Rick, REF: Middle Gear Drain Plug

Good Afternoon,

Feedback Requested From RICK & Anyone Else That Has Something To Share!

First off, correct me if I'm wrong about anything I surmised or thought I read about the dangers of removing the middle gear drain plug.

I have an 82 xj750j Maxim and can't even see that drain plug from the bottom of the bike. IE, unless it's hidden by the 4 pipe exhaust collector that has to come off first.

I did see one picture that showed it clearly visible from underneath, but don't know what model that was taken from, or maybe the collector was already off?

I thought I read where you had previously CAUTIONED not to take the chance of stripping or breaking off this drain plug just to get a half cup of old oil out in the regular oil change process. Then I thought I read where you have since removed that plug. If so, what is the secret you have since found out to make this a lot easier to accomplish?

Was it to first try and loosen this plug when the engine was cold and you didn't have the heat expansion against the plug as you would when it was hot? Did you use a small air wrench with adjustable air supply and short pulls of the trigger, or possibly a manual hand held IMPACT DRIVER with a small hammer and small blows of a hammer to accomplish this?

Because I have previously found that while taking the large nut off the fly wheel of of a car with a large breaker bar, all it did was rotate the engine,(as if it was meant as a rotating handle), and not come loose, while taking the chance of rounding off the hex's from the 90 degree angle of the power sourse. But a straight line of power from an air wrench concentrated the power to the nut and not the shaft that turns the engine.
That plus the fact that the vibration helped loosen the nut!

If this plug is made out of aluminum and the fear of doing it this way could cause the HEX SIDES of the plug to partially round off a bit while vibrating it loose, a MET WRENCH SOCKET would then make contact and grab this plug between the hex points of the plug. However, unlike the main oil drain plug at the front of the engine, if this drain plug is that touchy and subject to breaking, then that may not be the answer either?

If the above is not the answer, would a small piece of semi ridged tubing with a 45 to 90 degree angle put through the main oil drain hole at the front of the engine after all the oil is drained out, be inserted back to that small sump hole that holds this oil in it's own cavity, and then siphon it out from there?

Or, once that small sump hole is found with the tubing, and or use an air supply to disburse that old oil from the sump while the bike is leaning forward to drain out the main oil drain hole? While a piece of wood under the center stand to raise up the bike while letting it lean more forward would expedite the flow of this oil out the main drain hole also.

For the 25% of these xj owners that have taken out this plug to do a complete drain with no problem at all, congratulations. For the remaining ones that want an easier way to accomplish this, these are only suggestions looking for answers from those that have been there, done that. Or at the least, believe there must be an easier way to accomplish this, and every idea has some possibilities for thought.

I believe any thoughts and feedback from anyone on this forum would be appreciated by all. Thanking you'll in advance for any and all suggestions!

P.S. I, like anyone else don't have all the answers and that's why I'm asking for feedback. And what I have already experienced with regular nuts and bolts might be a completely different story when working with aluminum fasteners. While this forum should encourage other thinking, ideas and suggestions that we never previously though about!

Have a good day and a better day tomorrow.

 

I believe it is above the collector. The issue is that the bolt head will shear off easily when torqued, not rounded. If it's threads are frozen at all, it'll shear. If you tighten it too tight when you re-install it, it'll shear. It's hard to get to, and even harder to get any kind of easy out or reverse drill bit in there, because it's recessed around the oil pan.

My experience, engine out, the torque in the Haynes manual was too high, so it sheared when tightening it. I had lubed the threads, so it unscrewed easily. Had to wait for one in the mail. If it was in the frame, it would have been much more of a pain.

Oil is oil. If you mix a cup of dirty oil, with 3 quarts of clean oil, it'll be pretty clean. That's why it doesn't make sense to go through all that effort, just to get old oil that you can just dilute anyway.

 

DO NOT REMOVE THE MIDDLE GEAR PLUG.

The little bit of Oil that resides in that cavity is not worth the trouble.

WARNING:
WARNING
WARNING

If you break the Plug. The Engine will Leak until you fix it.

You have to REMOVE the Exhaust System to even BEGIN facilitating repairs.

Don't touch it.
Leave it alone.
That's the Main Entrance to the Stupid Hall of Fame.

 

if youre really determined to get that oil out, and dont want to risk breaking the bolt, you could just take off the shift side engine cover.

 

I have own my XJ650J since new (now 43,500 mi.) and have pulled the middle plug every time to do the oil change (17 times now) with no issues. Unless some monkey has wrenched the crap out of it this should be no problem. I open the main plug, filter and this middle plug and let them drain overnight and button them all up the next morning. I want every drop of dirty oil out.
Tighten the middle plug up snug, but do not over due it!