Stripped oil plug 350x options?

[Shawn Powell]

So I went to change my oil today and my threads came off with the plug. I thought I was more careful than that. Removed always with a 3/8 ratchet and replaced with an Allen wrench. Anyways I’m an idiot and ruined my case now.

For now I went to the auto parts store and bought a new plug slightly longer than the old one. Grabs a few threads at the top it seems. Hopefully it won’t leak. I’m quite sure this is only temporary. Or knowing my luck it will drip.

So fellas what should I do? Drill and tap it in place? I’d really not like to crack my cases. Heli coil? I’ve never done on before. Still have to drill and tap. Any tricks to catching and removing all the metal shavings ?

Thanks.
Shawn


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[Red Rider]

Even with the drilling and tapping new threads method, there is no guarantee that it wont still leak, as the new hole and threads need to be completely square to the sealing surface for it to make a proper seal. I don't see any other way to get the proper accuracy, without the cases being split, and properly aligned in a drill press. Surely others have encountered this very obstacle, so I'm sure you'll get a bunch of advice.

[Shawn Powell]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190318/0976f26c1648f46a973e7068b2341e07.jpg
So apparently with this your just retap by hand ? From a 12 to a 13mm ,
My thought is to remove my skid plate and stand the bike straight up , pull my temporary plug , use this with grease on the tap to catch most of the shavings cleaning every few threads then once I’m done drop the bike and let what oils is in there , 2 fresh quarts , drain out hopefully getting any shavings in there.


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[shortline10]

I do at least one drain plug repair a week threw my shop , the 13mm plug repair kits work great .

[Shawn Powell]

I do at least one drain plug repair a week threw my shop , the 13mm plug repair kits work great .

Shortline so am I on the correct idea with the oil and catching the debris?


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[Shawn Powell]

Even with the drilling and tapping new threads method, there is no guarantee that it wont still leak, as the new hole and threads need to be completely square to the sealing surface for it to make a proper seal. I don't see any other way to get the proper accuracy, without the cases being split, and properly aligned in a drill press. Surely others have encountered this very obstacle, so I'm sure you'll get a bunch of advice.

[emoji24] please no.


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[shortline10]

Most of the time when I’m doing this type of repair I’m in the process of draining the oil in the machine , I’ll make about five turns inserting the tap and then pull the tap back out , clean it off and finish cutting the new threads . That last little bit of oil draining out seems to keep the debris from going into the motor .
Little messy but does the job .

I also use a new OEM crush washer , the ones that come in the kits are to small and will leak .
The new drain bolt is 13mm so the oem crush washer needs to be opened up a little so I use a rat tail file for that .




Shortline so am I on the correct idea with the oil and catching the debris?


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[Shawn Powell]

Most of the time when I’m doing this type of repair I’m in the process of draining the oil in the machine , I’ll make about five turns inserting the tap and then pull the tap back out , clean it off and finish cutting the new threads . That last little bit of oil draining out seems to keep the debris from going into the motor .
Little messy but does the job .

I also use a new OEM crush washer , the ones that come in the kits are to small and will leak .
The new drain bolt is 13mm so the oem crush washer needs to be opened up a little so I use a rat tail file for that .

Alright. Thanks for the info. I think I’ll combine that info with my idea since I’d like to make sure I’m square and straight. Being a lowly garage mechanic i don’t have a lift. If I screw it up I guess I’m cracking cases and getting a big bore kit. Sorry wallet.


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[Scootertrash]

Fill the flutes of the drill bit and the tap with grease, that will help catch the chips.

[Shawn Powell]

Fill the flutes of the drill bit and the tap with grease, that will help catch the chips.

Thanks scooter will do. I saw that in a few videos. Figure between that and letting the oil run over it I’m gonna hope real hard.


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[90nut]

You'll be fine, if in doubt, after tapping dump some oil through the engine to flush it out while the plugs out. When I was doing a lot of backwoods trail riding i had a expandable rubber plug in my tool kit just incase something like this came up. Hillbilly, but it worked in a pinch!

[plastikosmd]

The easiest way to solve this is just send me the 350x. Win, win!
Someday I will find one

[Shawn Powell]

The easiest way to solve this is just send me the 350x. Win, win!
Someday I will find one

Lol. Move to California there’s probably 3 to 5 on Craigslist right now. Saw a nice runner for under 2k the other day.


