Oil Leak HELP

ok so before i left for work i noticed a small amount of oil under the bike, i looked and it was dripping slowly from the drain screw, so i tried to tighten it but the screw just seems to keep rotating, at points it gets tight and then loose all of a sudden, so i put it at what seemed the tightest spot.

when i got out of work there was a larger spot under the bike, having only live a bit over a mile away from work i decided to try and make it. got about halfway home and it wasnt feeling right and then died at a red light. the oil light came on and wouldnt start.

i had my wife bring me some extra oil but it was unfortunatly used oil as it was all i had. no stores are open at 10:30 at night to buy new stuff. so i added more oil and eventually got it to turn over enough so that i could make it home.

the bike has been running fine up until this point, am i missing a gasket for the oil drain screw? do i need a new screw? why does this one keep spinning?

i plan on doing an oil change as soon as i can in the morning to get rid of teh old oil but what can i do about the leak?

Key Words.
Drain Plug, Stripped. Oversize Plug, Oil Pan, Sump, Remove.

 

Sounds like you STRIPPED the Drain Holes Threads.

Don't trust a stripped Plug to stay-put.

You can get an OVERSIZED Drain Plug.

Some require the Drain Hole to be re-tapped.
There are others available that are "Self-Tapping"

http://www.cgenterprises.com/drain_plugs_metric.htm

http://www.pronto.com/user/search.do?di ... et=&aceid=

 

Yep. +1 on Rick.
OR....you can install a Heli-Coil and use the existing drain plug.

 

thanks guys, any idea on which screw size i need?for an 81 maxim 550. or where to get a heli-coil?

 

ok so after i went out i pulled the plug and the thread seem fine and unstripped, could it be the thread of the oil pan?


it also seems i have a leak from another spot that is in between the pan and the exhaust some where, so i will have to pull the pipes to see exactly where that is coming from. and hopefully not have to replace teh whole pan or something.

sigh... just when i thought i was done....

Also are the oil pans different from different years? say will and 82 or 83 oil pan work on my 81? (just incase i have to buy one)

 

Josh; if the plug just turns and turns, the hole IS stripped in the sump. The engine castings are aluminum, the plug is steel. Aluminum will give up first.

All 3 years' 550s, '81 ~ '83, Seca and Maxim, are mechanically the same, so yes.

I'd replace the part; not sure what kind of luck you'd have with a HeliCoil there isn't a lot of "meat" to the casting. You could try the "oversize plug" route. I believe the plug is an M14x1.5 (14mm, thread pitch 1.5.)

 

is the sump it self replaceable? (or is that a technical term for oil pan?)

thanks fitz for the info

 

It's a fancy (and more accurate) term for the oil pan.

I believe it can be removed on the 550s without removing the motor, just the exhaust system. Be careful if you do drop the sump, your oil level sending unit is on the bottom and you do NOT want to damage it or its wiring.

 

ok yah thats kinda what i figured, dand fancy words, lol

on ebay its about 50/50 for ones that come with a sending unit attached, should i get one with or with out it? ill also check with chacal for prices jsut havent done so yet.

 

Sending units are UNGAWDLY expensive, so if you get lucky and can get a good one then go for it. It wouldn't hurt to have a good spare.

 

Save yourself a lot of needless work.

Just buy an oversized self-tapping Drain Plug.

No muss. No fuss.
Just install it in the Sump drain hole,
Done.

 

Self tapping??

 

Sort of. More like "self slightly enlarging." Rick posted a link already: http://www.cgenterprises.com/drain_plug ... repair.htm

 

ok so an update on my oil pan. ordered one off ebay, and it took forever to get here, im thinking in part due to the holiday and there being no mail deliveries that day. but anyways i got my old pan off, and when the new one arrived i checked it over and it seems to be in very good shape beside being very dirty. cleaned it up and installed it along with a new gasket as well. once i got the old pan off i inspected the threads and they were indeed stripped, almost flattened, so i think i made the right choice by getting a new sump. havent started it back up yet as i still have the exhaust off and gas tank off. and while waiting for my new oil pan to arrive i took the time to derust my gas tank using evaporust and that stuff is amazing! and now my tank looks practically brand new! well anyways before i get off topic here is some pics of the oil change swap.
old sump removed

the underside of the engine with sump removed

new sump after cleaning inside and out, i reused the sending unit i had since i knew that i worked and it was already installed, so now i just have an extra if i ever need it.


new sump installed, which makes me realize that i really need to degrease the rest of the underside of my engine, lol