I've been doing my own car maintenance for over 30 years, plenty of experience maintaining and modding cars in that time. I changed my oil last weekend, and re-used the crush washer. I know:

Had a small leak from the drain plug, and with no Infiniti dealer convenient to my house, I tried adding a little torque. Nope. So I got a generic M12 copper crush washer from the local parts store. Replaced it without having to dump all of the oil*, and thought I was done. Nope. Added torque. No help, still a slow drip.

So I sucked it up, went to the dealer and got two fresh, Infiniti-approved crush washers, for the princely sum of $0.36 and once more replaced the crush washer without dumping all of the oil*.

There. Is. Still. A. Leak. I'm really disappointed and confused. With my previous car, a WRX, I replaced the crush washer a grand total of twice over 40-some oil changes for the 12 years I owned it. Never a leak. (from there )

I'm 99.99% sure, after checking it four separate times that it is the crush washer/drain plug leaking, and not running down from a leak higher on the engine or oil pan. I'm ready to take it to a shop to get this looked at under warranty, but wanted to see if anyone else has had a similar problem. I'm sure that I oriented the washer correctly, and torque was close to spec. Any constructive advice appreciated!



* The last time I was at the dealer a few months ago, they told me it was leaking, changing only the crush washer was impossible, and I'd have to pay for a full oil change. I wanted it done, so I didn't object, despite my BS meter being pegged. If I can do it on my back in my garage, surely trained mechanics can do this with a lift.

 

If different crush washers wont work, it leads me to believe that the threads are damaged on either the bolt or the oil pan, or theres some sort of micro crack that is letting the oil through.

 

The bolt threads and sealing surfaces *looked* ok, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ could be.

 

The surfaces that are capable of being deformed and thereby causing a leak are the drain plug and the pan. The threads of one of those two surfaces are the cause of your leak if it is indeed leaking from the drain hole. I've had Nissan (and other cars) that I have never changed the crush washer on and it has never caused a leak.

Drain your oil into a container that you can reuse it. Then clean and closely inspect the threads on the oil pan and the plug. Maybe try replacing the plug itself. And extra torque in tightening that plug beyond what's specified isn't going to help with a leak. It could actually make it worse.

 

Welp. Came home, checked it after the car sat for an hour or so and VOILA, no more oil leak.

I must've been extra splashy getting that last crush washer replaced, because there was a smaller puddle this morning. It must have come from oil trapped on top of the splash shield, I thought I had wiped up the excess out of there really well, but I guess not.

Thanks for the input folks! I'm glad it's not more serious, but I'll keep a close eye on it and take it under advisement for next time!

Off to Amazon to buy a dozen Infiniti crush washers.

 

i hate those crush washers. ive been using these since 06



never have to worry about leaks from not being tight enough and those crush washers do need to be torqued down pretty hard to seal good. thats why if you ever try to loosen the plug after doing an oil change at the dealer the bolt is on so damn tight