I bought some of these washers for my 07 SF 3.3L. They look like ordinary steel washers. I've read that these vehicles require some kind of special crush washers. Are the ones I got made out of some kind of space-age material? They don't look like they are very crushable. I have read that some people, even dealers, are just using standard oil drain washers.
As I posted recently, up until just a few weeks ago, I had always gotten the crushable washers from the dealer (free).
But when I went back for the latest bunch, they gave me these same simple flat O-rings. They informed me that these are taking the place of the crushable ones.
Actually, this is all you have ever needed. I say "good riddance to those crushable ones, as never before did I have to change the O-ring EVERY TIME I changed oil. With these I did, but hopefully no more.
Tom Wenndt
Tom: Thanks for the info.
Ed MacArthur
As I posted in last week's threads about the same subject, my dealer, Hyundai of Athens, Ga., charged me a buck a piece for the darn washers, which appear to be a soft aluminum, not steel.
Tom
I should hope it is not steel. It's a crush ring so you want something soft. A buck each is really not a bad price for them. The whole idea is kind of silly, but since that's what the designers came up with, that's what we're stuck with.
no, we are not stuck with it. I put Fram's oil drain valve in a couple of years ago, havn't removed the drain plug since, and have been very happy with the product. Still have a little bag with 6 crushable washers in it on my workbench.
Dan
They are worth about 8¢ at best, but when you have a parts department and associated overhead, selling one at a time even a buck is not much. That is probably why the dealer gave me one instead of doing the normal paperwork to sell a part.
Regarding the last few posts:
A) That paperwork fill-out thing is probably why I also get them free by the bag-full;
B) The "aluminum" O-rings we are talking about are the new flat ones, not the old, crushable ones. I assume the crushable ones were a light-weight metal as well, but agree that these new ones look to be aluminum;
C) The people that have used that Fram kit (and other similar brands) have almost universally reported happiness and no problems with them. If there is one that fits your vehicle, it sounds like a good investment.
Tom Wenndt
You're right Dan - that is the real solution.
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