Ok...I Effed Up

[kdawg302000]

So, i have been riding, but not taking the time to finish my paint mod, or tail mod (fire to light). I have. Been riding, especially since the roads in Cali all have had Covid for the past year.

Well, i have done probably 100 oil changes with 10+ on my Bolt. I have always torqued it to the spec 26-29 ft/lb and I stripped the threads on the drain. After reading through befire I asked this question, i see that the rule of thumb is to hand tighten. SMH

My question is do should I take a go at re-threading or should i just buy a new swingarm, as its only like $100 bucks or so on the ebay.

Gotta be honest, never done either and i throughly expect 34 to tell me ghat replacing the rear pegs should fix it and cooter to post a thread, already explaining the best option/process. And i welcome them both with open arms.

Lay it on me.

 

[outthere]

Mine was JB welded in place before I changed out the swinging arm. Just need to pull an oil line. 29 ft/lb seems a bit high.

 

[BuellyBagger]

My personal choice would be to re thread it. Either a different sized plug or helicoil it.(unless theres some reason I'm unaware of that makes it more difficult on this part) I could have either done in an half hour, I'm guessing r+i time for the swingarm is a bit longer

 

[Cooter]

Time-sert is slightly better than heli-coil but either would be fine.

The well documented spec error in the manual is supposed to be In/Ibs, not Ft/lbs, but either way its an o-ring sealing no pressure, in aluminum. Hand tight + 1/2 turn is plenty:up:

No worries man, it's a Buell-izm. Quirky bikes for quirky people:angel:

 

[34nineteen]

Actually, here is what you need.

Oil pan Thread Repair kit 1/2-20# 0122A Time-Sert https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L1L7YY2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_J9412Z263X2SNA4CYHN7

I bought this for my Ss when it came to me a pre-stripped plug. I loaned it to another member who basically ehhh... we’ll say effed it up.


You could also just go to an auto parts store and pick up a generic oversized drain plug also.

Sadly, St. Paul is out of the drop pegs for XB’s and i have a feeling they may be gone forever.

What year is your bike? I may have a spare swingarm I’d sell to you dirt cheap if push comes to shove.

 

[kdawg302000]

As always, thank you all.

I ordered some time serts and shoukd have them by wednesday. I watched a video of a guy using them on a honda Odyssey. Seemed decently simple. My next post might be me negotiating with 34 for the replacement swingarm.

Ill respond in a few days.

 

[kdawg302000]

Yeah, seemed way too much, but i do numbers, not metals.
Never had an issue before, but must have just softened each time i crushed it in there. Lol

 

[kdawg302000]

I guess the one positive is i got my drop pegs last year. Woo hoo.

 

[GregoXB]

So, i have been riding, but not taking the time to finish my paint mod, or tail mod (fire to light). I have. Been riding, especially since the roads in Cali all have had Covid for the past year.

Well, i have done probably 100 oil changes with 10+ on my Bolt. I have always torqued it to the spec 26-29 ft/lb and I stripped the threads on the drain. After reading through befire I asked this question, i see that the rule of thumb is to hand tighten. SMH

My question is do should I take a go at re-threading or should i just buy a new swingarm, as its only like $100 bucks or so on the ebay.

Gotta be honest, never done either and i throughly expect 34 to tell me ghat replacing the rear pegs should fix it and cooter to post a thread, already explaining the best option/process. And i welcome them both with open arms.

Lay it on me.

I made the same mistake. I have a timesert kit if you want to buy. I'll sell it for $80 shipped.

Drain the oil, lay the bike on it's side for the procedure.

 

[34nineteen]

I made the same mistake. I have a timesert kit if you want to buy. I'll sell it for $80 shipped.

Drain the oil, lay the bike on it's side for the procedure.

I've heard of this technique also, but it sort of spooked me.

 

[kdawg302000]

Damn, wish i would have waited. Just got one on amazon for 120. Thanks for the offer though.

Are you saying to lay it on its side, so that the new threads are straight? Kinda nervous about laying it on its side. But if it works, who am I to judge.

