Routine oil change gone bad with happy ending and a lot of learning!!!

[AngelFZ]

I've been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks now, but there is always something happening... And I don't know of this would be the right place!!!

I hope this will be useful to anybody.

I'll keep on adding information here...

The bike is a Suzuki GSX650F, my girlfriend's bike.
It was a very simple task, do a routine oil change (which I've done before!!!!) but this time I decided to mess it up!!!!

Problem:
I stripped the oil pan thread!!!!

Solution:
1. Ask for help to the forum/members
2. Install a heli-coil/plug saver in the oil pan. For this I had to remove the exhaust System and radiator!!!

Lessons learned:
1. When using a torque wrench, make sure the torque setting will be between the min/max 20% of the full scale. In other words, if the full scale is 100 Lb ft, then the "usable" range becomes from 20-80 Lb ft. Of course this also depends on how good the torque wrench is.
2. Spend a little more and buy good tools!!!! They'll save you money on the long run.
3. Always take your time and never try rushing any work!!!
4. What makes this forum the best forum are their knowledgeable users!!!! If you have a problem, simply ask for help, chances are other forum members know the answer and/or have done it before.
Thank you so very much TownsendsFJR1300 for all you help, guidance and advice.

I'll take the time to start including here email conversations and pictures I was taking along the way...


So, after finishing the "routine" oil change, the oil drain plug was not completely "snug" and there was a small oil leak from the oil drain plug!!!!
I removed the oil drain plug and this was what I saw...
View attachment 48686
View attachment 48687

To be continued...
http://www.600riders.com/forum/showthread.php?p=544425#post544425
http://www.600riders.com/forum/showthread.php?p=544862#post544862
http://www.600riders.com/forum/showthread.php?p=544864#post544864

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[Erci]

Oil change with a happy ending???! (insert inappropriate joke here!)

We just discussed using torque wrenches in another thread. They can potentially cause more harm than good, in some situations.

Glad you resolved the issue! .. and yeah.. the people on this forum rock! :rockon:

 

[FIZZER6]

I can't even imagine how much torque would be required to strip out a drain plug threads with how wide the head of that plug is where it makes contact with the pan. I do know that Yamaha over torques the drain plug from the factory, I had to use a breaker bar to get mine loose on my bike when it was new the first time I did the change.

I have never used a torque wrench on an oil pan plug and I never will.

 

[FinalImpact]

OP - Glad you got it fixed. Its too bad it happened tho!

Eric was talking about this thread and he has some great advice (below)!
http://www.600riders.com/forum/garage-mechanical-help/49574-broke-coolant-drain-bolt.html

I have never used a torque wrench on an oil pan plug and I never will.

Me either. Again, when the head of bolt stops turning, you better be paying attention.

Drain plug mission statement;
1, tight enough I don't fall out.
2, tight enough I don't leak.
3, loose enough I'll come out again.

This can be done with an 8" wrench.

Thanks Erci

Here's how you can figure out proper torque for any given bolt: tighten until the head snaps off and then back off a quarter turn :rof:

:spank: :spank: :spank:

 

[Karate.Snoopy]

When I read this post it was like dejavu (sort of) , in my case the fix was actually much simpler. I too vow to never use a torque wrench for my oil and coolant change..

 

[Motogiro]

Oil change with a happy ending???! (insert inappropriate joke here!)

We just discussed using torque wrenches in another thread. They can potentially cause more harm than good, in some situations.

Glad you resolved the issue! .. and yeah.. the people on this forum rock! :rockon:

Lol! Yeah, this could change the whole oil thread thing!

As far as the torque wrench is concerned. If the thread was already half damaged the torque wrench may not keep you out of trouble.

I wonder if an "O" ring type replacement can be found for the FZ6. It would require much less torque to make a good seal other than the metal washer.

 

[AngelFZ]

Indeed, I have done this several times before without the torque wrench, and I have used the torque wrench many times before. This particular time, I found the service manual and I wanted to make sure everything was done according to the service manual!!!!!!

The options were to:
1. Replace the oil pan: that part is not easily found now, actually neither partzilla nor any dealer around was able to find it.
2. Fix the current one:
A. On site, risking that metal debris would make its way into the oil.
B. Off site, meaning removing the oil pan but it would be much convenient and easier to fix and clean.
3. Tap a bigger oil drain plug.

Option 2B was selected even though I had the remove the exhaust, the radiator and a couple of radiator hoses to make it happen.
View attachment 48704

Good news is that the oil pan was pretty cleanView attachment 48705
View attachment 48706

Tip: brake fluid worked really well to clean up completely the oil pan.
Tip: cover the bike to avoid having debris getting inside the engine
View attachment 48707

And again...
To be continued!






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[AngelFZ]

At this point I found a "plug fix" kit and with the help of a couple of guys from work they actually fixed the oil pan for me.
View attachment 48741
View attachment 48742View attachment 48743
Of course, with this fix now the bike will hold some more oil on any oil change!!!

I was able to put everything back again without having any "additional" parts/screws left!!!
View attachment 48744

I can not add more pictures here, so I'll continue in the next post...



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[AngelFZ]

Of course, taking advantage of the bike's down time, I replaced the air filter, where I found some amount of oil inside the air box, this was TownsendsFJR1300 explanation which I'm taking advantage to copy here:
"The crankcase usually vents into the air box so any piston ring blow by, emissions, don't go into the atmosphere. It does look like a lot of oil, I'd clean it out real good and just keep an eye on it, if the engine oil is dirty, change it, maybe go a little thicker weight oil MOTORCYCLE SPECIFIC (within spec's) and get sucked back into the engine and burned off. A little bit of Seafoam in the fuel and oil (per the instructions) wouldn't hurt once the bikes back together"
View attachment 48745

Also, I did replace all the brake fluids, making a huge difference:
Before (front)
View attachment 48746
After (front)
View attachment 48747
Before (rear)
View attachment 48748
After (rear)
View attachment 48749

One more to go...
View attachment 48750
And now done!!!
View attachment 48751


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[Wh0M3]

I can totally relate to this story. Most of my mechanical projects start out with the best intentions and have an "oops" somewhere in there where I end up spending more money to fix the "oops" than it cost to do the project.

I know I've turned to this forum for a few pointers when doing something, sometimes finding there is someone else who did exactly the same thing I did no matter how strange or original I thought I was at the time.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

You did good Angel!

Nice to see the whole bike too! :Sport:

 

[AngelFZ]

You did good Angel!

Nice to see the whole bike too! :Sport:

Thank you for all your help.

You have now idea how good it felt to have the bike put together again and test ride it realizing it all feels good and there are no leaks

Again, thanks a lot.


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[TownsendsFJR1300]

I can't even imagine how much torque would be required to strip out a drain plug threads with how wide the head of that plug is where it makes contact with the pan. I do know that Yamaha over torques the drain plug from the factory, I had to use a breaker bar to get mine loose on my bike when it was new the first time I did the change.

I have never used a torque wrench on an oil pan plug and I never will.

The FJR's drain plug, from the factory, were also known to have been way overtightened!!! Someone at Yamaha has a heavy hand or doesn't know how to read a torque wrench.

As an FYI (I posted this previously), on my Yamaha, 4 stroke 150 HP outboard, it has the same drain plug, steel into aluminum. The torque spec for that plug is 20 ft lbs, EXACT SAME PLUG/SIZE ETC. If you need to go beyond snug and have to torque it down, set your wrench Max at 20 ft lbs.

It had to be a typo just like the torque settings on the 6 rear sprocket nuts (72 ft lbs!!!) per the Yamaha shop manual