Oil plug leaking

[rugman316]

I picked up an 85 250sx a while back and the previous owner or somebody used a larger size self tapping oil plug I am assuming because the threads got stripped or whatever. It threads in there nice and straight and does not slip and I am able to tourque it to spec but it still drips. It came with some sort of a nylon or rubber washer on it so I switched to a copper one and still drips. So my question is am I just banging my head against the wall or would an aluminum washer maybe seal it or some other type? I read about putting some gasket sealer on the bolt but would like to get it to seal on its own. Any tips would be appreciated.

[hondamaniac]

sounds to me maybe like some pipe tape would work to seal it.... the rubber washer would basically do the same thing i would think up to a point....

[rugman316]

I took the skid plate off last night and upon closer inspection there is a small crack in the case at the drain plug so the bolt probably was sealing and its weeping out the crack. I guess I will have to try and find somebody to weld it for me. Has anybody had any luck with any epoxy type products sealing a crack in that area? I kind of doubt it with the expansion and contraction from the heat of the engine I think it would eventually fail? Maybe worth a try though.

[fabiodriven]

JB Weld very well may seal that up. It's cheap and it's worth a try. Just make sure you get all of the oil off of that area first with brake cleaner.

[rugman316]

I might give that a try its worth a shot. I also thought because the crack is quite short and I don't think it extends past the threaded part that putting a helicoil in it might be a more permanent fix than the jb weld. I am just not too sure how easy they are to put in and then I could go back to a stock oil plug also. I don't want to make things worse so I don't know.

[fabiodriven]

A heli coil isn't a bad idea either.

[hang&rattle]

^I second the helicoil notion, worked great on both my Tecate motors that are stripped. And I used some fast dry metal epoxy where my radiator mount was cracked, it's held for hundreds of hours of ride time. And if you do use Teflon tape make double sure it's at the very bottem of the plug threads (about 3/16") and none exposed inside the case what so ever. The Teflon will break down with the oil and heat and end up floating around in you motor, it'll plug oil ports and eventually seize the motor.

[hondamaniac]

if its cracked i would think it would get worse over time.... need a way to relieve the stress.. one way i know is to drill a small hole on the end of the crack ... but being in the case thats a no go unless u drill it then weld it. sounds tricky...

any one got any ideas on how to actually stop the crack from worsening...... good point on the teflon thread... dont want any of that in there for sure..

[tj-1bad250r]

JB Weld very well may seal that up. It's cheap and it's worth a try. Just make sure you get all of the oil off of that area first with brake cleaner.

i had a couple bike with this prob and this works fine but sand it a lil so the epoxy has something to grab then clean real well before you put the jb weld on

[oscarmayer]

ok look. brakecleaner will still leave a resedue. you need to get a bottle of acitone to clean it with. about $4 for a can and will clean it try. make sure you drail all oil and lay the bike on the side to ensure no oil drips onto the crack while workign on it after oil is railed.(let drip for a couple of hours and every so often go wiggle the bike).
once that is done, take a dremmel sander and sand ont he crack area to make a small grove on the crack line. use asitone to clean it perfect and let dry for a few min. then apply the jbweld. also take sand paper and sand the areas around the crack so the jbweld has something to stick to and seal against.

this wil work for a while, but the crack will eventually go beyond the sealed area and leak again. eventually you iwll have to either split the case and weld, or get a new case or a good bottom end. but this shoudl help for a while.

good luck.

[fabiodriven]

I thought the whole idea behind brake cleaner was that it doesn't leave a residue. Hence its application on brakes...

[ceaserthethird]

Post some pictures

[200XMichigan]

I would JB Weld it and start looking for another case half or good bottom end. You might be able to have it welded professionally and it could hold up for a long time. But I would still want another case half lying around for when it goes.

I would certainly take it to a good welder and have them take a look at it. We can all speculate but only a professional seeing it in person can really tell you what your options are.