Copper crush washer

[Dunerunner]

sound wisdom!!

[Karl Roth]

Originally Posted by Fredvon4

The 0.50c to 0.85c selection at Carcraft, Autozone, and other common car part places are the proper item and designed as sealing washers.... most of the time they carry the item for large truck disk brake Banjo bolts on the high pressure line... they will certainly hold up well in a relatively low pressure drain plug use

The $3.50 or higher at smart part counter are the same item with over 200% profit built in for someone....wink

Nothing wrong with having a "Official smart approved" crush washer... just a waste of money...

IMO

Nice sunny day, took the other car out and looked for the bleedin washers. Local auto zone hauled out the box nix nadda they recomended Napa what the heck, gave them the dimensions this is gonna be a problem... said hey its just a mitsu three cyl can't be that hard...we don't have it but the store the next town over has six we can have it in.. I will drive there now thanks... Get there to listen to ... get a human to aknowlege my presence and they go after the box...They are only 3 mm wide time to be at work. Still looking, still waiting for the $7.00 one from the dealer to get delivered.
karl

[Fredvon4]

Karl I had a similar experience here in my area... two stores said yes on the phone and once there the counter person could not find them... on delivery day I popped for a $3.00 one from Paul .... chasing a $0.50c part all over town is poor economy too (in my F350 12mpg machine)

While my drain bung was fairly tight ... the original washer showed no deformity under a 3x mag.... reused it and put the new spare away for future use if ever needed

I think most of this is much ado over nothing.... not to say paying inflated prices for ANYTHING does not rankle my inner frugal self

[MPrice2984]

Hyundai uses a simular system of a washer with the drain plug. My Hyundai service department told me not to over tighten the drain plug and you can use it over and over. Four oil changes later there are no leaks.

[xcrew229x]

Welcome to the Mercedes Benz Proprietary Parts Train......... "replace it 'cuz we say to, and you can only get it here, and only we can install it, at $95 an hour, with a one hour minimum, and an appointment." Right............

[rawlus®]

i wonder if earl's Stat-O-Seals might do the job in this application as well - a good alternative to crush washers as they are reusable...
they seem to be pretty widely available...
here is but one source.
http://www.truechoice.com/prodinfo.a...ber=ERL%201780

[jwight]

They probably would. Converting the 22 mm ID to inches equals 7/8, which prices out at $10.21, or more than the copper washer from smart. Can these be used multiple times?

[VinceLA]

Originally Posted by penncove

hmm 22 id . That rings a bell. Thats the standard BMW drain washer. I have hundreds. Cost me .18 from IMC. only 29mm od though. should still work.

The diff drain plug crush yes? Am a BMW buff myself too...

[rawlus®]

Originally Posted by jwight

They probably would. Converting the 22 mm ID to inches equals 7/8, which prices out at $10.21, or more than the copper washer from smart. Can these be used multiple times?

this site has them for $2.29.
http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pro...p?Product=3245

i've seen them on aircraft parts sites as well and they are designed to be compatible with Air, petroleum Fluids, (fuels, oils, gases) silicon lubricants and di-ester base lubricants. -65deg F. to +225deg F.

they are reusable.

here is a PDF from the manufacturer - Parker - detailing all the specs, properties, sizes, dimensions, etc.

[penncove]

Yeah Vince , it's the dif drain , or for those of us a certain age , the engine drain on a 02. It's available copper or al, and your local independent euro mechanic is likely to have gillions. My shop is on an Island in Puget Sound, and I probably have 3-5000 crush washers in cu,al and fiber. Since I'm not planning to change my Smarty oil until at least 2k, I won't be able to tell the forum whether or not thickness is important till it happens. It could be..... I can tell the forum from 25 yrs of auto repair experience that they are VERY likely to be able to reuse the washer at least once, but don't stretch it beyond 3 times torquing it down. The biggest thing to check is if the mating surfaces are smooth. one nick, and that washer can only be used once. (you could never match up nick with matching mark on the washer twice....) The heat it up trick works great, but leaves a black oxide that HAS to be removed. Unless you do it in a neutral atmosphere.... ;-)