I worded this the best I could. I had to drop the oil pan in my wife's car today
to replace the gasket as it was leaking. Anyway, I replaced it and after letting
it set up for an hour poured the new oil in. Started it up and no problems, aside
of a small drip at the drain plug. I then realized I forgot to replace the drain
plug washer. I tightened to plug up as much as I could without stripping it and
hopefully it will work without the washer. However, if I do have to pull the
plug and put the washer on, does anyone have any experience/advice for doing
so without losing a large quantity of oil? I understand it will be a bit messy
and will be prepared for that, I'm just wondering how to go about minimizing
the oil loss. Thanks.

John

you are going to need an extra pair of hands. Take the plug out and put your finger in the hole to stop/slow the flow of oil using your non dominant hand. Have your extra hands (helper) replace the gasket on the plug then reinstall it. Top off the fluids and you should be good to go. MESSY WAY

option 2 is to drain the fluid into a very clean pan. Replace the gasket. Then replace the oil from pan back into transmission through a filter screen to catch any unforeseen crud. CLEANER WAY

Well, I did it this morning and it didn't go nearly as bad as I thought it would. Thanks
for the advice. Draining the engine oil and then putting it back in through a filter was not
an option as I live in a condo and we can't be caught working on our vehicles.
I did the oil pan work at my parents.

Anyway, I pulled the plug and had minimal oil loss. The biggest problem of the
whole job was explaining to my wife how to put the washer on the drain plug...
several times. My five year old son was there to "help dad" and I thought
about putting him in charge of the washer situation. Anyone who needs to do
this in the future should keep in mind that it would be best to do it when the
engine has been sitting over night and the oil is cold, that way it will flow less
freely and you won't have your finger stuck in a hole holding back hot oil.
Now get your minds out of the gutter :D. Thanks again.

John

good to hear. I also live in a condo and they are absolutely ANAL about anyone working on vehicles. Glad this worked for you. I forgot to mention the hot/cold oil in my first post.

Thanks. There are several possibilities for problems. One that I thought I
would encounter was getting the oil plug back in without having to fumble
around. Amazingly when I put it back in it was as if it lined up perfectly
and caught the threads first shot. Not a bad job all in all and not a drop
weeping since.

John