Is it ok to drive without the cooper washer on the drain plug for the engine oil?

It must be there!!

I think I'd worry most about just how hard the drain plug was screwed in to prevent any leakage. It's likely possible to torque that plug in to a point where leakage is not happening - but will the plug ever come out again?

If you're sure that there's no gasket in place, I'd get back to the Dealer and ask just what his Service folks are playing at. Having been in the business in a previous life, it's for sure that the fellows you hire to change oil are at the entry point into an entry level job, and a sadly large number make it no further and may even cause some serious problems while they're still out there in the shop.

bob noble Reno, NV, USA

Perhaps you can relax, Patrick. The 960 oil drain plug does not have a copper gasket. It's an aluminum gasket, and may be difficult to see when the plug is installed. Look closely using a bright light.

Good luck. Andy I. P.s. The 4-cylinder engine has a copper gasket for the oil drain plug, but then the plug screws into a steel oil pan.

The main thing to be concerned with on a 960 is overtightening. We took our

Brackenburn, glad to know it's aluminium, but it ain't there! I went under the car and after unscrewing the drain plug a bit, I can confirm there is none. The plug wasn't easy to unscrew, but I managed.

In your expert opinion, could I leave it like that as long as there is no leakage, or would it be best to add the missing aluminium gasket?

TIA

Thanks Bob. Unfortunately, going back to the dealer was not an option. Did that many moons ago and it just ended up making things worse. I had much worst done to the car by certified Volvo technicians... The worst is you have to pay $80+/hour to get your car damaged by professionals.

Like I said in my other post, I went under and, no, there is no gasket. Since you are familiar with this business, can I wait until spring to get that corrected if there is no leakage?

Thanks for your opinion.

If it's not leaking leave it alone, but make sure you install one the next time the oil is changed.

As to waiting until "Spring" for your next oil change . . .

Seems to me that you're talking about a wait of 4+ months before you do something about that missing gasket, Patrick. Would you normally push the mileage on the oil that far - particularly in winter (if your locale makes winter a consideration, that is)? If you drive relatively little,

*and* your winter gets cold, a change generally ought not go beyond 90 days. Top quality oils currently in use are pretty forgiving, but even they need to be brought up to operating temp regularly to get rid of the volatiles that collect in the crankcase. Your call.

bob noble Reno, NV, USA

Hi Patrick,

I'm no expert! but I wouldn't on any account risk wrecking that beautiful straight-six engine by driving it with no gasket on the oil drain plug, even tho' it didn't leak the first time. (As has already been pointed out, overtightening the washerless plug to try to prevent leaks can destroy the threads of the soft aluminum oil pan.) I'd contact that incompetent dealership and demand that they deliver to you the necessary aluminum gasket..........post haste!

Good Luck. Andy I. P.s. Don't use a copper gasket.......... not good to mix with aluminum (a risk of "galvanic action").

I would demand that they supply *and fit* the missing washer - and replenish the oil which they will inevitably spill when they remove the plug.

If it is designed to have a compressible washer - but you don't have one - the chances are that the plug will eventually unscrew itself and fall out. You will then lose all the oil and wreck the engine.

Roger

i don't believe that.

-

Feel free to believe it or not!

However, something very similar *has* happened to me - so I know that it

*can* happen.

In my case, I replaced the copper washer on a plug in the bottom of my carburettor with a fibre washer. The plug fell out, the petrol ran out, and the car stopped.

Inconvenient - but at least it didn't wreck my engine. Losing all the oil

*would*.

Roger

If not there, take it back immediately. Otherwise, when you do have trouble down the line you'll have no way to prove the dealer screwed it up. Demonstrate now they left off the required gasket, and therefore probably overtightened it (even if appears to be OK now) to preserve your claim for later. If you tell them you loosened it to check, be careful not to overtighten at all (even if it leaks a bit) or they'll claim you screwed it up.

I'm using Mobil 1 synthetic. Supposed to be good gor 6 months or

6,000 miles. Before when I was using dino oil, I used to switch every 3 months or 3,000 miles.

Can someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it is my understanding that with synthetic you can double the time/mileage compared with dino oil?

It makes a year that I switched over and I'm please.

Off-t>As to waiting until "Spring" for your next oil change . . .

From a point at sea, to the circles of your mind, this is Patrick:

I was listening to a rep from Castrol Oils a while ago. He was saying that the oil change interval should not be assumed to be any longer, but that synthetic oil will not have degraded so much at the change.

Of course it was his job to sell as much of it as he could.

I was under the impression that some car manufacturers were suggesting that you could wait 12 months or 7,000 miles before changing your synthetic oil.

What is the recommended >From a point at sea, to the circles of your mind, this is Patrick: >

On 19/10/03 10:30 PM, in article snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, "Patrick" decided to come out from under the bed and slurred:

Provided the oil does not become contaminated, then your changing at 6 k miles is fine. If you are doing short trips, not getting up to temp, stop start driving, then drain and replace as you would with "dino" oil.

Despite the magic properties of these synthetic oils, they cant prevent degradation of the oil, especially if they are exacerbated by contamination.

Hammo

I'm surprised it didn't start a fire! I'd rather have the oil drain out and wreck the engine than the gas drain out and burn up the whole car.

Check your bill, I can almost guarantee there is an entry for about $1.50 for a gasket - it is supposed to be changed every time the drain plug is removed...

Jack