Oil Pan Drain Plug Leak

[welshsage]

Yesterday when I changed the oil on my 2000 Corolla, a black hard plastic like ring came out of the oil pan, screwed into the drain plug. In all the times I have changed the oil on this car, I have never seen this. As I was wiping down the outside of the oil pan with a rag, more of this hard black debris came off from inside the oil pan.

In the past I have never used an exterior oil plan drain plug gasket, and I did not use one this time. However, my car was leaking an incredible amount of oil from around the drain plug after I did the oil change, so I decided to attach a fiber exterior drain plug gasket to the drain plug. I did this by making a cut in the gasket and attaching it to the plug without completely removing the plug, because I did not want to drain the new oil. The car still drips oil, but not as much. Before this oil change, my car did not leak any oil.

Is there some sort of seal or gasket inside the oil pan? If there is it seems that is what came out when I changed my oil. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem, and what the fix is and its possible cost.

[tech8]

The black hard ring was the gasket for the oil drain plug. Toyota sold different types. It acts to provide a good seal and to help somewhat from over-tightening the drain plug. The fix is to get a gasket for the drain plug, and the cost is the oil and a drain plug gasket.