Drainplug issue

[ferguscawley]

Hi all

I have an issue with a 2005 1200GS I have in a garage in Malaga that I use a few times a year.

As I have no tools or workshop facilities there, I got a local mechanic to do some work on it last year. (He did swingarm bearings as well as a routine service and oil/filter change)

Anyway, I was out there last week and decided to do a quick oil and filter change myself. I discovered that he had used a local ape to reinstall the drainplug previously.

I tried to remove it but stopped before applying too much force and risk stripping the threads completely from the sump.

So now I have a bike in Spain with no oil draining capability.

So rather than getting thebike back home to Cork and removing the plug, fitting a timesert etc, is there another way of getting a tube down into the sump and using a small oil pump to suck out the old oil ?

I notice on the RHS of the engine just below the RH cylinder that there is an allen-headed bolt and I'm not sure what its fucnction is - see image below

Could I remove this bolt and fish a small tube in and get down to the oil in the sump ? Anyone know what this bolt does ?

Thanks

Fergus

 

[siddo]

It must be the same bloke who did my Multistrada!
I had exactly the same thing but stripped the threads. The oil pan was so thin I had to permanently seal the drain plug.
I disconnected an oil cooler hose and the plug leads and pumped it out by turning the engine over.

 

[DrFarkoff]

@ferguscawley Nope Leave that alone !!!

Remove the sump guard and Give the Sump drain plug a couple of decent raps with a hammer

many Many many time I had bikes in to service and that was the scenario!

Owner not only paranoid about the oil that was used . to be used!!

They would have been up on an Aggravated assault charge re the sump plug tightness

So by shocking the Steel sump plug with your hammer You vibrate it in the threads, plus you also break up / compress the alloy sealing washer slightly !!

Try that before you do anything else, A decent claw hammer or ball peen for the mass and a good thump on the sump plug NOT the sump itself!

NOTE BENE !!! Using the FLAT end and get the contact as Square as you can between the steel surface !!

I usually found just two or three good raps was all it needed

You can also do that "cracking it squarely with a hammer" on most Steel into Alloy things !

 

[ferguscawley]

Thanks for the reply . Could be the same guy alright.

 

[ferguscawley]

@ferguscawley Nope Leave that alone !!!

Remove the sump guard and Give the Sump drain plug a couple of decent raps with a hammer

Have done that. No joy.

What does the other bolt do anyway ?

 

[DrFarkoff]

Have done that. No joy.

What does the other bolt do anyway ?

@ferguscawley It will be even MORE stuck than the sump plug Honestly I have had to take them out to replace sealing washers

Okay So have you got a decent heat gun or Map Gas blowtorch ??

Heat the surrounding alloy so it is nice and warm (Hot to touch!) and scoosh the plug and only the plug with freeze spray and a have the tools ready to try quickly !!



Either that or fly me out there

 

[siddo]

Have done that. No joy.

What does the other bolt do anyway ?

AI search says:

 

[DrFarkoff]

Its an Oil pressure relief valve and you won;t get to the sump through there !

 

[DrFarkoff]

If you are determined to go down the route of not freeing the sump plug?

Then you would be better advised to use the oil cooler return line on the left side under the cylinder

It would be wise to have 2 x new crush washers to hand and the correct torque and a decent torque wrench

(Deep in the distant memories) I seem to recall a thread repair kit for those sump bungs!

 

[ferguscawley]

Its an Oil pressure relief valve and you won;t get to the sump through there !

View attachment 548038

Ok thanks.

Am not risking removing the plug in Spain. If it strips (and I'm long enough working on bikes to say with confidence that it will fucking strip !!!), then I'm left with a dead bike in an underground garage in Spain.

Another question or possible solution:

Could I remove the oil filter and crank it over (with fuel & spark removed) and have the oil pump discharge the sump oil that way ? It might be messy but I could catch most of it I reckon

 

[ferguscawley]

If you are determined to go down the route of not freeing the sump plug?

Then you would be better advised to use the oil cooler return line on the left side under the cylinder

It would be wise to have 2 x new crush washers to hand and the correct torque and a decent torque wrench

(Deep in the distant memories) I seem to recall a thread repair kit for those sump bungs!

View attachment 548039

Thanks. That is indeed another solution. And quite tidy / easy

 

[siddo]

Ok thanks.

Am not risking removing the plug in Spain. If it strips (and I'm long enough working on bikes to say with confidence that it will fucking strip !!!), then I'm left with a dead bike in an underground garage in Spain.

Another question or possible solution:

Could I remove the oil filter and crank it over (with fuel & spark removed) and have the oil pump discharge the sump oil that way ? It might be messy but I could catch most of it I reckon

I removed the filter and plug leads and pumped it out that way as well. Cranked it a lot with small bursts until I had enough out.

 

[botus]

look up the torque stats for that size thread - I expect it will take 75nm 55lbs ft without a care - so you could set your torque wrench to that and see if it comes undone before it clicks

 

[Pale Rider]

look up the torque stats for that size thread - I expect it will take 75nm 55lbs ft without a care - so you could set your torque wrench to that and see if it comes undone before it clicks

Assuming he has a reversable torque wrench which he probably doesent.

 

[landmarkjohn]

I would try a sharp cold chisel on it as well for a couple of taps (I know it hasn't been rounded..... yet )

Heat would be my favourite and first option though ('kin redden it!), or you could try it after a spin. Almost jealous, that satisfaction when it does move without stripping thread

 

[rovert57]

I would try a sharp cold chisel on it as well for a couple of taps (I know it hasn't been rounded..... yet )

Heat would be my favourite and first option though ('kin redden it!), or you could try it after a spin. Almost jealous, that satisfaction when it does move without stripping thread

Yes the feeling it’s gonna snap/strip then it undoes ,bliss

 

[autogs]

Why the assumption that because its tight that the threads are going to automatically strip?

 

[cartejo5]

I think it's more the "if it does strip where the bike is located thats worrying for the OP".

 

[Baza 07]

Been there, I got mine out with two smacks, and a lot of
Good luck

 

[Magwych]

You are unlikely to strip a thread undoing, the damage is done by overtightening. If the thread falls apart removing the plug, it was already damaged.The correct torque value is 32Nm, according to many sites.

The crush washer around the flange of the plug has done what it is meant to do, crush. That filled in any imperfections in the joint, the entire circumference of the flange and of the crankcase face are gripping that washer. A sharp blow, square to the face of the plug, crushes the washer further by a microscopic amount and shocks the faces of the thread. That should relieve some of the friction holding it. A sharp tap on the end of the tool you are using to undo it, in the direction of undoing, should then do it.

Just a thought, are you undoing it in the correct direcrion? It is easy fir the brain to play tricks on you when working underneath something. I am sure most of us have been there ...