Lost the Oil drain plug doing 80!

[a.droid]

Yes, it was a decent rain that morning.

Tonight I replaced the oil, filter. Checked the coolant, still bright green. Fired it up and idled for 15 min with no problems or oil lights. A couple hours later coolant was still green and oil looked perfectly fresh.

I really dodged a bullet that day guys, my rear tire is still coated in oil..... Now where's that Lotto ticket?

 

[jcyuhn]

Glad to hear that it looks OK. Do let us know how it goes after riding it.

Any idea how long it was between the oil light and getting the bike onto the shoulder? Just curious is all. I'm sure it felt like an eternity.

 

[bluesdog]

Those crush washers are sooo expensive!

BTW, +1 on the silly factory torque spec for the oil drain plug. The neat thing about using a crush washer is that you can feel it 'crush' when proper torque is reached. And proper torque seems to be @ 22 ft-lbs, as others have mentioned.

Yamaha has a well-deserved reputation for building tough engines. Here's a video of some pirates doing their annual, 'blow up the non-harley' ritual, in which a 750 Seca simply refused to die for such a long time, the pirates actually began cheering the thing. (Yeah, this is sad to watch. I'd like to see how long a Harley could take this kind of abuse..)

 

[RaYzerman19]

I switched over to Honda aluminum washers a long time ago, totally reusable and torque to 22-24. If you overtorque the outer edge will start to curl after a few oil changes...... not necessarily a bad thing, they're not expensive. Buy a pack of 10 from CycleMax Ohio (Goldwing parts)........ last you a lifetime.

 

[Fred W]

Yamaha has a well-deserved reputation for building tough engines. Here's a video of some pirates doing their annual, 'blow up the non-harley' ritual, in which a 750 Seca simply refused to die for such a long time, the pirates actually began cheering the thing. (Yeah, this is sad to watch. I'd like to see how long a Harley could take this kind of abuse..)

I couldn't watch that all the way through. How friggen ******** do you have to be to not realize that any air cooled engine can't be redlined continuously while standing still. With no cooling air over those cylinder fins, yes, eventually you'll get failure. Doh! https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//public/style_emoticons/default/******.gif

 

[PhilJet09]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzh0rtyCfFU

Frickin idiots! I HATE to see this kind of abuse, no matter what the brand.

 

[jmgrif]

Here's what I use! This info I got from this forum? Sealing washer (3963988cum). I replaced both the engine oil drain plug and differential drain plug with the same washer? I have reused the same washer for over fifty thousand kilometers! No leaking! I don't use a torque wrench and I only use a 3/8 ratchet wrench. When changing oil or diff oil after tightening I check for leaks and snug up after if I see one? So far I haven't seen any leaks! Just my 2 cents. Keep in mind they are Canadian! usually a little less value than American!

 

[lnewlf]

what a shame the tough little Seca didn't put a con rod thru his tiny nuts..

 

[FJRBluesman]

DING-DING-DING-DING!!! We have a winner!

This didn't happen because you reused a crush washer. It happened because you didn't adequately tighten the drain plug. Same thing could/would have happened with a brand new crush washer if you under-tighten it.

Yes water turns to a gas (steam) under extreme heat and will vacate the tranny. I wouldn't make a habit of dumping water in there though...

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Just an FYI, On my Yamaha, 4 stroke outboard 150 HP. It uses the same size/pitch drain bolt for the oil drain. Per the shop manual, the torque is 20 ft lbs on that engine..

 

[Fred W]

Just an FYI, On my Yamaha, 4 stroke outboard 150 HP. It uses the same size/pitch drain bolt for the oil drain. Per the shop manual, the torque is 20 ft lbs on that engine..

Go figure, huh?

 

[user 31223]

Glad your ok - hope the bike is ok.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Just an FYI, On my Yamaha, 4 stroke outboard 150 HP. It uses the same size/pitch drain bolt for the oil drain. Per the shop manual, the torque is 20 ft lbs on that engine..

Go figure, huh?

Actually, for a drain plug gasket, Yamaha's part is a very thin (O.D.), copper washer. The shop manual calls for replacing it as well. It and the drain plug have to be installed about 2.5" UP, a thin rubber tube (at the rear of the engine). I guess this is to keep salt water etc off the bolt (it appears to be the same material as the bike, NOT SS).

I suspect, (as a Honda service manager once mentioned to me re head bearings on a Wing), Yamaha NEVER lowered the torque value below 30ft lbs because, if they did, ALL those stripped pans, would open Yamaha up to many lawsuits...

 

[a.droid]

A couple hundred miles under the wheels this week and all is normal.

Sure is a great feeling.