Oil Drain Plug - Thread Stripped

Steel will almost always win against alu. ie the thread in the alu will give way and shear before the steel thread of the bolt going in. Which is why it is so important to ensure no overtightening takes place.

If you re-tap the hole in the sump then my tip is to pack the tap full of grease and take it slow, like one turn at a time and after each turn remove the tap and clear the swarf from the grease, re grease and repeat untill you've got all the way through.

It is a bit time consumeing but is the only way I would tackle this problem without a strip down to split the crankcase.

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by Stonesie

If you re-tap the hole in the sump then my tip is to pack the tap full of grease and take it slow, like one turn at a time and after each turn remove the tap and clear the swarf from the grease, re grease and repeat untill you've got all the way through.

It is a bit time consumeing but is the only way I would tackle this problem without a strip down to split the crankcase.

+1

This is how they helicoil spark plug thread in situ whithout removing the cylinder head

Checked the bike again tonight an absolutely no signs of leaking oil. Will just keep an eye on it for the mo' and think about re-tap / helicoil if it ever does start to leak.

Thanks all!

[gjscott]

Originally Posted by barwel1992

dosn't matter about the swarf, the oil that comes from the sump is filtered any way before been pumped in to the engine

i will be getting a magnetic sump plug when i change my oil just to help collect bits of swarf from my new piston rings and cylinder's

A magnet on the sump plug will stop swarf going into the oil pump however, and that's a high tolerance mechanism that will be sensitive to hardened steel shards from your gears going through it.

[mep]

Originally Posted by edmc

The torque setting is about 8Nm which is roughly what you said, finger tight then a nip (1/4 - 1/2 a turn) with a spanner. I said torque it to savehim stripping the thread again, but I never use a torque wrench for it myself, just guestimate

The manual says 20Nm, which is still quite low. My sump plug had been overtightened before and I had to get the garage to loosen it off for my oil change. I torqued it to 20Nm to see what it should be like. Must admit for all previous oil changes it has just been guestimated.