Author Topic: Drain plug thread stripped. Any ideas?  (Read 12840 times)

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ScooterBob

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Reply #30 on: September 02, 2010, 07:27:41 pm
I OBVIOUSLY need to get the heck out of here and move to Devon! WOW! - That kind of stuff happened to me when I was a young lad - but that's been thirty years ago! That's one of the reasons I got a start in this business .... the absolute kindness of the "Old Fellers" who'd help me along, give me advice, loan me a tool or two and buy me the occasional beer!
Spare the pig iron - spoil the part!


2bikebill

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Reply #31 on: September 02, 2010, 08:08:15 pm
It's a rare enough thing these days isn't it? Trust and generosity - pass it on and let's keep the ball rolling. There's a good deal of it here on this forum I'd say.
Beers waiting Bob. Give us a shout when you get here..... :D
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Maturin

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Reply #32 on: September 02, 2010, 11:42:38 pm
"Will he was a Devon man and ruled the Devon Streets..."....and threads  ;D
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hocko

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Reply #33 on: September 03, 2010, 12:18:51 am
I had the same problem with the G5, I found a product from Loctite, I think it was called Formathread or something similar. You simply mix two even parts of the paste together, put some hardner on the drain plug, put the paste compound inside the drain hole and screw the drain plug back in, Leave it about an hour then tighten the plug right up. This allows you to drain the oil in the normal manner rather than sealing it up and using the filter plate to drain the oil, glad you got it sorted.

Cheers  :)


SRL790

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Reply #34 on: September 03, 2010, 12:54:53 am
Will,

Where are you in Devon?  I grew up in Cornwall near Helston.  Visited Dartmoor and Exmoor many times on familly holidays.

Andy
Andy Wiltshire
54 350 Bullet, 62 Jaguar MK II, 68 BSA Spitfire, 69 BSA Starfire
70 Bonneville, 71 Bonneville, 71 BSA B25T, 74 Jensen Healey
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singhg5

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Reply #35 on: September 03, 2010, 01:41:33 am
WillW:

What a nice end !  Glad to hear that you are able to use a helicoil to repair stripped threads in the oil drain of your motocycle.  Happy riding.     
1970's Jawa /  Yezdi
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2bikebill

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Reply #36 on: September 03, 2010, 08:20:40 am
Yes a happy ending indeed - not nearly such a problem as it first appeared. I had no idea such a quick and simple fix was possible. I never thought I'd be back into mechanic-ing after so long - and being back into motorbiking after even longer would be way more frought without this forum, for which I am truly grateful. My bike education progresses in leaps and bounds  :D
Andy, I'm up a lane off a lane in the South Hams - three miles from Totnes, a great little town where all the old hippies live. I'm often down in Cornwall, north coast, and had a great ride across Dartmoor yesterday afternoon. A Royal Enfield, new oil and polished chrome, Dartmoor in September  -  have I died and gone to heaven?   :D

nice collection of kit in your garage by the way.....   :)
« Last Edit: September 03, 2010, 10:09:55 am by WillW »
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UncleErnie

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Reply #37 on: September 03, 2010, 06:17:20 pm
There's a lesson in here about not being a gorilla.  It doesn't take much torque to keep a drain plug from leaking. 
Run what ya brung


Ducati Scotty

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Reply #38 on: September 03, 2010, 06:23:48 pm
Oh --  and, um,  leave the JB Weld in the drawer........ ;)

The greatest power of JB Weld is knowing when to use it and when not to ;)

Scott


2bikebill

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Reply #39 on: September 03, 2010, 06:26:28 pm
I'd put my hand up if I thought I'd been the cause, but like I said, I was suspicious of this plug from the outset. First time I changed the oil I noticed it was strangely tight to UNscrew, and hard to get it to bite to screw back on. Whether it came from the factory like it or whether it was done at the first service, I don't know. I know I made a mental note last oil change to leave it alone and drain only from the gauze plate, but I forgot!
Not guilty. I know about torque. Honest guv.....
« Last Edit: September 03, 2010, 06:43:16 pm by WillW »
2009 Royal Enfield Electra (G5)


gashousegorilla

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Reply #40 on: September 03, 2010, 07:16:20 pm
There's a lesson in here about not being a gorilla.  It doesn't take much torque to keep a drain plug from leaking. 
  I heard that !!!!!!! :D
An thaibhsí atá rattling ag an doras agus tá sé an diabhal sa chathaoir.


ScooterBob

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Reply #41 on: September 03, 2010, 08:49:48 pm
There's a lesson in here about not being a gorilla.  It doesn't take much torque to keep a drain plug from leaking. 

.... and a little safety wire will keep it IN THERE - even if it DOES leak .... !  ;)
Spare the pig iron - spoil the part!


tpelle

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Reply #42 on: September 03, 2010, 09:31:25 pm
Years ago my wife (happened before we were dating) had a Ford Torino with a cross-threaded and stripped oil pan drain.  By way of repair, someone had replaced the drain plug with a purpose-made oversized self-tapping plug that was screwed in to the oil pan hole one time only.  In the center of this plug was a tapped hold for an even smaller plug that was made like a conventional pipe plug.  You removed the pipe plug to drain the oil, and left the repair plug in place.

I thought that was a really trick way to repair the problem.  Only problem is that I can't seem to find anything similar any longer.
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UncleErnie

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Reply #43 on: September 04, 2010, 02:08:25 am
That's a pipe fiotting.  You'll find it in the plumbing isle.    (Don't ask...  ::) )

Another emergency thing to do -instead of JB Weld- is make a compression plug.

You use a pieece of hose or a rubber stopper drilled out.  One end has the head and a washer, the other end has the a washer, a castlated washer, and the nut.  The castleated washer keeps the nut from turning as you turn the bolt head and as it tightens, the washers squeeze the rubber out so it makes a seal.

Hopefully, you get to the heli-coil or time-sert before the plug becomes one with the drain plug making the Vulcan Mind Meld look like a casual encounter.
Run what ya brung