Why is the crush washer matalic?

[PATCHEZ]

Just wanted to say that his car has a new drain plug and washer. You guys shouldn't be so harsh on the man. He brought me the car and I took care of it. And while doing so found it not to be the drain plug causing his leaks. John had just bought the car and maybe not used to working on cars yet. I don't know. But I bet all of you at one point in time didn't work on ur cars shoot I'm sure a lot of you still don't. So please help people learn don't be mean to someone new to our cummunity. It just makes us all look bad.

 

[aridon99]

Thanks again for the help! It is folks like you that 'make' the community.

Just wanted to say that his car has a new drain plug and washer. You guys shouldn't be so harsh on the man. He brought me the car and I took care of it. And while doing so found it not to be the drain plug causing his leaks. John had just bought the car and maybe not used to working on cars yet. I don't know. But I bet all of you at one point in time didn't work on ur cars shoot I'm sure a lot of you still don't. So please help people learn don't be mean to someone new to our cummunity. It just makes us all look bad.

 

[BrakeExpert]

When i first read this, I thought by metallic you meant ferrous. Crush washers are usually a soft metal, like everyone says, for a more appropriate seal, as rubber can harden and crack while in lots of other car parts, metal crush washers can be reused (not infinatly, but more than once, moreso on iron parts.) They are usually aluminum, but aftermarket ones that are zinc or copper are fine if you are gonna replace them. Copper is more common for crush washers on brake lines at the banjo bolt, zinc is more common on oil pans.

 

[Aircooled]

Just a question, were there any years of the NSX that used a cast aluminum pan instead of a stamped steel? My main concern is that if somebody over tightens a cast aluminum pan, you run a risk of fracturing around the drain plug which will require a new oil pan if you want to get it to quit leaking. Other then that, I'll typically use a a soft copper washer, like these guys said, aluminum should be fine, if worse comes to worse go to an auto parts store and buy a nylon washer like you had already brought up. The engine doesn't care, the oil doesn't care, as long as you have a soft gasket that properly seats between the drain plug and the the oil pan, it shouldn't leak (unless there is a crack).

However, when you take your drain plug out, inspect it and make sure it is in fact the correct drain plug. I have known shops to install drain plugs far beyond spec and strip out the oil pan. Instead of proper replacement of an expensive oil pan, they will typically opt for an 'oversize' plug which is a common Dormon/Motormite product that can be had within 5-10 minutes for almost any application. A sure way to know if you have an oversize drain plug (somebody stripped your pan) is when you remove it, you will notice it's a self tapping plug. There will typically be 2-4 slots on the very top and it will taper out (example in link below). I dislike these things simply because it's the cheap, crap way of doing things, plus there's always a good chance of getting metal inside the oil pan while tapping it considering these people are never careful of what they're doing. However the metal has to work it's way past the oil screen on the pickup, and past the oil filter so there's almost no way it's going to lodge itself anywhere.

http://www.amazon.com/Dorman-65217-AutoGrade-Oversize-Drain/dp/B000COCX0E

Edit: I see the problem has already been resolved, I'm going to leave this here anyway for future reference.

 

[LJSB]

Just wanted to say that his car has a new drain plug and washer. You guys shouldn't be so harsh on the man. He brought me the car and I took care of it. And while doing so found it not to be the drain plug causing his leaks. John had just bought the car and maybe not used to working on cars yet. I don't know. But I bet all of you at one point in time didn't work on ur cars shoot I'm sure a lot of you still don't. So please help people learn don't be mean to someone new to our cummunity. It just makes us all look bad.

Just when we were having some fun being mean you had to come along and spoil it. Thanks a lot Mr. Goody Two Shoes! :biggrin:

 

[schuey1010]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks. I think this is what I'm gonna do.

1) Get a strip of duct tape ready.
2) Clean pan area around drain plug (degrease with simple green)
3) Stick half of duct tape on the pan
4) Remove drain plug, put tape across drain hole
5) Change out crush washer with a fresh one
6) Remove tape, stick plug back in
7) Replenish with new oil, same amount as drained out

I'm hoping to do this fast enough so less than a quart escapes :tongue:

I tried this on a full water heater to replace the thermostat. Want me to tell you how well that went?:biggrin: