Help I stipped the hole for the gear oil plug.

[dsmith65]

Doing my routine maintenance and it had been awhile. Got the rear tire off and changed in record time, then went to do an oil change. Only instead of oil I mistakenly started working on the gear oil and turned the bolt the wrong way. Hard enough it stripped the threads inside the case. What do I do now? It will screw in to a point but I cant tighten it down. I even tried putting a washer on it but thinking it was a spacing issue but that didn't help. Can this be tapped for a 9 mm hole, and is is something I can do myself, I don't have a dealer near me anymore.

Don

[ericalm]

Helicoil is the best way to re-thread a hole like that. Many non-scooter mechanics or machine shops could probably do it.

BUT… the rear hub should probably come apart to do it right. Otherwise, you could get metal in there and cause all kinds of other problems.

[viney266]

No offense BUT if you stripped the hole you SHOULD NOT be the guy doing a keensert or helicoil. This is a delicate touchy job that is hard even for a seasoned tech. to get right. Call to a local shop till you find someone comfortable doing one. Take it to him...pay whatever he/she asks. Hope they get it straight. worth whatever they ask to fix the problem

Just being honest ( been a mechanic most of my life).

[dsmith65]

Thanks for the suggestions. What happened was I turned the wrong way when I went ot screw out the plug like a dumb a$$ and it stripped right there. After much beating myself up for a while and trying to screw it back in I gave up and then looked at the plug closer. What I noticed was what appeared to be a washer on it. Turns out this is what separated from the case. I had to screw it off of the plug, but then when I screwed the plug back in it tightened down. So I filled it up, and once I got the it all back together let it run for a little bit and went for a ride around the block. I'm going to let it sit for awhile now and see if it leaks. If not I think I'm ok.

I've got almost 10,000 miles on it, and other than the initial service done all the service including two tire changes myself. I can't believe I made such a stupid mistake.

Thanks for the advice.

[viney266]

So you have maybe one turn of the thread holding it in??? good luck.

That washer was there to seal it from leaking. soft crush able aluminum usually. It might not leak if you're lucky, but just be aware that you don't have much thread holding that bolt in. If you decide to leave it that way, maybe a small dab of epoxy to make sure the screw doesn't back out?

[easy]

man I've had a drain bolt back out on me (shop didnt tighten enough or some ass with a wrench) well the bearings ending up getting replaced under warranty but still aint right. At least do what Viney says then just siphon the old gear oil out and never use the drain bolt again. It will sit there forever and not leak, but it will viberate out while your riding it. Have a good Easter I got to get off here drop exhaust remove rear wheel varatior clutch and gear box to pull some bad bearings.

[Chilly]

You just need a longer bolt. I did the same thing about a year ago, bought longer bolts at auto zone, there is a ton of thread left in there if you stripped with the stock bolt. I've put 10k miles on since and done about 4-5 gear oil changes since with zero issue and I had stripped mine real bad. Make sure to flush out any stripped metal pieces real good first. If you have a lot of trouble finding the longer bolt let me know I still have a couple somewhere(though my time is super tight right now, have a sick pet) so please look around first. I did make a thread about this last year it has bolt size in it I believe.(search for it)

EDIT: M8X1.25X25mm is the bolt you need, I paid $3 for 4 I believe.

[ericalm]

Can't say I've never done it!

[Tocsik]

You just need a longer bolt. I did the same thing about a year ago, bought longer bolts at auto zone, there is a ton of thread left in there if you stripped with the stock bolt. I've put 10k miles on since and done about 4-5 gear oil changes since with zero issue and I had stripped mine real bad. Make sure to flush out any stripped metal pieces real good first. If you have a lot of trouble finding the longer bolt let me know I still have a couple somewhere(though my time is super tight right now, have a sick pet) so please look around first. I did make a thread about this last year it has bolt size in it I believe.(search for it)

EDIT: M8X1.25X25mm is the bolt you need, I paid $3 for 4 I believe.

+1 to this. I stripped-out the gear oil bolt, too.
I just put in a longer stainless steel bolt from Ace and it worked like a charm. There really is more thread up in there. Just swing by your shop and pick up a crush washer when you can and put it on next gear oil change.
I will never use a torque wrench on a drain bolt again. I never did on any of my past cars, trucks or MC's but I was nervous about this scooter at first because of the degree of vibration and the stories of oil filters spinning off if not properly torqued.
Eventually, my scooter shop put in a Time-Sert (similar to a Helicoil) when the bearings were getting replaced.

[easy]

The stock bolt uses most of the treads true a little longer bolt will screw in more it's only catching maybe a couple more treads and you lose the magnet on the tip.

[JettaKnight]

I just hit 10K (on the fime...) and decided to treat my Buddy to some fresh gear oil.

All the threads inside stripped out.



So what's the consensus longer bolt, helicoil, or retap for a larger bolt?

I think I'll try things in that order.

[Tocsik]

I would just get the HeliCoil or TimeSert done. Best to have it done right and be done with it.
Think of the longer bolt as a temporary fix until you can get that done.
There's no dipstick for the gear oil so you don't how much is actually in there.
Of course, if it doesn't leak at all with the longer bolt, you can *assume* the level will stay true.