I almost lost my motor due to negligence. The motor drain bolt was loose. I changed my oil couple of months ago but noticed the spilling now because I had the car sitting in the shop for couple of hours in a nose incline position and noticed a big leak of oil. I thought it wasn't from my car so I didn't pay much mind mostly because of denial so the next time I parked the car in the same shop, in the same position and the same thing happened. I took the car to the a shop to find out what was going on and they told me that the bolt was loose so they tightened and when they checked the oil level and it was missing a quart.

So guys when you have someone do an oil change for you, triple make sure that they tighten that bolt well because if you loose the oil, you will pretty much need a new motor. Luckily for me I have been doing very short drives since my last oil change.

 

DIY or a shop did it?

 

acura tech did it.

 

problem: CRUSHWASHER NEEDS REPLACEMENT
if the crushwasher is done, the bolt will not tighten firmly

 

how do you know when the crushwasher is done? also, where else besides the acura/honda dealership can the washers be purchased? do they have them at autozone, pepboys etc?

 

The washer has I think 3 "lines", if they are worn then you need to replace it from what I understand. Mine wasn't so the repair guy told me that it was ok.

 

plug was not properly torqued to 29 foot pounds

 

There is always a big debate on changing or not changing the crush washer with every oil change but it is such a cheap part to change why not just do it and have peace of mind. I just bought like 6 from some Acura dealers ebay listing for a few bucks.

 

Its worth the peace of mind to know its a new crush washer or drain washer and applied torque with a torque wrench -- unless you have experience and know what 29 ft lbs feels like-
its more than most people think but far less than quickie places believe~

If its `crush washer` its one time use- cheap even at the dealer, parts stores have cheap ones that are ok as long as its metal

 

I've probably replaced my crush washer once, if that, in 104k miles. Not that everyone should just ignore it, but I've never, ever had an issue on any of my cars.