oil drainbolt froze? new 08

[bes]

Hi guys, Tried to change oil tonight, pretty simple access. Tupperware removal basic but...the oil drain thingy; I can not break the bolt. I'm afraid to put any more pressue on this thing. I'm a pretty big boy and can not budge this bolt. Any ideas. How bad to just change the filter and let the dealer **** with this at 5-600 mile service? BTW, I only had 1 mile on the bike when I took delivery Friday night. Thanks bes

first ride experiences to come if anyones cares.............

 

[OkieBikerDude]

Hi guys, Tried to change oil tonight, pretty simple access. Tupperware removal basic but...the oil drain thingy; I can not break the bolt. I'm afraid to put any more pressue on this thing. I'm a pretty big boy and can not budge this bolt. Any ideas. How bad to just change the filter and let the dealer **** with this at 5-600 mile service? BTW, I only had 1 mile on the bike when I took delivery Friday night. Thanks bes
first ride experiences to come if anyones cares.............

I went through the same thing with my new '07A in January of this year. After following a break-in schedule that was much more formal than the Yamaha suggestion, I changed the oil and filter at 200 miles. I had read in previous posts that others had been having problems with the excessively tightened drain plug from the factory. I was able to remove the plug without any damage, but it took well over 80 lb/ft torque to loosen it.

I purchased a factory replacement drain plug for the rear drive to use in the engine and torqued it to the "factory" specs along with a new washer. The rear drive drain plug has a magnet and is the same thread. Good luck.

Okie

 

[Bull]

Hi Bes

Welcome!

I know when I did the first oil change on my 06 I had to use an inordinate degree of torque to break the seal on my oil drain plug. I think they have a gorilla in the factory who tightens drain plugs on new FJR's by feel then touches it with some solder just to f&ck with your head.

I used a longer bar on my wrench - but be careful if you do this. I damn nearly knocked the bike off its stand when the bolt did finally let loose. If you can, have someone else stabilise the bike when you're on your knees working at floor level. Maybe on your knees is a good thing because you can mumble a little prayer for that gorilla to escape from the Yamaha factory sometime soon.

Let us know how you get on,

cheers - Bull

 

[Silent]

It's a well documented fact that the FJR oil plugs were put on by gorillas imported from the jungles of the amazon into Japan.

Use whatever force is nessessary to remove the plug, but when you put in back in, ignore the torque spec. Use a new crush washer, and tighten it snug, then a tad more. There is no stress on this bolt at all, so there is no need for 80 ft lb of torque. I'd say snug enough not to vibrate out is plenty, it's only a drain bolt afterall.

 

[twowheelnut]

Er, lefty-loosy, righty-tighty. You're upside down with the wrench and sometimes the brain doesn't adjust. It happens.

 

[FJstaR]

1/2" drive breaker bar.

 

[Toynut]

1/2" drive breaker bar.

+1

And don't forget to use a 6 point socket!

 

[ctfjr]

1/2" drive breaker bar.

+1

And don't forget to use a 6 point socket!

When I changed my oil at Knife Maker's place we had to put a piece of pipe over the drive to extend the moment arm - and be damn sure to have someone hang onto the bike!

 

[DailyCommuter]

If they could transfer this gorilla out of the drainplug department and move him into the steering head department we would all be better off!

 

[beerme]

^^^ Quote of the year right there.

 

[scubatech]

Sometimes using an impact gun will rapidly break a bolt lose without stretching the threads. It's worth a try and has worked for me many times. You definitely want to get that dirty oil out from the break in process.

Ken.

 

[KnuckleHead]

It's a well documented fact that the FJR oil plugs were put on by gorillas imported from the jungles of the amazon into Japan.

Use whatever force is nessessary to remove the plug, but when you put in back in, ignore the torque spec. Use a new crush washer, and tighten it snug, then a tad more. There is no stress on this bolt at all, so there is no need for 80 ft lb of torque. I'd say snug enough not to vibrate out is plenty, it's only a drain bolt afterall.

Same here. I had to put a pipe on my socket wrench to get enough leverage to get it off. Unfortunately for me, I followed the manual on the torque specs. BAD IDEA. I Stripped out the oil pan. After some bitching to Yamaha, they paid the $700 bill for the new oil pan but my bike was in the shop for 2 weeks. Anyway, ever since then I snug it with a 3/8 socket...no problems.

 

[radman]

Use of a long breaker bar helps insure you will become familiar with the latest Forum Approved Parts Suppliers low low prices and great customer service. Use impact theory, ie: using a 3/8 drive ratchet, tap on the bar in the correct direction of travel using a hammer of reasonable mass. This will loosen the bolt/nut in question without removing the threads in the pan 99% of the time. Works on any overly tightened or stuck fastener, no tippy bike syndrome etc. Patience is rewarded-tap, don't whack. 6 point recommendation a good one for this-12 points tend to round off rather than remove tight fasteners.

 

[Lee B.]

Hi guys, Tried to change oil tonight, pretty simple access. Tupperware removal basic but...the oil drain thingy; I can not break the bolt. I'm afraid to put any more pressue on this thing. I'm a pretty big boy and can not budge this bolt. Any ideas. How bad to just change the filter and let the dealer **** with this at 5-600 mile service? BTW, I only had 1 mile on the bike when I took delivery Friday night. Thanks bes
first ride experiences to come if anyones cares.............

I know this is too late for you but I'm shopping for an '08 and am waiting for D&H to get order confrmation from Yamaha. I have the forum's checklist for delivery and have heard that D&H is pretty good about taking you through the list and then some. If my deal goes through I plan to ask them to loosen the bolt and torque to 30 lbs or so before I take delivery. This seems so well documented that I can't understand why others don't do this. Maybe others can clue me in. Is it the crush gasket? That you'd HAVE to replace that even if you just loosened the drain bolt a bit and then resnugged? That may be the case. Actually, the first change headache might be worth having the dealer remove and refit both plug and crush gasket before taking delivery. Catch the oil and put it back in after changing the gasket and reinstalling the bolt.

Interested if others have done this or can alert me if it is stupid.

Lee

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

<snip>...using a hammer of reasonable mass.

Concur.

Caveat.... Only the most experienced of motorcyle mechanics (now, ...'techs') should employ hammers as tools. If your intended 'tech' reaches for a hammer frequently and soon -- look out. Read R. Pirsig's tome, "Zen and the Art...." (a treatise on quality and metaphysics) for horror stories of hammer applications on motorcycles.

It's all part of the bigger picture of the skills necessary for proper, successful, wrenching. A service manager at a Hon/Yam shop once told me that he thought: "Good mechanics are born."

 

[El Toro]

You shouldn't need a hammer or an air wrench for this job. The 6 point socket is a good idea, but a 12 point will work just fine if its been properly mounted on the bolt.

These drain plugs seem to be torqued to something more along the lines of an axle nut, but they're emminently removable by mere mortals with a long handle wrench or breaker bar. Be careful not to tip the bike over. Be careful not to let the socket ride off the cap.

Someone said they stripped their drain plug when they retorqued. I can't see it. It sounds more like cross threading, and it was nice of Yamaha to make it good anyway. As I watched my crush washer collapse on the retorque, and as I listened for the click on the wrench, it all seemed very reasonable and normal. Nothing whacky.

The amount of bolt elongation you get is dependent on the friction coefficient on the threads and under the cap. If someone slicked it up with friction modified oil, you would get more elongation than if it were just clean.... but stripping is still far out.

You know, it is not uncommon to see a different torque spec for the first torquing to get the thread elongation, followed by a different torque spec for subsequent use. I don't know if Yamaha has thought this out that far, but I am impressed with their other efforts on most of this bike.

 

[bes]

RESOLVED---thanks guys. 18" breaker bar did the trick. Like melting butter, no effort. Again thanks much for explaining the Yam Gorilla theory. With your knowledge and support this was a non-issue. Big warm fuzzies here. Barry

 

[Silent]

You shouldn't need a hammer or an air wrench for this job. The 6 point socket is a good idea, but a 12 point will work just fine if its been properly mounted on the bolt.
These drain plugs seem to be torqued to something more along the lines of an axle nut, but they're emminently removable by mere mortals with a long handle wrench or breaker bar. Be careful not to tip the bike over. Be careful not to let the socket ride off the cap.

Someone said they stripped their drain plug when they retorqued. I can't see it. It sounds more like cross threading, and it was nice of Yamaha to make it good anyway. As I watched my crush washer collapse on the retorque, and as I listened for the click on the wrench, it all seemed very reasonable and normal. Nothing whacky.

The amount of bolt elongation you get is dependent on the friction coefficient on the threads and under the cap. If someone slicked it up with friction modified oil, you would get more elongation than if it were just clean.... but stripping is still far out.

You know, it is not uncommon to see a different torque spec for the first torquing to get the thread elongation, followed by a different torque spec for subsequent use. I don't know if Yamaha has thought this out that far, but I am impressed with their other efforts on most of this bike.

There's a flaw in your bolt elongation theory. As a machinest and a mechanic I can say without a doupt that the aluminum threads will pull out of the pan before the steel bolt elongates. The bolt elongation thing refers to head bolts generaly, and those are steel bolts threaded into steel blocks. If you use the factory oil drain bolt specs, you will stress the threads and eventually pull them out completely.

 

[Bull]

RESOLVED---thanks guys. 18" breaker bar did the trick. Like melting butter, no effort. Again thanks much for explaining the Yam Gorilla theory. With your knowledge and support this was a non-issue. Big warm fuzzies here. Barry

good to hear it all worked out Barry - next thing you should check are the tiny little bolts that hold the locks onto the bags - they will likely need a dab of blue loc-tite - and you'll need the fancy wee security bit driver to loosen/re-tighten. Otherwise, I'd bet you'll be having bag problems within 2 months.

There's a great list for new owners - all the collected wisdom - can't remember where it is - but google 'new owners checklist' - there's a wealth of experience there (good stuff - like the gorilla torque specs, etc...).

Again - welcome to the gig,

cheers - Bull