I've read numerous posts here about people encountering problems with stripping the threads on the drain on the oil pan. I understand how this happens because mine will leak unless I really torque it hard. (Yes, I replace the washer with every change.)

My question is, has anyone tried using a rubber washer to seal this instead of the copper washer?
On a Toyota Camry I used to own, it had a rubber (or probably some synthetic material) washer on the drain plug. It was the original washer (200K miles/12 years old -- and it never leaked! And didn't require the excessive torque (or frequent replacement) that's needed for these copper washers.

I'm interested in people's educated opinions on the subject.

Jeff Pierce

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'92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '93 945 Turbo (a kickass family car), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece)