opinion on front oil drain plug

[cmattina1]

went for what I thought to be a pretty simple oil change today. The previous owner must have put the drain plug on with over 100lbs of torque, and me and a friend tried for the life of us and nothing. Go the reat plug off and go about 300 ml of oil. I checked the level and it was super low, so I figured I'd put a quart in.

Still hard to say really, but I was curious if your experiences changing oul on these if you found you got an equal amount of oil out each drain plug?

 

[xjwmx]

I think it's more common for the rear to be the hard one. You need to take the sump off to check the condition of your filter, so put it in a vice while it's off and put a mile long breaker on it. Nearly all of the oil will come out of the front plug alone. Not sure about the rear.

 

[cmattina1]

ah, so just take the whole piece off, plug and all? As in, the front drain plug is in the centre of the sump which is held on by those 6 10mm bolts? I was earlier today and it is dark out now so i cant check

I guess it will be a bit messy.

 

[xjwmx]

The plug's got a magnet in it, so it would be better not to heat it.

 

[aldo5468]

went for what I thought to be a pretty simple oil change today. The previous owner must have put the drain plug on with over 100lbs of torque, and me and a friend tried for the life of us and nothing. Go the reat plug off and go about 300 ml of oil. I checked the level and it was super low, so I figured I'd put a quart in.

Still hard to say really, but I was curious if your experiences changing oul on these if you found you got an equal amount of oil out each drain plug?

Same thing on my bike when I bought it - some PO way over-tightened the front drain plug, for reasons I'll never know or understand. I had a friend hold the rear end to keep the bike from turning on the center stand while I applied a long piece of pipe over my socket handle - it finally came loose but took a whale of a tug.

 

[retiredgentleman]

Amateur mechanics think they need to reef on the drain plugs when they spot a drop of oil under the frame. Its likely just a worn out gasket on the drain plug(s).

With a good gasket, you will seal with 40 ft-lbs.

On those 6 small bolts on the sump plate, don't exceed 7 ft-lbs.

 

[5twins]

Yes, usually the seal ring or gasket on the plug is worn out so the P.O. over-tightens it to try and compensate. When you order a new pair, order 2 pairs so you always have an extra on hand.

 

[Jawknee21]

Amateur mechanics think they need to reef on the drain plugs when they spot a drop of oil under the frame. Its likely just a worn out gasket on the drain plug(s).

With a good gasket, you will seal with 40 ft-lbs.

On those 6 small bolts on the sump plate, don't exceed 7 ft-lbs.

i need a torque wrench. i broke 2 of those bolts off trying to get it "just a little tighter". im pretty dumb like that...

 

[retiredgentleman]

Yes, a torque wrench is a must on these bikes! Don't buy a cheap one. Buy a good quality one and you'll have it for a long time..............probably need to spend around $90.00.

 

[xjwmx]

As long as it won't back out it's probably tight enough - oil won't come out of my drain until the plug's halfway out, when I change oil.

 

[xjwmx]

probably need to spend around $90.00.

Get a used beam style at a pawn shop, USA made, recognized brand. Talk him down to $15 or less.

 

[retiredgentleman]

You get what you pay for. I would not buy a used torque wrench unless you have it recently calibrated. With a used tool..............has it been dropped?..............has it been over stressed? To many unknowns.

I have a beam type torque wrench, but I much prefer to use my "click" type. The "click" type are accurate and easy to use in any position.

Its a personal choice, you could make do with just a beam type. It might depend on what you think your time is worth, when you break off a bolt in the engine sump or an exhaust stud for example.

 

[xjwmx]

You calibrate a beam type by bending the pointer to point at zero. As far as I know, age has no effect on beam types. I read an article where tests showed that both types were equally accurate. If you ever handled your click type roughly, it's supposed to be recalibrated. That is not realistic. Besides, some Gomer in the store probably dropped it before you even bought it.

Yes, the click type is easier to use. Is that convenience worth breaking off an exhaust stud or a sump bolt?

 

[Jawknee21]

it might depend on what you think your time is worth, when you break off a bolt in the engine sump or an exhaust stud for example.

The only good thing about this is I'm getting pretty good at using extractors. Even though that's nothing to be proud of, I gotta find something good about it. Haha...

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[xjwmx]

^Is that from tightening or loosening? If from tightening, go by feel as well as the torque wrench. Don't exceeed proper torque, but stop early if feels funny like it's stretching. Put a new fastener there if you think you oughta. If it's from loosening, get yourself a nut cracker and/or Dremel tool to cut a slot down the side of the nut to make it easy to turn.

Get the Dremel tool used at a pawn shop. Talk him down to $12 or less.

 

[gggGary]

I prefer to remove the plug with the pan still on the bike, lay the bike over on grass or an old rug or something to protect the shiny stuff then give the old breaker bar a kick, off she comes.

 

[Purplezinger]

Once you get the plug out (and either way works, pipe extension on your breaker bar or remove sump /use vice to hold) If you don't have the proper copper sealing washer, in a pinch you can use a viton (rubber) "O" ring. Take the drain plug to farm store or hardware store and find a "O" ring that fits a little snug. I prefer farm store O rings because they usually for hydraulic use, were as hardware store O rings are usually for plumbing service. I've run many hundreds or miles using the O ring method while waiting for the copper seals to arrive.

 

[sgallaty]

I swear by a combination of torque and light sharp impact.

I take a breaker bar and lean into it, then tap the pretensioned end with a hammer lightly.

Has to be a breaker bar, because sockets have too much play and you lose the shock of the blow. It's not the intensity of the impact, but the sharpness that does it for me.

 

[jamesgs4]

I put a box end wrench on the plug, and give it a nice sharp rap with a deadblow hammer. Works every time.

 

[hmusket]

sgallaty said:

I swear by a combination of torque and light sharp impact.

I take a breaker bar and lean into it, then tap the pretensioned end with a hammer lightly.

Has to be a breaker bar, because sockets have too much play and you lose the shock of the blow. It's not the intensity of the impact, but the sharpness that does it for me.

+1
When I drained the oil out of the engine I am am moving I couldn't remove the back plug. I was going to use an electric impact while it was out of the frame, but I decided to try sgallaty's tip. Worked like a charm. Thanks.