You may be able to loosen the plug some and get some sort of form a gasket in under the head of the plug and retighten to stop the leak till your next oil change. Shouldnt loose much oil at all, and can stop the leak.


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hold your finger on the hole while you put the washer on the plug, I would fix it I would not want to loose any sleep or have a nightmare

 

I would fix it. But then again I'm super cautious with drain plugs since a drain plug incident killed my last bike.

 

Make sure you torque the plug at the correct torque! this is really important !! Trust me I have a bad experience once! For about my self I change the crush washer every oil change I use cooper on. but my last oil change I have drain the oil by the strainer ( just loose the cap no need to remove all)

If I was in your situation, I will ask a friend to stick is finger in the hole or use a 12mm 1.50 bolt and put a new washer and tight a the spec torque

take care!

 

It is wise to change out your oil drain plug crush washer with every oil change. Cost? Maybe $.75? Crankcase is aluminum, bolt is steel. They expand and contract at different rates owing to the materials they are made from. Repated thermal cycles can cause loosening. The crush washer is normally aluminum, but copper works as well. They work by distorting under torque to seal the bolt head to the crankcase. However, they don't work forever! Each tightening effects more and more distortion until they no longer effectively seal. Did I mention that the crush washer is softer material than the crankcase? It's intentional so it will crush before you put a potentially damaging amount of torque on the crankcase threads. Change it out! Cheap insurance.

 

I wouldn't worry about it. If the plug's tight it'll be fine.
I've been wrenching on cars and bikes for way too long, and I never change the washer on the drain plug, and I never have any problems or leaks. Now if it was a true crush washer like what's used on the exhaust, then yeah, I'd put a new one on every time.

 

....I've been wrenching on cars and bikes for way too long, and I never change the washer on the drain plug, and I never have any problems or leaks....

same here....its just a washer, i mean, dad gum.

 

Oil change

I use a copper crush washer in everything when I change the oil. Sometimes I use them twice, but not often. They don't cost enough to justify getting that cheap. I get them from the Honda (cars) dealer in dowtown Spokane, WA. Last time I think I had them send me 30 washers. I am sure there are lots of other places that carry them, I just haven't found any of the others and these days dealing long distance is no problem.

In OP's case, I would have taken the plug out and put a washer on it when I discovered my mistake.

 

Our mini Van was leaking oil and took it to local rapid oil change. It was leaking from the valve seal and mgr offered to tighten down on the bolts. Since there are lots of miles on it, and so far so good!

It is pain trying to take the bolt out if you are not ready to change the oil so I'd tighten, if leak is minimal, just wait until next oil change and add the washer this time.

 

Just a washer ..... don't need it!!...????
OK here my little story! :
Last year I bought new my vuclan. Wen it was the time for the first oil change I decide to do it my self ( I'm not a bike mechanic but I'm a electromechanical) And It don't take a master degree to change oil in a bike! So same story after my oil change I saw the crush washer in the oil tube, the bike was not leaking so... hey its just a wash .... The year ( second oil change) I forgot about this washer I was so hurry about riding after a long winter. I remove the plug drain the oil..... wen it was time to put the drain plug back i was tightening reasonably and the plug starting to become loose shittt hey yes the aluminum tread where strip!! ( I have drill a step bigger and make new 14mm 1.50 tread and put a new plug my bike is fine!) personalty after this next oil change I will use the strainer to drain the oil.

Its your choice if you don't want put any crush washer or replace it! its your bike! but about me I bought a torque wrench and a pack of 4 cooper crush washer ( 2.99)

 

It would be irresponsible for anyone with a grain of sense to let this one go...

You would feel really dumb if your bike engine locked up while you were riding at 60 if your drain plug fell out because you didn't torque it to the proper spec.
You would also feel dumb if you overtorqued the drain plug bolt and stripped the threads.
You would also feel dumb if those oil drops (from a missing drain plug) kept epoxy paint from sticking to your shop floor, or cost you the aggravation of doing a heli-coil when you could have avoided it.

All of these very big problems are very easily avoided with little effort and only the investment of a torque wrench and the right aluminum washer.

The crush washer provides two functions: sealing and spreading of the clamping force of the drain plug around flange surface of the hole in your engine case. Don't forget...without a washer, the spot on that flange with the most stress will be just ahead of the spot where the bolt face bottoms out...not all the way around the flange. The crush washer spreads that load evenly. Without it, part of that flange could crack and cost you an engine case.

Do not use copper...use aluminum. Copper + aluminum + acidic engine oil = battery. More importantly, this mix will eat the aluminum threads out of your engine case. I have seen this happen in as little as one season between oil changes. Not worth the grief.

I paid way too much for my ride to let fifteen dollars at Harbor Freight for a torque wrench and a .75 cent matchup crush washer from NAPA get in the way of riding. I can't see anyone else feeling any different although many minimize how critical this is. "Wheel offs" and "oil outs" are the most common in-shop auto repair mistakes...and both are completely avoidable. So is this.

So...suck it up...get the tools and parts, do it again, treat it as an inexpensive education. Shop repairs and visits to the hospital cost way, way more...and you won't have to live with the knowledge in your own head that "It was just a washer".

Fix smart and ride safe,

Rob



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if people are stripping their threads out, they are tightening it WAY to much. it only needs 14-15 pounds torque. a torque wrench is a thread saver.

and re-using the plug washer is not a bad thing. the whole change the washer type of thing is only a recent fad popping up. people use to not even think about changing the washer out every time, and they never had a problem.

 

Rob if you have thought about it enough to post about it you are going to think about it every time you get on the bike this summer. You have the old washer in hand, so why not, the next time you are in town go by just about any parts store match up the size buy some extras go home wash out the catch can with Dawn drain the oil replace the washer and pore the oil back in. It's only a few cents and 10 minutes for a summers worth of peace of mind. Besides I can not stand a leaky vehicle if there is one in my drive it gets fixed or gets gone.

 

I did something very similar...so I just removed the plug and quickly put my finger over the hole...popped the washer on the plug and popped it back into the hole...all with a drain pan under the engine...really, only lost about 100ml of oil during the whole procedure. I was alone, and did it all with only 2 hands!

In my case, the proper torque on the plug would not stop the oil dripping without the washer...so it was a no-brainer.

Just do it...you'll be glad you did.

 

I did something very similar...so I just removed the plug and quickly put my finger over the hole...popped the washer on the plug and popped it back into the hole...all with a drain pan under the engine.

+ this. You can even re-use that oil.

The thing is that a new crush washer doesn't need much torque to seal so less danger of stripping threads trying to stop a leak. In my cars I don't bother changing washers because frankly I don't care if it drips a drop here or there. My bike is a different story however! It's got to be just right.