what's the point of the crush washer?

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I just found out that my 05 Legacy supposebly uses a crush washer for the drain bolt and I'm supposed to replace it everytime I take the bolt off. I didn't remember ever having one...

so today after changing the oil surely enough there is no crush washer there... never had one in the 80k miles of this car, I only get it hand tight everytime and it has never dripped even 1 drop.
 
When the washer gets crushed, it's supposed to make a very tight seal to prevent leaks... kind of like a gasket, but metal instead of rubber.

If your drain bolt doesn't leak without it, then don't worry about it. On our old Jetta, it would drip oil if I didn't put a new one every time I unscrewed it.
 
I HATE crush washers. It seems like every import I see has them and the first time I change the oil I don't know what to expect. Why can't they just build the little rubber gasket into the drain plug like all of the American car companies do?
 
There to prevent leaks they seal because their usually copper and form the to imperfections in the pan,you don't need to replace every time i've never replaced one yet.
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
No washer of any kind on your drain bolt?
Odd.

probably lost /fell off and nobody replaced.
 
i've seen alloy pans cracked from over torque. my subaru seems to have the washer, i bought a replacement copper one and since then re used the same washer over and over. the mitsubishi colt has NO washer, and there is never any problem there, even after 15 years. i usually tighten the bolt down securely, but i just don't think i'm strong enough to crack a pan, since i'm lying on my back on the ground while doing it.
 
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