Since day one, i think I’ve had the worst possible luck when ordering parts or services. The first thing I ordered was in a group buy where the seller cancelled everything after payment was sent (out of their control and refunded), the second thing was shipping issues with a 99 spec wing, was turned down by customs multiple times (eventually made it thanks to a great seller), had electronic issues with two separate items, shipped back and forth multiple times (taken care of by the sellers without issue), and now I ordered a matte carbon cluster hood which showed up 3 months later than it was supposed and I finally got it today and opened a box to reveal a cluster surround (not a hood as I ordered) that is cracked and the turn signal arrows are very poorly cut out (waiting to see how the company handles this one as of now). Thankfully everyone so far has great with communication and making things right so I’m hoping for this to workout the same 😅. Anyone else have consistent bad luck like this? Haha

 

Oh damn! I thought I had bad luck. That sucks. I know how you feel though. Mine usually goes like this, I buy something brand new. Get home only to find out it doesn’t work. Won’t power on or missing parts. It can be anything. Tv, stereo, appliances, clothing, etc.
I usually know I’ll have to order the same thing again. 2nd time around everything works. C’est la vie.

I was referencing crush washers for the cars recently. There’s exactly 2 types all Mazda vehicles use. Which I now know are M14’s and M18’s. Didn’t know this before. Just went by the part number. So, I order what I thought was going to be M18’s. Waited a week and a half. Got them yesterday so I can do a tranny fluid change on the FD. Opened up the package and found they were the M14’s. Well, at least I can use these for the next 50 oil changes.

 

9956-21-800. so with a bulk number, 995 is a washer (there are all kinds of stuff, screws, nuts, bolts) 21 is Copper 41 is aluminum. 800 is the size, (actually 1800 is the size). they come in 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 16mm, 18mm, 20mm, 22mm and 24mm(!)

 

I can only imagine how many other washers I’d encounter if I started to take apart the entire car. Thankfully since I’m only doing fluid changes on both the 8 and 7, I’ve only had to carry M18’s and M14’s. M18’s for the diff fill plug, and release plug on both the 7 and 8. On the 8 for the tranny both plugs as well for the M18’s. On the FD only the release plug. The other ones are plumbing style plugs.

Doing my bro’s oil change also require m18’s. The only thing I’ve had to use m14’s is for my oil changes on the FD.

 

You've never looked at the twins' coolant lines or their oil feed, have you... M14 and M16

Between this, how often I use them and the various projects on my E38 740i which have needed M18 such as a DIY Transmission Dipstick tube, I find myself saying "screw it" and order them in bulk. If I need one, I order 10 and always in Copper. Copper ones can be re-used by annealing them. Quick & dirty method is to run a butane torch over both sides for 30 seconds each. Now I have everything from M6 to M24, plus M30 for my uncle's 750IL transmission fill plug (them zany Germans put it on the bottom...lol), and never paid more than $0.25 a piece. Most of the Euro parts shops like FCP Euro have the oddball sizes, but M18 and smaller is easily found on Ebay/Amazon/etc for cheap.