Re: Oil Drain Plug Gasket

Posted by BH On 2008/6/4 19:47:35

I don't know what the straight 8s used, but the drain plugs on my '56 V8s were originally fitted from the factory with a washer-style, nylon gasket. This gasket is cited in January 1956 Service Counselor as P/N 6480955, but I never liked it.

While a nylon gasket does a great job on other cars, the drain plug on my V8s has a hex head with no flange. That leaves nothing to contain the nylon as it is compressed by the head of the plug and the material deforms around the hex, making it tough to get a wrench on the head next time. After tens of thousands of miles, the drain plugs on these cars were practically rounded off, and I had to trim the nylon material away so that I could get enough of a grip on the head to get the plug out.

For the Packards, instead of nylon, I use the annular type of copper gasket as descirbed by packards1. These are similar to gaskets used on spark plugs that don't have a tapered seat. This same gasket is also used on the drain plug in the pan of the Ultramatic.

Once you have a correct sample to go by, you may find these gaskets available from a good old-fashioned parts store.