MantasticTor

Hi. I'm brand new to this board, and also brand new to Hondas, since my wife's '92 EX is the first one I've ever owned. Any help that can be given will be greatly appreciated.

Question:

What kind of crush ring should be used with the engine oil drain plug? Is the OEM crush ring made out of metal, or is it rubber, or some other material? And, should the crush ring be replaced every time the oil is changed (as with most cars), or is it re-usable?


Background:

My wife had her oil changed a few weeks back. This morning, I moved her car in the driveway, and noticed some spots of oil. (We have an asphalt driveway, and it rained last night, so I could see the rainbow effect of the oil. Before, I hadn't noticed the spots, since our driveway is black.)

I popped the hood, and didn't see any evidence of leakage, so I peeked underneath, and a fresh drop of oil was hanging from the oil pan right below the drain plug. I grabbed a mirror and a flashlight, and could see that the oil was indeed coming from the drain plug, as opposed to running down from somewhere up above.

I figured that the culprit was either an improperly torqued drain plug or a re-used crush ring. I decided to try torquing the drain plug first, so I called the local Honda dealer to get the proper torque; the service adviser said it was 32 ft. lbs. I put the car up on ramps and started torquing the drain plug, but it wouldn't give enough resistance to click the torque wrench. The drain plug just kept turning.

I took a closer look, and noticed that the crush ring is made of what looks like rubber. In my experience with all other cars I've owned, drain plug crush rings have always been metal, typically aluminum. The reason the drain plug won't tighten any further is (I assume) because it's turning on oiled rubber.

One way or another, the car is going back to the shop who did the oil change, so that they can do it right this time (for free). I'd just like to try to figure out specifically what they did wrong before I take it in.

Thanks!

hondadude

Yes, the honda cars use an aluminum crush washer; It sounds to me like the 'skippy' lube place stripped out the threads on the oil pan, if the plug kept turning at 32 ftlbs.
This is a common problem with that car.
There is only about 3-4 threads on the 'nutsert' that is in the oil pan.
You can get oversized selftapping drain plugs to keep the oil from leaking out.

MantasticTor

Thanks for the info!

Is the oversized self-tapping drain plug available from the dealer, or is strictly an aftermarket part?

Thanks again.