oh. holy. hell.

[toga28]

wellllll....i just went out to the garage to do a little oil change on The General, and lo and behold, MY GEAR OIL PLUG IS MISSING!

I know it was there in the past b/c after the last oil change that the dealer did for me, they overfilled the gear oil (an established, common, and excusable mistake), but the leaky fluid did allow me to take a closer look at the engine and make sure it was all there. And indeed it was.

Soooo...what this means today is that sometime in the last few months of riding my drain plug screw has fallen out. I have no idea when or where, but missing it is. I last rode it on Tuesday of this week, and it ran great then. I'm praying that it only dropped out a block away before I got home or something. Geez.

I suppose this raises an immediate question - what are the chances that dealers will have spare drain plugs sitting around? Naturally, my dealer is closed Tomorrow & Monday, and I was supposed to partake in a club ride tomorrow afternoon. Dangit!

If they don't happen to have any sitting around, any idea what size/thread count of screw I could use to fit? This is an incredibly ill-timed (and possibly ill-fated) bummer.

[Keys]

I don't have a good answer for ya, Toga. I always have a huge selection of spare nuts and bolt around from years of wrenching, so I can usually find at least the proper threads. Then I figure the length I want and run down to the local Ace Hardware. Perhaps, if you have access to a pickup or trailer and can get your scooter to the local hardware store, they would let you try various metric bolts until you find the right one. I suppose that living in a metropolitan area would make the chance they'd help you out that way a little slimmer, but it's worth a try...

--Keys

[sunshinen]

wellllll....i just went out to the garage to do a little oil change on The General, and lo and behold, MY GEAR OIL PLUG IS MISSING!

I had this happen, and was scrounging for an emergency bolt at 10pm on Saturday. (I'd left my road service card at home and was quite a ways from home.) All the service manual had on the threading was 8mm, so I bought an 8mm drain plug for "Asian bikes" at the auto store, it went in smoothly, and seemed fine except for the known stripped state of the hole (see below), but the dealership acted like I had done something ridiculous in using that bolt.

Mine fell out because the hole had been stripped in the first oil change, so you may need more than a simple replacement bolt. I, too, had thought the oil had been leaking because of overfill, but when I had gone to drain and refill it with the correct amount, the screw was clearly stripped. After refilling, though, the leaking stopped, so I let it go and determined to keep an eye on it. It never started leaking again... just fell out on a particularly long, bumpy ride.

But it's been retapped and I've replaced the oil since then (because the shop used a lower weight than it calls for) and the Buddy seems perfectly fine despite the mishap. No loss of power, no problems, and no more leaks! My suspicion is that since you didn't discover the hard way that the plug was gone, there was still enough risidual oil in there to protect the gears, and everything will be fine. Though you may miss your ride for a few days

[toga28]

i do remember it being loose after the first oil change (i checked it when i was checking the gear oil level), and was able to give it a quick turn w/ a wrench to get it tight again. no problems after that for many, many months.

i did notice an odd spot in the driveway the other day, but dismissed it as leftover rain water. but it was still there, and today as i walked around the "crime scene" (my garage/driveway), it seems to be in the spot where i usually stop the scoot to open the garage door. Which means, it may have fallen out as i was coming home the other day - that's pretty much the best possible solution. downside is, we've had so much rain lately that it was likely washed away into the sewer.

i may pay a visit to the auto and hardware stores tomorrow for a temporary fix. maybe something that will get me to the dealer at least.

[merlin]

yea i forgot to tell you that i saw it fly off during the guthrie cruise....

[toga28]

ha. is that so? in that case, i'll admit i noticed it fell off then, and so i swiped your's, merlin.

[merlin]

id actually find that funny if my buddy was near me, but its up at AB, so now im worried.

[sunshinen]

i do remember it being loose after the first oil change (i checked it when i was checking the gear oil level), and was able to give it a quick turn w/ a wrench to get it tight again. no problems after that for many, many months. ...
i may pay a visit to the auto and hardware stores tomorrow for a temporary fix. maybe something that will get me to the dealer at least.

