stripped oil drain plug hole

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I recently purchased a '78 GS750 and have gleaned a lot of useful info from this site. Thanks!

This past weekend I went to do her first oil change and the drain bolt hole stripped. (Whether from my own ham-handedness or from almost 30 years of previous oil changes, I don't know.) The bolt will still thread in, but I can't put any real torque on it or it slips.

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this and can recommend a simple but reliable fix. Solutions seem to range from getting a larger, self-tapping bolt, to inserting a helicoil, to getting an expanding rubber plug. I'm wondering if maybe I can even chase the existing threads.

Also helpful would be if anybody knows the exact bolt size and thread pitch of this drain bolt. I could not seem to match the threads at the local hardware store, and the threads on this one seem less than perfect.

Thanks!

[Gerry]

Read this

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/viewtopic.php?t=14571&highlight=stripped+drain+plug

[Scud]

If nothing else seems to work for you then try Ebay, I found an oil pan complete with drain plug for $20.00 to my door.

Scud

[Jethro]

I used a rubber plug for about 10k miles on my bike. Not even expandable, just a simple rubber stopper. I guess many auto parts stores sell 'em as a temp fix, but it never leaked a bit on me. I had it helicoiled a few years ago just becasue.

[Anonymous]

I had mine strip also. I took the whole oil plate down to the local machine shop & had it drilled and tapped for a 16mm plug. In hindsight, I'd take it to an automotive machine shop and have a Helicoil put in.

[mdole]

If nothing else seems to work for you then try Ebay, I found an oil pan complete with drain plug for $20.00 to my door.

Scud

I got a complete pan and plug for $20.oo also at the local motorcycle salvage yard.

[Anonymous]

Just for the record,the Billy Rick's tip for the oversize self-tapping plug works great !

I have done this on 2 of my bikes with no problem, a low buck fix no more complicated than changing your oil, thanks again Billy.

(don't ask how I am sooo' luckly to have 2 stripped plugs)

[Gary Lich]

Mine also stripped last year and I put in a selftapping oversized plug...
(with a modification ). I drilled and tapped the center of the new plug with a straight thread (don't recall what thread size, the largest I could fit) Then I put in a bolt with a copper washer and remove that when it's time to change oil. With the smaller hole it takes a little longer to drain the oil but I don't have to risk stripping the pan hole again.

[MichaelHoward]

I put a small bead of Red RV silicone on one once, just a dab around the head of the bolt and did not leak the whole 1.5 yrs till I had it heli-coiled.

[Anonymous]

Here's how I fixed mine.


Stainless steel plate and a few screws, done. My ADHD really kicked in the day I thought of this one. :-)

Kim

[Anonymous]

Had the same thing happen to me when I first got my 82 1100E from original owner. On the first oil change, the threads came right out with the plug.

Took oil pan off and into M/C shop, they put heli-coil in, been great ever since.

I wonder if AntiSeize compound would've helped it over the years.

[triffecpa]

I had the same problem. Bought a spark plug repair kit at Autozone. Came with the proper size tap and a replacement thread insert. Not as good as a heli-coil, but the whole kit was about $14. My autoparts store didn't have the oversized self tapping plugs.