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[BOB MARLIN]

Shawn, the same thing happened to me on one of my x's. I just went down to the auto parts store and found the next size up drain plug and tap. Re-drilled it to the appropriate size and re tapped it. Filled it back up with oil (twice) and let it drain out. Just don't go to big with the new plug. There is not a lot of material around the threads in that area of the case, so if you go to big your screwed. If it seeps on you wrap the plug with a little Teflon tape to get it to seal.

[Shawn Powell]

Shawn, the same thing happened to me on one of my x's. I just went down to the auto parts store and found the next size up drain plug and tap. Re-drilled it to the appropriate size and re tapped it. Filled it back up with oil (twice) and let it drain out. Just don't go to big with the new plug. There is not a lot of material around the threads in that area of the case, so if you go to big your screwed. If it seeps on you wrap the plug with a little Teflon tape to get it to seal.

Thanks Bob. I’m just nervous about loose drill shavings in my oil pan. I found a 13mm Tap and plug kit. With this setup the tap is tapered so you don’t have to drill. Less shavings. I’m gonna attempt it today. I’ll post my results [emoji52]. If for some reason I screw it up I’ll be going to a 14 and trying it again. Thanks again.


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[Shawn Powell]

Well I used the 13mm repair kit. Seemed to work. Plug seated and isn’t leaking. Tapped it and ran a quart of oil through it just cause. Thanks for everyone who chimed in. Hopefully this doesn’t leak.


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[barnett468]

Well I used the 13mm repair kit. Seemed to work. Plug seated and isn’t leaking. Tapped it and ran a quart of oil through it just cause. Thanks for everyone who chimed in. Hopefully this doesn’t leak.


If you use a plastic/nylon or fiber washer you will not have to tighten it as much to make it seal which reduces the chance of the threads stripping or wearing out prematurely etc.

[El Camexican]

Thanks Bob. I’m just nervous about loose drill shavings in my oil pan. I found a 13mm Tap and plug kit. With this setup the tap is tapered so you don’t have to drill. Less shavings. I’m gonna attempt it today. I’ll post my results [emoji52]. If for some reason I screw it up I’ll be going to a 14 and trying it again. Thanks again.


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I wouldn’t worry about a few aluminum chips in the cases. Steel yes, but most of the moving parts in your engine are stronger than aluminum. Whatever few bits that remain after pouring a quart of oil through it to flush the cases should end up in your oil filter eventually.

Might want to drill the new bolt for safety wire to be safe. I’m a huge fan of wiring parts like oil plugs and coolant drains once the threads get iffy.

[HondaRidr]

El Camexican, what would you attach the safety wire to? Or do I have the wrong idea haha

[El Camexican]

El Camexican, what would you attach the safety wire to? Or do I have the wrong idea haha

I’m not sure where you’re going with this, but if you want to keep your ‘wire’ safe there’s a whole array of products you can use.

I’m no expert with this stuff, but the best way I can describe the process is to gently snug up the bolt, or object that you want to wire and determine where it will probably be when you finish tightening it fully and what it is that you want to anchor it to.

Mark that corner of the bolt with a sharpie, drill a 1/16” hole across the head, deburr the hole edges and install it.

Run a strand of safety wire through the hole and wind it (if you want) and wire it to the anchor spot. Don’t make it tight, just enough that it can’t make a full turn of it comes loose (preferably less).

Not my finest work, but in this photo I wired the plug to the oil filter and killed two birds with one stone.

257886

On this one I have a safety pin on one end so I don’t have to keep rewireing it every time I remove the cap. The wire should be on the other side of the cap (shame on me) but the cap was drilled on the wrong side by the first owner and I mistakenly threw a $40 billet cap into a dumpster that had 2” of goo on the floor, while unpacking my mail, so that’s all I have to say about that.

257887

I think the plug on my Tri-Z is wired to the frame.

[NeverLift]

I know you've already done the repair but for the future or for others to try. Hook up compressed air to your crankcase breather when your drilling and taping. That way it should just blow everything out the plug hole as you go. I saw a guy do this adding an EGT sensor to his turbo diesel exhaust. He started the truck, drilled, taped and all the chips blew right in his face it worked great. No metal shaving in his turbo.

[twomanytoys]

This stuff is awesome if your plug weeps a lil oil.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/ezturnlube.php?clickkey=210114