Would cross-threading plug put metal in the oil?

[OceanRuns]

Was doing first oil change last night on a Toyota Pick-up. The drain plug seemed to 'stick' in the middle of screwing it in. Finish, and there is a significant steady dripping of oil coming out once the engine was warmed.

I went this morning and bought a fiber gasket (previously used aluminum one was what I'd put on). I did the quick pull of the plug, shoved finger in the hole, and only lost a cup or two of oil. Screwed it back in with the fiber gasket, didn't feel resistance, and everything seems ok.

Question is...if I, or a previous owner, had cross-threaded or partially stripped the thread...would screwing it back in, as I did, force metal shavings into the oil? Should I have let it drain, screwed in, flushed again, and then filled with oil?

Or, am I just over-thinking this?

 

[Rand]

over thinking. thats what the oil filter is for.

I'd be more worried about dirt and debris falling in.. than metal flakes from cross threading.

 

[Zaedock]

I'd be more worried about shavings in the combustion chamber. The oil will be fine (like Rand said, the filter will do it's job)

BTW, this should be in mech/maint.

 

[OceanRuns]

Thanks, sorry about the wrong section. I put a Mobil 1 filter on that's about double the size of the previous filter.

By debris falling in do you mean in the crankcase where you pout the oil?

Does oil the the pan hit the filter before critical engine parts? Whereas oil poured in the crankcase is already past the filter?

 

[fdcg27]

The oil typically passes through a screen over the oil pump pickup, which will catch anything really large.
It then passes through the oil filter, which will catch anything large enough to be of concern.
Only then is it fed to the main bearings and the rest of the engine.
You have nothing to worry about.

 

[Trav]

Don't sweat it. You should see some of the engine with cam lobes worn down to a nub and timing chains and gears all worn out.
Imagine how much metal is going in the oil from these and they still run fine for years after being fixed.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: OceanRuns
am I just over-thinking this?


Way over....

 

[Kiwi_ME]

What was the reason for changing the aluminum washer for fiber?