Or are you F***ing with me? Im not that gullible, but im not mechanic and I know you guys have a ton of tips and tricks. I dont want to tip it and flood it or screw up a bank sensor or something.

 

[34nineteen]

Damn, wish i would have waited. Just got one on amazon for 120. Thanks for the offer though.

Are you saying to lay it on its side, so that the new threads are straight? Kinda nervous about laying it on its side. But if it works, who am I to judge.

Or are you F***ing with me? Im not that gullible, but im not mechanic and I know you guys have a ton of tips and tricks. I dont want to tip it and flood it or screw up a bank sensor or something.

I would drain the gas out of it first. It should be ok, if you lay it on pillows or something soft. Once you get the the helicoil kit in, it will make more sense why laying it/leaning it over makes sense. Luckily I had a stock muffler on mine at the time, so I was able to easily jack it up to fix where someone jacked it up in the first place.

My swingarm is an early one 2003-2005 and if you want it, I'd sell it for $25+ shipping... or if you showed up at my front door, I'd just let you have it.

 

[GregoXB]

Another tip, coat the drill bit in grease to catch the shavings.

 

[Cooter]

IMO all unnecessary. Put the bike on a paddock stand to square it up and lift it slightly, lay on an old towel and do the job.
Using grease on the drill tip is a good idea, and the bike being upright will help shavings use that 'gravity thing' to stay out of the oil reservoir. Drill a little, clean the bit, re-grease, repeat. A few small shavings won't matter, it still goes through the screen and the filter before getting into the bike.

Use a carpenter square to help you line up the drill bit and tap.

If you Eff it up really really badly, call 34:19 and get that swingarm

 

[34nineteen]

Put the bike on a paddock stand to square it up and lift it slightly

You have to lift it more than slightly. You could do it on a paddock, maybe if you set in on a couple of 2x4's... but a better choice may be a steel rod through the rear axle with a set of jack stands on either side to get the required height. For some reason I didnt think of that when I had to do it to mine. The drill and the bit make for a pretty long combo.

 

[GregoXB]

I siphoned out my fuel and laid it on the side on triple carpets. Lays nice on the puck, no issues. You get clear access to sit comfortably and hold your drill nice and straight. If you never done this job before you want to make it as easy as possible for yourself. I would even recommend watching a video or two and practice on something first.... Of course if you are a pro, these steps would be totally unnecessary. I'm sure someone who does this frequently could get it done in 5 minutes while hanging upside down.

 

[Cooter]

Pretty much ^^^^^ lol.
I did use my 90* cordless drill. Wait, not everyone has one of those? oops!

 

[kdawg302000]

Alrighty, after starting a new job, moving, trip with my kids to seattle, i sat down and got it done. I gotta be honest, Now that i have a garage (lost mine in the divorce) and not on an inclined car port, it was pretty easy. Bought a motorcycle jack from Harbor freight, For a hundo, jacked it up and strapped it down. Knocked it out in about 45 minutes or so with a a socket wrench. The grease on the bits worked wonders, felt like college.

No more leak and even torqued it down to the 45lbs the manual recommends....just kidding, dont have an aneurysm.

Thank you guys as always.

 

[Cooter]

HEY DON'T!!..... Lol good one:black_eyed: Glad you got it done. Perfect riding weather in Seattle now. You should enjoy it before it isn't.:angel:

 

[kdawg302000]

Oh god no...i dont live there anymore. I live in the samta cruz area now. Way more expensive and noone owns guns, so ill live like a king if the revolution ever comes.

So i noticed a leak from my primary cover today. Not the little window at the top, but the bigger one that looks directly into the chain. I unscrewed it and low and behold the threads came out with it. So one of those is stripped. I have never taken that thing off or ever messed with those screws, so not sure how that happens. Do i need to replace the whole primary cover or is there a little fix it kit rhat i can learn to play with? Used covers arnt that much, but im liking fixing **** myself.

I already have a covef ready to buy if i need to go that route.

Thoughts?