Yeah, mine wouldn't tighten regardless of the number of turns with a wrench, so you may be better off than I was.

If you have roadside assistance, I'd use that to get it to the dealer. That way you're not risking damaging what sounds to be a perfectly good hole with the wrong kind of bolt. Of course, there may not have been anything wrong with the bolt from the store. (I went to 4 different stores and this was the only 8mm plug any of them had that wasn't way too long.) I think this dealership is just a little too big for its britches and likes to be condescending. But I bear a grudge from when I was trying to buy my scooter and and all the salesmen were more interested in talking to the guys looking at bikes than little ole me looking at the scooters.

[Keys]

It baffles me why a guy would be more interested in talking to other guys than to a lady!

--Keys

[San Francisco]

This is a most valuable thread. Although I know about what everyone is
talking about, I think many Members may not.

Can some of you take pics of the engine/case area, the bolt/screw, etc. so people can
see it and learn.

As many of you know, there's lots of incompetence when it comes to getting
the "oil changed" whether it's on a car, bike or scooter. Typically it's the
junior trainee given the task of servicing vehicles and many of them don't
know how to properly screw in a nut, bolt or screw.

IMHO the issue mentioned in here is something that Buddy owners need
to check, not only when getting the scooter back from a servicing, but also
to check once a week or so.

In regards to the OP, would this be covered under your warranty?
Regardless of how it happened, the dealer is going to have to make up
some official sounding issue as being the source of the problem. The
dealer won't be saying "trainee stripped threads on case and caused
oil loss." But that does not matter, the repair and damage will still
be covered under the warranty.

Even if the dealer denies he was the cause of the problem, unless they
accuse you of "screwing" up the scooter [pun intended], then they have
to cover the repair, or worse, replacement of the damaged parts.

I'd be super pissed and demand the dealer address the matter.

Bonus Tip: If it is covered under warranty, I would call the dealer and
say the screw/bolt is missing and have the Buddy trailered into the dealer.

I would NOT say that you found a screw, installed it, then rode the bike
around. The dealer is going to escape coverage by saying your self-help
caused the damage.

[toga28]

Oh, don't get me wrong - I love my dealer (Atomic Brown Scooter Shop), and we're good friends. And in no way am I blaming them for this. I've put on 2500 miles since September, and Oklahoma roads aren't known for being smooth by any means, so I genuinely assume that the plug managed to gradually loosen and find its way out along the way.

When I discovered the plug missing, there was a drop of fluid hanging on the rim, which I hope signifies that there was a little bit still left in it. I'm increasingly convinced that it fell out close to my house, and that the last little bit drained on my driveway.

I have emailed a fellow member of my scooter club who happens to be one of the mechanics at Atomic Brown, and hope to hear back from him soon. The shop is closed Sundays & Mondays, so the General is out of commission until at least Tuesday. I'll keep you posted.

[sunshinen]

Oh, don't get me wrong - I love my dealer (Atomic Brown Scooter Shop), and we're good friends.

Nope, sounds like you trust and respect your dealer. I'm jealous. I wish there was a dedicated scooter shop (that sells Buddies) that wasn't more than two hours from my house. I really liked the dealer I bought mine from, but I rented a truck and drove 3-hours on the Interstates and 90mph death loops around DC to get there (all so I wouldn't have to give service to the dealership that ignored me), so unfortunately it's not really a feasible place to go for service.

Hopefully the days will pass quickly.

[weebl]

Sunshinen - I see you love Coleman as well

[sunshinen]

Yeah. They're my favorite. Since we're naming them, I have to say the first oil change where I think the bolt/hole was stripped was at a shop in Frederick (one I would happily go back to, if they were closer), and even though they had not sold me my scooter or done the oil change, the first time I took it to Coleman's after an oil leak, they didn't charge me for checking it out. So that visit was very nice. And walking in with a helmet in my hand in the middle of winter, I had not one, but TWO salespeople come talk to me. I even got a card! So 1 of 4 visits has been a good experience.

They DO have a nice Buddy display up though.