R3T - Stripped bevel box drain plug.

I was changing the fluids getting ready for the new season when the darn bevel box drain plug stripped. It came out OK but would just spin and never tighten up when reinstalling it. I always torque it to spec at 15nm and it never tightened at all. The funny thing is threads didn't come out with the drain plug. Those threads were clean.

Anyway, now I have to bet the plug out and I'll have to helicoil it. Has anyone had this happen and, if so, what Helicoil kit did you use. I can't determine the size of the original bolt until I get it out and that's going to be fun. I'll take off the left rear muffler and try to get outward pressure on it while turning it.

Any tips from someone who has had this problem before would be helpful and, as I said, if someone knows what Helicoil kit to order, that would be very helpful.

That scenario happened to me. I too thought the hole threads were stripped. When I got the broken part of the bolt out ( Just spin it with a pick or small screw driver) the threads were fine. Because the bolt is hollow with a magnet in the void, the head was spinning making me think the threads had stripped. I just purchased a .89 cent bolt that has the same style head design as the fill plug. I change my final drive oil every spring so I am not worried about not having the magnet.

Good Luck with yours.

Idaho Red Rocket

Thank you very much! That makes perfect sense and I'll check to see if that's what happened in my case tomorrow. That is, unless is rains tomorrow because the bike is in too tight a spot in my shop to work on it in the shop. I wasn't aware that the drain plug was magnetic but I saw that when looking up the plug to see if I could find the thread size. I wouldn't worry about the plug not being magnetic either because I change my bevel box oil every time I change my engine oil and that's, on average, about every 3,000 miles. It only takes a few minutes and a few ounces of oil so what the heck.

By the way, when I bought the bike new, I changed the oil and filter at 500 miles, 1,000 miles, and 1,500 before leaving on a 6,000 mile roadtrip. I'm old school and I like to change oil a few times when an engine is new. The reason I mention this is that I changed the bevel box oil those three times too and I'm glad I did because it came out dirty the first two times and a little dirty the third time. After that, it always comes out perfectly clean.

Hey! Thanks again. I really appreciate your response. I hope what you described is what happened to mine. Either way, I'll report back when I know.

Not sure if they have factory loctite, but heat might help

Look at Time-Sert as an alternative to Heli-Coil. May be a stronger solution in the aluminum over the Heli-Coil. I have done lots of Heli-Coil, but I found the Time-Sert kit more appropriate for this type of application.

TheKid said:

Not sure if they have factory loctite, but heat might help

Click to expand...

The problem is the plug isn't stuck. It's just spinning. It came out fine. When reinstalling it, it just threaded in a bit and then would spin freely. The odd thing is that it didn't break when removing it because that's the only time any force was applied. There was almost no force on it when it started spinning when reinstalling it. The problem now is getting it out. I tried putting some backward force on it while turning it with needle nose vise grips. No luck. I'll be able to get at it better when I remove the left muffler. I'm hoping the magnet part simply broke free like what happened to Idaho Red Rocket. Hopefully, it doesn't rain today because I have to get it outside to do that because my shop is so crammed. I'm really curious to see what the issue is. As for Loctite, the factory doesn't use Loctite for the plug. In fact, I remove the plug and change the bevel box oil at every oil change because it only takes a few minutes and a few ounces of gear oil.

Jay said:

Look at Time-Sert as an alternative to Heli-Coil. May be a stronger solution in the aluminum over the Heli-Coil. I have done lots of Heli-Coil, but I found the Time-Sert kit more appropriate for this type of application.

Click to expand...

Jay: Thanks! I just checked Time-Serts out and they're very similar to something I've already used. As you probably know, there's all kinds of things sold that go under the name Heli-Coil. Some are the wire type. I don't like those. I like the solid sleeves like the Time-Serts. The only difference I see with the Time-Serts compared to the type I have on hand for spark plug threads are the way they lock. The type I have use a special tool to drive small edges into the lip of the hole being re-threaded. I see the Time-Serts are simpler and the bottom threads are explanded into the hole being re-threaded when the bolt or plug is screwed in. I like that, especially since it takes up less space in the hole and that could be an issue with the type I have used because those inserts have a rim that might not fit in the recess for the drain plug. Thanks for the tip!

15 ft lbs seems way to much that only needs to be tite enough not to fall out.
if u post a pic of what u have left of the bolt perhaps we can help
herman

my book says 15Nm for lower drain plug
i have written beside that 132 inch lbs

upper fill bolt 60Nm