3400 engine, which had a drain plug with a plastic washer, which could not be easily removed. While it held up good for many years, the plastic washer eventually cracked and leaked. I wasn't impressed.
Here are a couple hundred posts on the topic.
Bottom line - if it is a crush washer, they deform, and your odds of a leak go up every time they’re re-used.
I don’t chance leaks over a 10 cent washer, but a lot of guys here will argue about saving that ten cents.
Carlostrece
$100 Site Donor 2025
So it's a special washer called a crush washer, not just an ordinary flat washer?Here are a couple hundred posts on the topic.
Bottom line - if it is a crush washer, they deform, and your odds of a leak go up every time they’re re-used.
I don’t chance leaks over a 10 cent washer, but a lot of guys here will argue about saving that ten cents.
I never knew anything about that and always reused it with no problems that I know of. Still, now that I know I'll replace it at next oil change.
Where does a person buy a crush washer? An autostore?
I use a new crush washer, etc. with each oil change, but two of my personal vehicles have Fumoto valves. I HAVE been burned in the past buying "Toyoto OEM" washers on eBay. They were coated with some material, became fused to the oil pan and were very difficult to remove. I always thought the ones for Nissan, Infiniti and Subaru are a strange design. I prefer the Honda/Acura washer design and aluminum material. For me it's one item that pays to buy true OEM.
I always assumed it was the torqued-up threads of the drain plug that provide the sealing, and the washer is there to facilitate that.
Applying that mindset has enabled me to manifest never changing the washer, and never experiencing oil leaks.
Applying that mindset has enabled me to manifest never changing the washer, and never experiencing oil leaks.
Owners manual makes no mention of that nor have i ever heard of needing to do that but on my 2021 it does mention a need to replace the ac desiccant every 7 years which I never knew was a maintenance item at least on anything not exotic. I know they go bad when exposed to the moisture in the air from the system being empty and letting it get inside but I was under the impression that as long as the system is well pressurized the moisture shouldn't ever make its way in but there's likely more to it than that.
I do a lotta top side extracts, so no need. When I pull the plug, I inspect the warsher; if it looks even remotely bad, into the trash it goes. Overtorquing is not good for washers. My guess is, I replace the warsher every 2nd or 3rd time, regardless.
No leaks is good leaks. I like max 25 #ft max torque.
No leaks is good leaks. I like max 25 #ft max torque.
On my Chevy it is a rubber gasket that seats in the drain plug, that I replace every few oil changes as long it is not flattened.
on my Toyota's they have crush washers, they get replaced every oil change. You can buy a pack for only a couple dollars, vs thousands for an engine if it decides to start leaking out on the highway and you don't catch it in time.
on my Toyota's they have crush washers, they get replaced every oil change. You can buy a pack for only a couple dollars, vs thousands for an engine if it decides to start leaking out on the highway and you don't catch it in time.
I had purchased a 50 pack of 12mm crush washers on ebay for $7.26 but the price seems to have jumped lately. I use a new one every time on my Toyotas.
They feel very satisfying when torquing. It's best to go in one smooth motion-- you feel the plug bottom out, then a different feeling of the aluminum deforming. Similar to the crush washers on spark plugs.
They feel very satisfying when torquing. It's best to go in one smooth motion-- you feel the plug bottom out, then a different feeling of the aluminum deforming. Similar to the crush washers on spark plugs.
Have you read the Service Manuals for your cars, to see if they mention replacing the oil plug washer?
