Stripped Oil Pan Drain Bolt hole...

[Detman101]

Well, went to change the oil this saturday and I forgot to put a crush washer on the bolt after throwing out the old one.
Tightened the bolt down and it still leaked oil drops. So I tightened it some more thinking it needed it and then the bolt gave instead of stopping! :x 8O

Twisted it more thinking that it might have slipped threads somehow (yeah right!) and the leak increased.

Ran in the house like a nutcase scrambling for the oil drain pan so we don't get kicked out of our apartment for soiling the parking lot and then ran out to the bike to catch the rest of the oil.

I removed the drin bolt and let the freshly input oil drain out and looked at the bolt. Hey! There are little slivers of metal in the thread...

:x

Aw darn, looks like I'm screwed.

Currently the GS sits wrapped up until I either get a new oil pan or a buell xb12 Ulysses....whichever comes first.

Any suggestions?

[klrmtn]

Napa sells new drain plugs that are the next size larger for a couple of bucks that will cut threads into the oil pan. Works rather well for a while. I heard someone drilled out there replacement plug and put a small bolt in the center that can be removed. That way the drain plug is actually inside a steel bolt and has much less chance of stripping again and the main plug is epoxied into the oil pan. Hope this helps.

[Ions001]

Ahhh... stripped bolts... gotta love 'em.

I have the same problem (well that and every other bolt on my bike is stripped 8O )

Whenever I change my oil, I use about 1/4 of a roll of threadsafe tape on the bold, and at the base, a very healthy portion of 3M high temp gasket maker (the black stuff).

I let it sit overnight to set (it says 24 hours, but I'm in AZ ) Put in the new oil in the morning, start it, check the level, and add oil if needed. I usually take one quick trip around the block and then check again for leaks.

You just need to be carefull each time you change your oil to completely clean up the oil pan where the gasket maker makes contnact. You don't want any of that stuff inside, and you want a clean surface for the new stuff to adhere to.

Good luck! 8O

[Jethro]

I ran my 81 1100E with a rubber stopper (auto parts stores sell them as an emergancy item) for about 12k miles!!

But, the best thing to do is have it heli-coiled. Very easy to pull the pan, bring it to a machine shop and have it heli-coiled. After you do, it's twice as solid as it ever was. I may even do that to my 83, even though it's not stripped.

[Detman101]

What is heli-coiled?
And how would it make this mushy Japanese Aluminum any stronger?

[rhoff71]

I just picked up a '77 GS 750 this last weekend that hadn't been run in a year for $400. After changing oil I found out that the oil plug hole was stripped. The original hole is a 14mm with 1.25 thread. So I tried a 14mm bolt from the hardware store with a 1.5 thread. That still didn't have any bite so I tried a 9/16 - 18 thread bolt and it was able to take hold. Now I have a very slight leak (mainly because I'm afraid to tighten it much more) I'm using a copper washer. Next oil change I will try using some gasket material.

Anyway its alot better and by the way, with some new spark plugs and a new battery the bike runs like a champ. :P The old couple I bought it from didn't know what they had. This thing is clean and has 21,500 miles.

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[Detman101]

Okay, if I use that 9/16 - 18 thread bolt with a crush washer/gasket
will I be able to get the bolt back out and avoid leaks as well?

And also, what size is that rubber plug that was mentioned before?
I saw a few in Autozone but nothing looked like it would fit the GS's oil hole. They were the ones where you screw the bolt and the rubber plug gets bigger/fatter in the hole till it's stoppered.

Everyone?

[Jethro]

I saw a few in Autozone but nothing looked like it would fit the GS's oil hole. They were the ones where you screw the bolt and the rubber plug gets bigger/fatter in the hole till it's stoppered.

I never found one of them to fit the GS drain hole.

What is heli-coiled?
And how would it make this mushy Japanese Aluminum any stronger?

A heli-coil is when they actually drill out the hole larger, then they re-thread it to the bigger size, then they insert a coil to fit the threads that is the same internal diameter of the original bolt. The coil is a hardened steel coil, so now the threads become hardened steel rather than the recycled beer cans our motors are made of. You'll never strip it again.

A oil pan gasket is pretty cheap (you can make one also for just a few bucks), and the machine shop will probably do a heli-coil for less than $20. You can even do it yourself, but you'll have to buy the heli-coil set, which for that size might be around $70. So worth it to do it right. You'll have to for a long term fix anyway.

[Detman101]

Kewl, well it's time to find a machine shop then!
I should be back on the road by next week prayerfully.
While I have the exhaust off to get at the oil pan I'll clean it up and repaint it again...

[rhoff71]

Okay, if I use that 9/16 - 18 thread bolt with a crush washer/gasket
will I be able to get the bolt back out and avoid leaks as well?

As long as you get it started straight and use a gasket of some sort then it will seal. It will create its own threads so it will come back out.
I cut mine about 5/16" long (from 1"). But first make a pass or two before you cut it because it will get started easier. Mine went in with reasonable force and then screwed easy after several passes just like a regular bolt.

[jimcor]

Square Dancer Lynn and Billy Ricks both have parts # for self tapping replacement bolts. Try a PM or an e-mail.

Has anyone ever tried this? http://www.permatex.com/products/pro...&item_no=81668

This stuff looks like a cure for a rainy day. Just remember Grumman used adhesive to bond aircraft wings. Your out $8 if it doesn't work.

[UTgws]

I did this very thing about a month ago. I believe that a previous owner had damaged the threads as when I put the plug back in it just kept turning. I went to auto zone and got the 14mm 1st over oil drain plug and put it in, must have got it started a little crooked because I could never get the drip to stop. So I pulled the pan and got a heli-coil kit from auto zone, about $39 iirc, it comes with the tap and several repair coils, and a sheet of gasket material and in about 2 hours total time had the pan pulled the drain hole repaired, a new gasket traced and cut and the pan back on the bike. Not a tough job at all.

[Anonymous]

okay this is an easy fix believe it or not

Fixing the drain plug is easy, wish i had done this when it happened to me. Yeah mine stripped too and i used the over size selftapping one for some 14 years when it finally went. I went down to the local bike dealer and asked them about it, the guy said yeah take the oil pan off ( this way you can clean out any shavings too) and bring it in and he would install a steel sleeve into the drain hole. This worked absolutely great. the sleeve seals off the old threads and you get a new steel plug ( or find one that fits the new drain sleeve, i did at NAPA) and steel threads, no more leaks or seeps like the other way. your not going to strip this out. the oil pan is easy to take off, just need a new oil pan gasket ( make sure its the right thickness, a thin one will seep) and there ya go, all fixed no more problem. Takes about an afternoon to do. Total cost was about $40.

[Billy Ricks]

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/viewtopic.php?t=14570

[Anonymous]

oil drain plug stripped

I have an 86' GS550L with a stripped oil drain plug also and was wondering, do I have to pull the header pipes to take the oil pan off? It looks kinda crowded down there but I didnt look closely at it! Thanks! Jake