Oil drain plug on side of crankcase?

I snapped off the head of the bolt on the side of my crankcase to change my oil and cannot find the technical name for this bolt anywhere. I cannot even find the name on the broken down part diagrams that the OEM parts sites offer.

 

That is not an oil drain plug. That is a plug for the main oil gallery and should not be removed. The oil drain plug is in the oil pan just behind and below the oil filter housing. Post up a pic of the broken gallery plug and we can advise you of how to remedy that problem with the least amount of risk.

Also, get a service manual. They really do help.

 

Well I hit a point in the road where I could not finish tuning my carbs, so unfortunately I took them into a local shop. I left a new oil filter and oil and showed him where the oil filter housing was and that the drain plug was below it, but that it was seized on there and that I could not get it off. Since he was going to be working on the bike I asked if he would mind changing it after he was finished with the carbs (because I don't have an impact tool and couldn't remove it). He obliged, but he decided to remove what you have informed me is the "oil gallery bolt" and he snapped off the head, because the actual oil drain plug (which is seized) would not come off for him either.

 

I don't think you could leave it like that because it would surely leak. If you cant get it out, it will need to be drilled out and the threads

chased with a tap. Careful not to get any cuttings in the oil passage.

The drain plug being seized in place doe not happen very often. Are the pipes in the way or can you get an impact socket on there?

 

We got a small impact wrench on it and it didn't move. It appears the PO had neglected to change the oil in quite some time because it is stuckkkkk and th eoil drippping from the gallery bolt is blackkkkkk. However, the Oil Gallery Bolt, threads are loose and can be threaded out with the tip of my finger. I just have to order a new one before i can crank it up, because it will vibrate out and your right it leaks oil if i run it as is. The threads are still good and it will not need to be re-tapped ( but thanks for thinking ahead!).

 

Well, here's to hoping that he was a little more delicate with the rack of carbs you gave him, but I wouldn't put a lot of faith in this particular mechanic.

 

Lol, thanks Bigshankhank. He is a good mechanic. He is just not familiar with these older Yamaha bikes. Plus i get a good deal on labor charges because i get to tinker with him sometimes, which helps me learn and saves my already anemic wallet.

 

If the oil drain plug is stuck that bad then you might consider removing the oil pan (this can be done with the engine in place) and taking it to a machine shop for extraction.

 

I don't think I understand you. Your mechanic isn't familiar enough with old Yamaha's to change the oil, but you're letting them dismantle 4 carbs? This seems counter-intuitive to me.

 

Sebastian, we aren't trying to gang up on you.
However, it is factual that nobody will take as great of care and use meticulous attention to detail when working on YOUR bike other than yourself.

It doesn't matter if you never twisted a wrench; get yourself a truck load of patience, read the Information Overload Hour, get a manual and ask questions here - there are no dumb motorcycle questions here, just lots of wise folks that CAN help.

http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/the-information-overload-hour.27544/

 

Lol I know Stumplifter and MattiThundrrr just had to say something on this forum, which is ok too.


As for working on my own bike, I completely agree with you, it is much more rewarding and you know it wasn’t done half assed. However, this is the first motorcycle I have ever owned or worked on. I started with YouTube 'how to videos' and graduated to this website, so I have gone through a lot of the steps, headaches, and sweat everyone who contributes to this website has. I started by fully tearing down my carbs "Church of Clean style" as yall would ask (check out my picture if you don’t fully believe me lol.


- I re-ran all new gas lines,

- Tore off my entire exhaust system (headers, down to collector box, to muffler tips removed rust and wrapped)

- Rebuilt my petcock and vacuum line

- Cleaned my tank (but got somebody else to actually line it).


I have done a decent amount for only owning/ working on a motorcycle for 2 months, and it is all thanks to this forum. However, I could not sync my carbs correctly. I wet set them with the bench method and gas float like told to on this website. I do not own a color tune and my #3 exhaust pipe was not getting hot (#3 cylinder not firing), so I figured for only $200 I would let a mechanic work on it. They are a custom shop, so he doesn’t specialize on older Yamaha bikes like you folks here know so much about. He does know the basics of a bike and builds bikes from the ground up, so I did trust him to understand the workings of a carburetor enough to let him sync mine, regardless if he didn’t know that my 'oil gallery bolt' was not an oil drain plug, but I do appreciate the concern.


