I've done my yearly dump of the tranny and diff fluids while the car is in winter storage. The washers on the differential drain bolt, tranny fill bolt, and tranny drain bolt all look like disposable aluminum washers. The differential fill bolt has a decent sized copper washer, which is different than the other aluminum washers. Is the copper differential fill bolt washer meant to be re-used or do you toss it with every fluid dump ?

When I bought my Ap1 (used), the diff fill bolt copper washer was paper thin, and it was fused to the fill bolt. I assume the previous owner re-used the original washer many times over the course of 8 years. Any idea why the diff fill bolt washer is different from the other washers ?

Thanks for any replies.

Joey

 

Been wondering the same thing, the manual says to replace it though so that's what I do

 

It's just a fill bolt -- it's not going to come loose if you re-use it and it's not very critical.

I wouldn't worry about reusing it personally. Same with the tranny fill bolt.

 

Unless it's cracked,just turn it over.

I replace mine after 4 changes.

\rlr
Carolina

 

Not disposable. Reusable and then recyclable.

 

Thanks for the replies, maybe re-using it 2-4 times might be reasonable then ?. The diff fill bolt washer costs twice as much as the others, though still relatively cheap.

 

Sometimes, the material in these washers are soft. So they crush a little leaving a ridge on the surface. I just sand the surface so it's smooth & reuse. They way you help prevent leaks. After a couple of times --- use a new washer.

 

yes I've seen the ridge develop many times, good idea

 

These are crush washers. One-time-use. Torque to spec. I think they're less than 50¢ and the dealer will usually just hand them to you without charge. The dealer puts new washers in so the customer doesn't come back with a leak -- or no bolt at all. Why short-cut to save 50¢

-- Chuck

 

The diff fill washer is $2.00 at my local dealer.

As mentioned above, this is just a washer for the FILL bolt. It's not under a lot of stress. It's not going to leak. We're not talking the oil bolt washer.

I know we're all anal about our s2000s (and even I ask a lot of stupid questions on here ), but where have all the men gone? Seriously.