Crush Washers for Oil Pan - Substitutes?
 

My Subaru's oil drain plug requires a crush washer to seal. I tried
reusing the old washer, but oil dripped out and I wound up having to
buy one anyway. Has anybody found a good substitute that can be
reused, or is at least cheaper than the $1 a washer that Subaru wants
for these.

It's not as though I don't have any ideas - copper washer, O-ring, or
even a couple of wraps of 1/16" solder would probably work, but it's
nice to hear from the voice of experience.

RWL


******* Recreate gaps in email address to reply *******

motorcycles use copper or aluminum crush washers, you're better off just
buying a new one, can't be more than a dollar or two.
Rubber o-ring or nylon won't work properly, you need a copper or aluminum
crush washer.
my two cents worth.
good luck,
walt


"RWL" GeoLane_NOSPAM_ @evenlink.com wrote in message
...

My Subaru's oil drain plug requires a crush washer to seal. I tried
reusing the old washer, but oil dripped out and I wound up having to
buy one anyway. Has anybody found a good substitute that can be
reused, or is at least cheaper than the $1 a washer that Subaru wants
for these.

It's not as though I don't have any ideas - copper washer, O-ring, or
even a couple of wraps of 1/16" solder would probably work, but it's
nice to hear from the voice of experience.

RWL


******* Recreate gaps in email address to reply *******

RWL wrote:
My Subaru's oil drain plug requires a crush washer to seal. I tried
reusing the old washer, but oil dripped out and I wound up having to
buy one anyway. Has anybody found a good substitute that can be
reused, or is at least cheaper than the $1 a washer that Subaru wants
for these.

It's not as though I don't have any ideas - copper washer, O-ring, or
even a couple of wraps of 1/16" solder would probably work, but it's
nice to hear from the voice of experience.

My suggestion is to order your filters
10 at a time, along with crush washers,
from Auburn Subaru:

http://www.auburnsubaru.com/en_US/

Great prices, service and people.

Any auto parts store will have them for less than the dealer charges - I
think I paid about $1 for a three pack of them (I also have a Subaru). I
dunno if you can substitute a simple copper washer for the crush washer.
My Volvo and other cars I've owned use simple copper washers, they are
slightly cheaper. However, my Pontiac doesn't have any seal/gasket/washer
on the oil drain plug, and it doesn't leak - those clever American
engineers must know something that the Swedes, Germans and Japanese don't.

--
Ron DeBlock N2JSO
If God had meant for Man to see the sunrise,
He would have scheduled it later in the day.

I believe Swedes, Germans and Japanese spec thinner oil pans in order to
save weight. The thin metal can't withstand too much torque, so a crush
washer is required. This is also why you don't want to take your fine
Swedish, German or Japanese auto to the local quicky lube where the, uh,
mechanic, will use his trusty impact wrench to tighten the drain bolt.

I get my Nissan and Honda crush washers on the web for $0.20 to $0.30 each.
I buy them about a dozen at a time, along with the filters.

Pep boys sell them fairly inexpensively. Measure the ID and OD and see if
you can find something similar. The ID needs to be very close, but the OD
can be larger.

I don't understand why a felt or rubber washer wouldn't work. The oil pan
isn't under pressure. At most you'll leak a few drops.

Another option is one of those quick release valves from Futomo, Fram, etc.

"Ron DeBlock" wrote in message
...
Any auto parts store will have them for less than the dealer charges - I
think I paid about $1 for a three pack of them (I also have a Subaru). I
dunno if you can substitute a simple copper washer for the crush washer.
My Volvo and other cars I've owned use simple copper washers, they are
slightly cheaper. However, my Pontiac doesn't have any seal/gasket/washer
on the oil drain plug, and it doesn't leak - those clever American
engineers must know something that the Swedes, Germans and Japanese don't.

--
Ron DeBlock N2JSO
If God had meant for Man to see the sunrise,
He would have scheduled it later in the day.

On Thu, 08 Sep 2005 21:37:54 -0400, RWL wrote:

My Subaru's oil drain plug requires a crush washer to seal. I tried
reusing the old washer, but oil dripped out and I wound up having to
buy one anyway. Has anybody found a good substitute that can be
reused, or is at least cheaper than the $1 a washer that Subaru wants
for these.

Saab uses a copper washer. Anneal the sucker every few times and you're
golden.

It's not as though I don't have any ideas - copper washer, O-ring, or
even a couple of wraps of 1/16" solder would probably work, but it's
nice to hear from the voice of experience.

Visit your local Saab dealer. I think the new ones have a rubber seal
in addition to just the copper washer. Pretty sure it's a 13mm I.D.
washer if that works for you.

Dave Hinz

Yeah, they rely on the sludge buildup in domestic engines to do the job.
That's why they recommend 7.5k oil changes. Why put a washer in, when it
adds .02 to the price of the car.
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Ron DeBlock wrote:

Any auto parts store will have them for less than the dealer charges - I
think I paid about $1 for a three pack of them (I also have a Subaru). I
dunno if you can substitute a simple copper washer for the crush washer.
My Volvo and other cars I've owned use simple copper washers, they are
slightly cheaper. However, my Pontiac doesn't have any seal/gasket/washer
on the oil drain plug, and it doesn't leak - those clever American
engineers must know something that the Swedes, Germans and Japanese don't.



--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

In article , "AL"
wrote:

I believe Swedes, Germans and Japanese spec thinner oil pans in order to
save weight. The thin metal can't withstand too much torque, so a crush
washer is required. This is also why you don't want to take your fine
Swedish, German or Japanese auto to the local quicky lube where the, uh,
mechanic, will use his trusty impact wrench to tighten the drain bolt.

I get my Nissan and Honda crush washers on the web for $0.20 to $0.30 each.
I buy them about a dozen at a time, along with the filters.

Pep boys sell them fairly inexpensively. Measure the ID and OD and see if
you can find something similar. The ID needs to be very close, but the OD
can be larger.

I don't understand why a felt or rubber washer wouldn't work. The oil pan
isn't under pressure. At most you'll leak a few drops.

The problem is that without the copper washer, there won't be enough
tension on the plug to keep it from backing out under normal vibration.

This happened to me once, when the dealer screwed up an oil change.
Fortunately, I was going at highway speed, and so the oil plug bounced
on the pavement and struck the bottom of the car quite hard, waking me
up in time to save the suddenly oil-free motor.

Joe Gwinn

No sludge in my Pontiac at 34K miles, and the view through the oil filler
looks like a new engine. I switched to Mobil 1 at 2000 miles, and have
followed the Oil Life Monitor since then. It calls for fresh oil between
6500 and 7500 miles. It uses about 6 oz. of oil between changes.

As another poster stated, the oil pan is definitely thicker on the Pontiac
- it's an aluminum casting. Every other car I've owned (all foreign) have
had stamped steel oil pans.

--
Ron DeBlock N2JSO
If God had meant for Man to see the sunrise,
He would have scheduled it later in the day.