I don’t want to rant or defend my decisions on my bike, as they are exactly that "my decisions and my bike" which will not affect any other members learning ability form this site, and I don’t want this thread to end up as one of the many off topic forum rants like a lot do on here. The constructive criticism is much appreciated, Kmoe your vast wealth of knowledge is always appreciated, and anyone’s personal comments are....

 

No offense intended toward your mechanic nor your wrenching skills, and take it from me the folks here are more eager to see another XJ on the road than any other possible consideration. Good luck with getting it running.

 

Yup! That's a billion Carb pieces! You have gotten further in your resto than I. Sorry if you thought that i was criticizing your decisions. Everyone has their own path to walk ... I am a long way from an expert. It just seemed odd to me that you would trust the mechanic after the oil change situation.
PS What's the cool whip for?

 

Uh, isn't it obvious? I mean, if you have to ask, you really should re-evaluate your life.

 

No worries, the oil change was the last thing done (I guess i should have explained that from the beginning - I just didn't focus on those kind of details since i didn't think they were relevant to my thread... until the criticism came ) . I went to pick up the bike because it was running correctly, and he was changing the oil while I was waiting to take it home and that's when he broke off the bolt; so it wasn't like he did that first and I ignored any negligence out of poor judgement and then let him continue to work on my bike. We did tape it up (for a moment so it wouldn't spew oil) and he showed me that the bike was in fact running as it should.


Now I have to wait for the part to come in and its killing me! I feel like the waiting for parts is half of the battle of doing projects like this. I would honestly rather be busting my knuckles up in a tight spot over and over than have to wait on parts (just because it’s out of my power).


Hahaha, the cool whip is a bucket of old nails. I am the guy who sees a bolt while walking and picks it up because I have a whole drawer of 13mm 2 1/2 inch hex bolts, or whatever the case may be!

 

yup you got a real good deal alright, and learned how not to drain oil .
if you can raise the rear of the bike safely you should be able to drain most of the oil out through the hole under the oil filter cover (with cover removed)
you will not get it all but you will get most of it.

while waiting for the part you can detail the bike

 

you fog the carbs with it to keep them clean then you have someone like smilely lick it off, its good for protecting nipples on the carb and petcock too

 

I have mentioned the same general thoughts that were posted above to many that come to this web site.

There is no need to take anyone's comments here personally.

 

+1.

Gary H.

 

Pull the pan, extract the bolt. If its truly seized, put another pan and good bolt on.

 

why would he take off the oil pan? there is nothing that can hold it better than the engine. all he needs is a longer handle on his socket or a impact gun, it's not hard to get to. if it strips, then it's time to take it off and get another one

 

Well, he already said that the bolt is so seized that even with an impact gun it wouldn't come off. So worst case, pull the pan, and machine the bolt out, or put a pan with a good bolt on. This way the pan can be cleaned out, too, and inspect for bits that maybe shouldn't be there, too. Just a suggestion.....

 

must have a impact gun from Bed Bath and Beyond

 

We don't know the condition of the head of the drain plug, I would suspect its so buggered up its not able to hold a decent socket on it to get it off.
The two most screwed up things from pervious owners are stripped oil filter housing bolts and drain plugs in my estimation

 

MN-Maximus you are the winner but we tried vice grips and still couldn't get it off, either way we dropped the pan and then we're able to pound it out and re-tap. Now it's all in working order.

 

I rest my case

 

Mn-maxims and I share the same brain

 

Great minds think alike!

 

So if you share a brain is that 1/2 each...
Similar thing with a long time friend our wives believe we share a brain and sometimes one of us is using way more than the other

 

Yep

 

I guess I would have just drilled it and chased the threads , to each their own I guess.

 

I could have I was just worried about the metal shavings, so I dropped it to make sure i didn't get any back in the oil.

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

anyone have an actual answer to this? maybe with a part number or searchable name??

 

For which qustion? There are several in this thread.
If you're asking about the question in the thread topic, that was answered. Start a conversation with Chacal for the replacement part.

 

yes main topic, thanks