Murphy must love me - Oil Drain Plug Issue

Hey all, need wisdom yet again.

I did search on this topic - and I found some hits, but they were over 1 yr old, so curious if things have changed and if anything new can be out.

Long and short, I pulled my oil drain plug to change my oil. So it finished draining, I cleaned everything up and I start to hand thread the drain screw back in.. and...it keeps turning............I look in my oil catcher and I see aluminum threads... I unscrew the bolt and out comes a few more threads.... I felt inside of it, and I would estimate at least half of the threads are gone from the drain whole.........

I just got the damn bike registered today and only put 6 miles on it to warm it up so I could change the oil ;-(

So, what is the "BEST" way of fixing this? Price wise is important to me too, but honestly I am more interested in the best fix that won't cause me problems down the road - and a fix that is quickest so I can actually get on the road. Preferably something I don't have to rip the bike apart to do.....





Any thoughts? The whole thing is making me sick here ;-/

thanks!

 

You will need to Heli coil it. All is not lost here. Take the plug to the auto parts store like NAPA. They will have what you need or at least be able to order it.

 

how hard is it to helicoil it? do I have to drop the pan, or can I do it with everything on? Not really sure whats involved.

 

YOu have to drill the hole straight. So the exhaust may need to come off so you can get a straight shot at it. If you are not comfortable doing this you shouldn't. Get the kit and read the directions. Good Luck

MN

 

damn, i was hoping against that. Means I have to take the fairing off first, and then the pipes and all that.

Is the hole in the oil pan or in the engine itself? If I am going to take everything apart and its in the oil pan, i might as well just rip out the pan from by parts bike and replace the whole thing

 

Its in the pan. You just need to get a straight shot at it. I can't see what you got in the way so you are the best judge of what needs to happen. Hope it all works out for you.

 

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I got a full fairing that I would have to remove simply to get to the pipes so I could remove them to get a straight shot to it.

 

Sorry to hear. let us know it works out.

 

Will do - a few more questions if anyone has an interest in answering ;-)

So, with the helicoil - how big is the worry about metal shavings from drilling it out to get the coil in? do i have to flush out the system afterwords to be safe?

If I have a parts bike, would it be easier to just remove the oil pans from each and swap them? With that though I'd need a new gasket for it right?

 

You'll need to flush and use grease on the tap so the shavings will stick to the grease.. Go slow and watch the shavings. shouldn't get too much in there. I did it to one of my bikes and no trouble as of yet 2200 miles since.

 

If you want to get back in action fast ... head to AutoZone and get an "Emergency Drain Plug"
The Emergency Drain Plug is a "Self Tapping Drain Plug"
You grease it up and Install it. Remove it and Clean-off the cuttings.

The Hex Part is Standard.
The Thread Part is Oversized.
You don't drill.
You don't lose a lot of time haggling with a complicated and unnecessary repair.
http://www.cgenterprises.com/drain_plug ... repair.htm

If you get a self tapping "PiggyBack" take some measures to make sure that it works like a PiggyBack the next time around.

Take the Center Plug out.
Install the Outer Self-Tapping Plug according to the instructions.
REMOVE the Plug ... Using it like a Tap ... In, Out a little, In, Out ... etc.
Clean the Grease off the Outer Plug with Carb Cleaner.
Spray the New Threads in the Sump with Carb Cleaner.
Clean. Dry.
Apply RED Thread-locker to the Plug and Sump.
Re-install the Outer.
Apply Anti-Seize Compound to the Inner Plug.
The INNER Plug is the one that will be coming out in the future!
http://www.cgenterprises.com/drain_plug ... repair.htm

 

yeah an oversized plug would do the quick fix, I think they sell them in three sizes, oops!, not again!!, and you have got to be kidding me!!!

 

Cool I was not aware of the self tapping drain plugs - thanks Rick! I'll keep that in mind - in case...

 

Rick,

With the piggy back, i didn't see any with the magnet on it (for obvious reasons I would think). with these bikes is that an issue?

Long term, these oversized plugs are ok? are the a pain to put in? (trying to figure if I have to remove my full fairing and pipes to do it, and how bad I can screw it up)

thanks for advice, always appreciated

 

If it were me I would buy a new gasket and swap the oil pan from the parts bike so you don't have to go through the whole fairing/exhaust teardown again. "Quick fixes" have a habit of not being either.

 

I personaly would not use a oversize plug for two reasons. First off is the ones I see have no magnets. Second they are making there own threads as to run them in. A few times in and out and those threads are bad. Now you have to go to the next size.

Its for sure a quick way to back on the road but its an issue that will come up again.

The one that you reem in and has a center plug you can take out is better than running the oversize plug in and out but I have never seen one with a magnet to pick up those fine metal particals the like to float around in the oil. You will need to research and see whats available.

 

Hmm.... Well, on the link Rick posted I did see oversized plugs w/ magnets so not too worried about that.

As for the other, if I used an oversized now, and then in the fall (maybe 1 oil change in between) I could take everything apart and use the helicoil. That might not be a bad trade off, unless there are issues I don't know of with this idea.

 

WooHoo! I am back in the saddle (so to speak ;-P )

Went to autozone to look for an oversized plug, the people working were partially brain dead and one guy even said "I've never heard of what you are talking about, they don't exist'. So, I looked around - saw some drain plugs but no oversized ones.. Went to a local Pepboys - they had a piggyback oversize, so I got it.. Got home, and found out 2 things... The actual hex was way larger then my largest socket - and it was too large to fit in the area where the bolt needed to go.... So then I went to Advanced Auto Parts. Found the exact thing I needed for 2.20$!

Got home and started to work. Went in about 1/3, then backed it out and cleaned out all of the metal shavings.. Went in 2/3, and backed it out, went in full and backed it out and cleaned it up. Greasing up the bolt each time to help with catching the shavings. Clean out good, used a few magnets and some scrappers. Then I ran a quart of reclaimed oil through it with the plug out just to further flush it.

Put it all back together, put in a new filter for good measure, and I am off to the races!!

I know this isn't the best fix, but it works for now. Later on I am going to remove the oil pan from my parts bike, clean it up and in the fall I am going to put that on this bike so there is no issues ;-)

Thanks for all of the advice!!

 

jgb1503

Returned to ACTIVE Status.

Very good.

 

Very cool glad you got it resolved!

 

So am I!!

Drove to work today on her, very nice very nice ;-) Took the long way, a normal 15 minute trip took me almost 40, lol

;-)