Stripped Oil Plug Bolt

[newtoXS11]

First off, rehi everyone. I've been gone for over a year - last April when I stripped the head of my oil plug bolt I got really frustrated and threw the bike into storage. Now that the weather is nice I'm getting the riding bug again and need to find a way to change the oil. The bolt head is utterly destroyed; using a "removal tool" did nothing except carve it down further.

From what I understand one of my few remaining options is to have someone weld a nut onto what's left of the bolt and work with that. With the bike stored 50 miles away I'm at a loss when a welder asks me if it's a steel or aluminum bolt... can anyone help me out here or am I going to have to drive for an hour just to stick a magnet on the thing?

Additionally, what are some other options/solutions/whatnot? I'd like to have a backup plan in case the welding doesn't work out for whatever reason. I have a "pet prediction" that the bolt head is just going to twist off anyway once it can be wrenched on... I haven't had good experiences with metals older than I am. If that happens, what then?

[BA80]

If it's that bad I would take the pan off to work on it. If you can't get it out or if there is other damage just get another pan.

JAT

[ManagerMike]

Good idea about removing the oil pan, the bolt however is steel.

[newtoXS11]

Thanks for the quick replies, both are very helpful! Well, potentially helpful... with any luck I won't need to remove the oil pan.

[jetmechmarty]

I agree. Take off the pan. It's going to make a mess, but it may save you a bunch of money. The machine shop/welder will like it better that way, or you can just replace the pan cheaper than the fix.

[natemoen]

Lets just make it absolutly certain. We are talking about the oil drain plug bolt that sort of points forward and is off more to the left side on the engine correct? You are not talking about the filter cup bolt that points straight down and is in the center, near the front of the engine.

[crazy steve]

Lets just make it absolutely certain. We are talking about the oil drain plug bolt that sort of points forward and is off more to the left side on the engine correct? You are not talking about the filter cup bolt that points straight down and is in the center, near the front of the engine.

+1... Probably the oil filter bolt...

[DGXSER]

There are several pans on ebay for less than $20. Get one shipped to you, and with about an hours effort at the storage location you can have the oil replaced with a nice clean pan back in place (with an operable drain bolt). Take some RTV gasket material and an allen wrench. It will not be fun, but alot like changing automatic transmission fluid on a car years ago when they never put in a drain bolt.

[jjz28]

I would say its the oil filter bolt too, a lot of guys break them off over on the triples forum. My 750 and the 1100 have the same setup.

[newtoXS11]

It's been over a year since I did it so I'm not 100% which it is, but I'm fairly certain it's the drain plug and not the filter bolt. In any case, I found a welder pretty close to the storage location and am going to take it over to him tomorrow. I like the idea of replacing the whole oil pan but I'm pretty impatient and don't want to have to wait for shipping - great alternative solution though!

[newtoXS11]

It's been over a year since I did it so I'm not 100% which it is, but I'm fairly certain it's the drain plug and not the filter bolt. In any case, I found a welder pretty close to the storage location and am going to take it over to him tomorrow. I like the idea of replacing the whole oil pan but I'm pretty impatient and don't want to have to wait for shipping - great alternative solution though!

I was wrong; it is indeed the oil filter bolt not the oil plug.

[newtoXS11]

Thanks for the few offers I've gotten for oil pans, but for $5 and 10 minutes - including travel time - I had a 7/8" nut welded to the stripped and mangled bolt head. Works like a charm.

[natemoen]

Thanks for the few offers I've gotten for oil pans, but for $5 and 10 minutes - including travel time - I had a 7/8" nut welded to the stripped and mangled bolt head. Works like a charm.

glad you got it out! If you are ever down near Milwaukee give me a shout.

[newtoXS11]

glad you got it out! If you are ever down near Milwaukee give me a shout.

If I ever get down that way I'll let you know, but I'm not sure how much cruising time I'll get in this year. I've got a backlog of maintenance and modifications to perform. When I got the bike I started a thread asking what should be done to it and got a bunch of suggestions that I never actually followed through on (I just drove for a couple hundred miles and stored it). I really didn't feel like figuring out how to do all the stuff, nor wrenching too much since I was already doing a lot of major car maintenance. Last year when I got up the motivation to work on the bike but killed the oil filter bolt right off the bat I just said, "screw it."

This is looking like it'll be mostly a learning-and-wrenching year while I get the bike up to snuff.