Shaft Drive Bolt probs in newbieland

[BossHogg]

hello again before i start on all the probs i have with my bike i just want to get a few little ones fixed starting with the shaft drive, when the bike broke down at 89mph in 5th gear i heard what sounded like peices of metal rubbing now my hearing isnt all that but i tought i heard it come from the shaft drive and since ive never been able to check the fluid i thought the worst so when i got it home i did an innitial teardown and then i looked at the shaft so i pulled the side out where it drained plenty of clean fluid (then i felt dumb) so i put it back together but before i go on i want to refill the fluid but i cant get the bolt on the bottom to to turn , i dont have a clue what the thing is on the top, and the allen bolt in the middle is stripped so here i am asking the best means to repair this and a little info on the drive whatever you guys can tell me would be usful

Thanks a ton

[randy]

Brandon,

Don't try to remove the thing on top. It's a vent and it's not removable. The stripped allen plug in the middle is the filler hole. Very common to be stripped / stuck. The bolt at the bottom is the drain. Use heat from a propane torch to loosen it. Heat the case.

Some guys have had a nut tack welded onto the filler plug to get it loose, others have had luck with easy-outs. I personally have never used an easy-out that was easy or for that matter helped me get anything out!. They've always snapped.

One guy a while back floated the idea of drilling, reverse tapping and running a reverse thread bolt into it. Interesting, I'd like to know how it turned out (no pun intended). If you do that be sure to flush the assembly to get the chips out.

HTH

Randy

[chevy45412001]

vice grips

a round type vice grip WILL WORK.(i might be saying that wrong, round jaw maybe) Any who there is enough shoulder on the plug to put it on. make sure the side with the release handle is towards you,then a sharp rap with a MEDIUM HAMMER will most assuredly loosen it .Well it worked for me. the release has to be the part you hit as it will act as tightening when you strike it with the MFH. (Med.@#!&%$#%^$ hammer)

[macnut xj]

What works well for me in these situations is a small pipe wrench. The harder you pull, the tighter it grips. If that doesn't work, I weld a nut on, and grab that. I usually can't get a tight enough bite with vise-grips.

[thumperjsa]

I had a problem with the stuck filler. It was not stripped but no matter how I pulled, I only bent the allen wrench I was using. A few minutes of heating the drive unit (not the bolt) with a cheap propane torch was enough to loosen it. If you heat it up and use a vice grips, I am sure you will be able to remove it.

[BossHogg]

thanks for the help, i have tried and tried and tried with vise grips and theres just not enough bite ive tried hammering a new hex key into it only to strip it out more, a little hesitant on welding or drilling but ive never heard of heating with a torch you guys seem to have had some luck so i will try this first and if that still doesnt i guess ill try and weld a small bolt head on to it thanks for the help again guys

[BossHogg]

Stupid question but why is there a vent on the drive and not that ive tried or anything to mess with the thing ..........lets just say i have tried to turn it with a pair of vise grips what would i have damaged and how do i know if its damaged
thanks for any info you could give

[Do Lee]

You might try 1) heat up area with butaine torch, 2) tap on and around the plug add penetrating oil and tap again. Since the oil fill plug is stripped use a chisel on it.
Its hard to explain if you havn't ever done it this way. The way I have loosened stubborned bolts, plugs is do the above heat, hammer, penetrating oil, hammer, set chisel at the 9 o'clock position at 45-60 degree angle to bite into the metal and hit the plug clockwise (tightening) a few times. This will help break the crude holding the plug steadfast. Next position the chisel at the six o'clock position with the chisel again at 45-60 degree angle to bite into the metal and hit the plug counter-clockwise (loosening) the plug. I have removed many middle and rear oil fill plugs using this method with a success rate of about 80%. The other 20% drill and easy out method.
I always use a little dab of never-seize or other lubricating anti seize compound on the middle and rear drive oil fill plugs and drain plug bolts. Also I always tap on the allen-wrench with a hammer clockwise (tightening) the plug first before tapping on the allen-wrench counter-clockwise (loosening) the plug.

[fxrer]

Like many other riders out there, I stripped the allen socket in the rear gear filler plug, and the middle gear plug too. This problem has been discussed in pervious threads in this forum. Using a small triangular file, I was able to file some new flats inside the plug, just enough to jam the next larger sized allen wrench (inch size, not metric) into the plug and, with some heat, loosen the plug. But now the plug is damaged.

I think it is a poor design to have that small sized allen head in a plug with such a large OD. My question - where are new plugs available? And, are there any plugs out there with a standard, large hex head (like an automobile’s oil pan drain plug, for instance) that could be used instead?

[Ken Talbot]

You might have some luck with a slightly larger allen wrench in an impact driver. This will keep the wrench firmly in the socket while the torque is applied. Use the search button above to find an article and perhaps a picture of an impact driver.

[BossHogg]

i like the chisel idea done it hundread times on other bolts at work but never thought to try it at home on this thanks for the idea i wont be able to work on it till this weekend so i got plenty of time to think about it thanks agin for all the help