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ICQ>
Val ---
All these points of view.... it's enough to make your head spin!
Currently I have 5 Volvos registered (and 2 ES's under the trees) and I very rarely change the copper gasket. My '82 ruskbucket bomber, on which I've put an additional 216k miles (I bought it with 116k), still has the same copper gasket as when I bought it 11 years ago. Cough, cough, gag, gag. But it doesn't burn a drop, doesn't drip a drop, and gets an oil change every 3,000 miles. And it's still going strong!
I always make a point of wiping the dirt and oil off the pan, both sides of the gasket, and the mating surface of the plug when I reinstall the gasket & plug. And I'm careful to reinstall the gasket with the original orientation.
There was some discussion on the correct tool for the drain plug -- metric or English? I use a 1", 12-point, shallow socket on the drain plug -- it works just fine for me, and has since my first Volvo in 1972. That's got to be dozens and dozens of oil changes! I installed the magnetic plug on 4 other Volvos (which, of course, did include a new gasket). There's always a very slight collection of black gunk on the magnet when I change the oil.
At less than $10 from IPD, I think the magnetic plug is worth the peace of mind.
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