uh oh....

[pinball242]

im stupid. stripped the oil drain plug hole on the swing arm. overtightened while in a rush to change the oil. was basically spinning freely, was able to remove by unscrewing it, drain plug is fine, bit of metal from the hole however, o-ring a little damaged. replaced o-ring with a slightly thicker one, and added a little threadlocker, hand tightened up to the furthest point without going over. finished oil change. im freakin out now. no leaks that i can tell, but im so nervous that its gonna come loose. i think i coulda used a little more threadlock but its full of expensive oil now and im just like . any suggestions/words of encouragement are VERY welcome. feel free to bash me also, as i deserve it.

 

[theoctopus]

Were you paying attention to something else when you accidentally the whole thing?

 

[bfletcher]

If you are really that concerned, heli-coil it. If heli-coils work with sparks plugs, an oil drain plug should be no problem.

 

[BuellerPilot]

Tard!

J/K, everyone screws up now and again. I hope you allowed that thread locker to dry 2 hours before adding that expensive oil? If you did, you may be ok till your next change, but personally I'd be worried to death over it falling out and either oil slicking all over the rear wheel, or running the engine dry of oil. Either scenario is more expensive then the oil you put in it.

You can heli-coil it, or drill and re-tap it to a bigger size plug. Both options require draining the fresh oil out of it. After re-working the drain hole, you should flush it out really well to make sure you didn't get shavings in there.

Good Luck, fix it RIGHT, pay a little now or a lot later (hopefully you won't pay the ultimate price if you get an 007 style oil slick let go on your rear wheel).

~Mike....

 

[fwkapaun]

Drilling and re-tapping works the best if you have the knowledge, means and material to do it. For what it is worth, we all screw up from time to time.

 

[jdbuell]

Im with BuellerPilot

I had a friend who didn't tighten his drain plug properly and after oil coated the rear tire he ended up in hospital with a broken leg and wrecked bike.

Get a mechanic to put in the helicoil if your not confident with buying a kit and doing it yourself. Sometimes these things cost a little than u want but that is the nature of owning a machine.

 

[bfletcher]

You could always get one of those rubber "thinga-ma-jiggers", that expands when you screw in the bolt, in the center of it. If you wanted to wait until your next oil change.

 

[bfletcher]

"007 style"............LMAO!!!!!!

 

[bfletcher]

I'm thinking you should've polished, honed, and or de-glazed your drain plug before re-installing it. Just a thought.

 

[pinball242]

yea i was distracted because im at work and trying to get it done between work stuff. either way, yea the 007 oil slick is my main concern. i guess im gonna drain it and try to heli-coil it or i kinda like the rubber thinga ma jigger idea, my buddy in the shop says he can help. FACK! dont have time for this. ill have to make time i guess. thanks dudes

 

[bfletcher]

Regardless what you do, I would be concerned with the metal shavings that could potentially get into one of the cylinders.

 

[BuellerPilot]

A trick to save your oil if you want to use a rubber expanding plug temperately would be to use a shop vacuum. Make sure it has a pretty long hose (at least 6 feet long), wrap the end with a shop rag, place over the oil fill hole, then pull the drain plug. I've done this on cars and there's a lot more area and or open space and air between the oil and vacuum, so it might not work as well on the bike. It'll "GLUG GLUG GLUG" but should keep most of the oil from draining as you switch out drain plugs to the rubber type and save you some $ from having to buy more oil. Vary to vacuum pull by leaving an air gap between the vacuum end with rag and the oil fill hole. IT REALLY WORKS. I still suggest doing it properly your next oil change by heli-coil or better a up-sized drain plug and re-tapping the hole.

~Mike....

 

[anrkizm95]

put some weather strip adhesive on the head of the plug so it contacts the swingarm and let it dry.that will hold it in place until the next oil change.other than helicoil or timesert you can get an oversized plug with a plug in it.basicly its a plug in a plug and it self taps.you screw the main plug into the swingarm use permanent thread lok.install the secondary plug into the main plug and your done.this method is widely used in the automotive industry.if tihs was my bike i would use a timesert but the above method is safe and proven.

 

[Sirius815]

The expanding rubber piece is a pretty good temp solution IMO, however I personally would not go very far. I would definitely go ahead and tap bigger or helicoil. I've done two helicoil jobs now and while the kit is usually between 35 and 50 bucks, it's well worth it as it allows you to keep your stock hardware. Although a non-stock drain plug isn't really a big deal to begin with.

 

[pinball242]

OK, i went ahead and drained it into a cleaned out pan, sent the plug to the parts store, hopefully they bring back one a little larger (i got it like that), and my friend says he can tap it to the new size, then pour a little through to hopefully get any shavings out. then ill plug it up and refill the oil. hope it works!

 

[Sirius815]

It'll be fine. Just make sure you flush it well. Also - if he has to drill a little to enlarge the hole for the tap, make sure you drill slow so that you don't throw shavings everywhere. Last thing you want is for a shaving to get thrown into a corner in the swingarm that a flush won't get out.

 

[anrkizm95]

if he is just going up one size he shouldnt need to drill putting grease on the tap will catch and hold the metal shavings

 

[dave_xb12r]

Can't you just get a bigger drain plug?

 

[anrkizm95]

they also make oversized self tapping drain plugs.

 

[pinball242]

agreed, drill slow. but yea hopefully we can just run the new size through in one swoop. grease on the tap to catch shavings is an awesome idea too.