Jinxed.. stripped oil drain

[Gio]

This time last year - within a few days of the first ride of the season ... I was sidelined by a car that failed to stop at the scene. First ride this year was a short one just to warm up for an oil change ... and now a problem of my own making. After letting the oil drain overnight I was re-fitting the drain plug - and managed to strip the thread from the drain hole ... as in the drain plug turns completely freely and some nice swarf as a result - kind of ruined my day to say the least (!) - it's been a while since I made such a basic mistake and a reminder that they can still happen. It was cross-threaded rather than over-tightenened and just too anxious to get some fresh oil in there I guess..

 

So am now considering my options and come up with

 

a) replace the sump ($$)

re-tap the drain hole and fit an over-size plug

c) block the drain hole (with a bolt perhaps) and use the adjacent blank in future

 

Interestingly enough - page D4 of the manual describes this blank as "oil draining plug B" (when viewed from the rear the left has the oil return line, the centre the smaller drain plug with magnet and the right this plug B - anyone know what this would have been there for ... or is it just me that has been using the centre hole for draining?)

 

So - anyone have a used lower sump kicking around or recommendations for the solution ..?

[guzzigary]

Bummer......

Haven't used it before but heard Time-sert works well,much better than Heli -coils.

[Trevini]

Can you not get it helicoiled?

[Scud]

A machine shop might be able to fix that quickly and cheaply. For super-cheap, you could fill the hole with Quick-Steel and resign yourself to dropping the sump for every oil change - or draining the oil from the oil-return line fitting. In this case, you would lose your magnet, which seems like a bad idea.

 

Alternatively, I have a fugly black (crinkle paint) lower sump "kicking around" that is structurally sound, but has a broken fin. Yours for cost of shipping and a beer. It came from my 2002 Red/Grey parts bike, which had been crashed. You'll want to get friendly with some paint and paint-stripper before you fit it on a silver engine.

 

I have also wondered about the purpose of the RH plug. I use the center one to drain the oil. 

[Gio]

Yes - I guess some kind of heli-coil (or Time-sert as recommended by guzzigary) repair might be a better option ... but have no personal experience of doing this.

[Gio]

Thanks Scud ... I'll keep that option in mind - much appreciated! I usually drop the sump every other oil change (10k km) to replace the filter (and clean out any cheesy deposits) but otherwise draining through the right hand "oil-line blank" fitting if centre hole gets repaired in future.

[Scud]

Cool - I think having yours repaired at a shop will be better, faster, and cheaper than getting my black one from California. But the spare is here if you need it.

 

I'm pretty sure I have a good drain plug if your threads are damaged beyond repair - but since plug is steel and sump pan is softer aluminum, your plug is probably fine.

[Gio]

Good to know and thanks again. Yes - drain plug itself looks fine ...

 

PS - I was thinking further on the purpose of the other oil-line blank ... perhaps this was to give the option of running the return line from the other side ..?

[Chuck]

Good to know and thanks again. Yes - drain plug itself looks fine ...

 

PS - I was thinking further on the purpose of the other oil-line blank ... perhaps this was to give the option of running the return line from the other side ..?

Drop the sump, helicoil (or time sert, etc.) and forget it. Nothin to it..

[Scud]

 

Drop the sump, helicoil (or time sert, etc.) and forget it. Nothin to it..

 

 

...says the life-long machinist to us wee mortals who have never done such a job before and are venturing into the unknown.

 

But that's what YouTube is for...

 

[gstallons]

 I don't know if Timesert offers a thread repair for this drain plug. You will have to measure your drain plug thread pitch and see . Tmesert is the best thread repair kit available .

[Gio]

Drain plug is 10 x 1.5mm pitch ... and have been able to source helicoil kit in that size at my local Canadian Tire - so I'm thinking to give that a go and then use the blanking plug "B" for future draining so as to reduce stress on the repair ... or do you think it's worth the additional time / expense of sourcing a time-sert (if available) ..?

[Kiwi_Roy]

Drain plug is 10 x 1.5mm pitch ... and have been able to source helicoil kit in that size at my local Canadian Tire - so I'm thinking to give that a go and then use the blanking plug "B" for future draining so as to reduce stress on the repair ... or do you think it's worth the additional time / expense of sourcing a time-sert (if available) ..?

The helicoil repair is a stainless steel thread, I believe it's stronger than the original thread into soft aluminum.

I read somewhere that aircraft have helicoils installed from day one, can anyone verify that?

[gstallons]

Go with the Heli-Coil kit. Just do it properly and you will not have any troubles .

[Chuck]

 

Drain plug is 10 x 1.5mm pitch ... and have been able to source helicoil kit in that size at my local Canadian Tire - so I'm thinking to give that a go and then use the blanking plug "B" for future draining so as to reduce stress on the repair ... or do you think it's worth the additional time / expense of sourcing a time-sert (if available) ..?

The helicoil repair is a stainless steel thread, I believe it's stronger than the original thread into soft aluminum.

I read somewhere that aircraft have helicoils installed from day one, can anyone verify that?

 

The FAA approves Helicoils, but as far as I know they're not OEM. They don't approve time sert and all the other similar inserts. Not because they aren't any good.. it's because they are not *approved.* 

If you have a heli coil kit in your hand, just use it. It'll be fine, and you'll wonder what all the fuss was.