Old thread but I was wondering if you fixed your microwave? Usually thermostats are closed (they let the current going through). This particular blue painted maybe be the fan control. It is normally open (circuit is broken) until it reaches a certain temperature (40C or so) then it closes and the fan kicks in. To test it, you have to warm it up a bit then use a voltmeter in Ohm position. It should read a resistance then. Hope that helps.

The washer is aluminum (crushed washer), not the drain plug (at least on my Civic 2001) and needs to be changed each time. My car is 180000 miles and the drain plug is as good as new.

This is a nice article. I have noticed that removing the filter can be really messy so I would suggest to put some rags underneath to catch all the oil from the filter. Also I use the jack to raise the car higher in order to speed up the draining process.