Oil drain plug

[Ry_Guy]

Anyone know what size it is? Mine came out last night while I was driving home. Oil all over the highway. I was pushing 80mph, and I thought "why am I fish-tailing?" Then I looked down and thought "why is my oil light on?" Then I pulled over and thought "why am I smoking?" The entire back wheel is super glossy from all the oil!

[steguis]

wow...glad you didn't go down in the process. Why not just order one from bikebandit? Oh wait...I guess you want to be up and running soooner rather than later

[Ry_Guy]

Yup, I was hoping to find one at a local hardware store 

[ineedanap]

The diameter and threads are 14x1.25.   Not sure exactly what the length would be, though.  

If it helps, almost all suzuki drain plugs are interchangable and some even have magnets built into them from the factory (busa and others).  

[Ry_Guy]

Thanks!!

[morganti]

How did it come out? Are the threads stripped on the oil pan?  I recently stripped the oil pan threads and had to come up with a temporary fix (Suzuki Canada is back-ordered 3 weeks on the part). 

[GeeP]

A little safety wire solves this problem. 

[bill14224]

I'm sure glad you shut it off in time! 

Many people crossthread them or put them in so tight they can't get them loose.  I don't tighten mine very much and I've never had an oil plug come loose on any car or bike I've ever had unless someone else does the job!

My g/f's drain plug came loose last year.  Good thing she noticed and told me her almost new car was leaking oil.  I got suspicious and went outside to check the plug and it was only about 2 threads from falling out!  inattentive grease monkeys

[Ry_Guy]

I'm not sure how it came out. The threads aren't stripped. I've put about 1100 miles on since the last oil change  Kind of a freak accident. I guess that's one more thing to check over.

[tt_four]

Home Depot has those little templates. Just take your bike in and sping the engine onto the template bolts.

I don't actually know what the chances are you're gonna find a bolt that bike at the hardware store. You might have to try the auto parts store, and even their normal bolts usually go up to 10mm(pepboys atleast). I bet there's a good chance you can find one that's meant to be an oil plug, pre-boxed and sitting on a rack somewhere, but car stores also have this infatuation with SAE hardware, so who really knows. Your local motorcycle dealership may have a spare that would fit?

[JB848]

If I am not mistaken these are metric threads not standard so as much as I like Home Depot forget it. When you do replace it with the proper part make sure you use the squash washer. This is what stops it from loosening from the engine vibration. If you don't have that washer..as the last person mentioned use a piece of wire around it. This Will not stop it from loosening but it will keep you from losing it at least!

[qwertydude]

I bought a replacement for mine on ebay, turns out they're similar to jeep drain plugs, same size but the jeep drain plug has a non-threaded extension. Still fits but I had to buy a pack of 5 of them but they come with plastic washers which are reusable at least.

[The Buddha]

I hope you didn't destroy that motor you just rebuilt.
I lost ~1 qt when my oil pressure guage blew and psrayed my right side.
I was worried, but the 25K miles I put on after that sorta eased my worry.
Cool.
Buddha.

[tt_four]

If I am not mistaken these are metric threads not standard so as much as I like Home Depot forget it. When you do replace it with the proper part make sure you use the squash washer. This is what stops it from loosening from the engine vibration. If you don't have that washer..as the last person mentioned use a piece of wire around it. This Will not stop it from loosening but it will keep you from losing it at least!

Home depot has some metric bolts, but it's a pretty pathetic display. Some bicycle wheels have 14mm axles, I bet one of the adaptors I have would have fit in there except they definitely have a highter TPI.

How are you wrapping wire around the nut so you wouldn't lose it? are you just wrapping wire around the base and the other end to one of the bottom rails of the frame? I'm not sure I get that one. I have my drain plug at the moment and now you guys all have me worried to put it back in. Finding a large locking washer wouldn't help? Atleast a washer can be in SAE and you might have a chance of finding a large enough one of those. Would an O-ring have any benefit?

[ineedanap]

How are you wrapping wire around the nut so you wouldn't lose it? are you just wrapping wire around the base and the other end to one of the bottom rails of the frame? I'm not sure I get that one. I have my drain plug at the moment and now you guys all have me worried to put it back in. Finding a large locking washer wouldn't help? Atleast a washer can be in SAE and you might have a chance of finding a large enough one of those. Would an O-ring have any benefit?

This should give you an idea of what it would look like.  You drill a hole in your drain plug, then drill another hole in one of the oil pan fins for an anchor point.  Do it right and the bolt can't loosen.

http://www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0002_hand/photo_02.html

If that intimidates you, use your normal setup (drain plug and regular crush washer) and tighten it to the torque specs.  After that, take RTV sealant and blob it all over the bolt and the oil pan.  It makes a mess, but it will prevent it from backing out.  It's something racers do when there is no physical way to drill for safety wire.  

Or do nothing.  I wouldn't mess with orings and lock washers and that kind of stuff.  It was probably a freak accident and you're probably overly worried about it.  If you use the correct plug and the correct washer and tighten it to the correct specs it will be extremely unlikely for this to happin again.  

[JB848]

I second that motion! You can go to any auto parts store and get some kind of crush washer...Don't use lock or regular flat washers! You will add to the vibration which causes it to become loose. But ineedamap is right, there are millions of Oil plugs that don't come lose. Just use the proper washer and no worries!

[tt_four]

Yeah, I don't know how many times I've replaced oil and never thought about the crush washer. Actually, I seem to remember going to a dealership and buying a new oil filter, and having them hand me a crush washer to go with it..... hmm... I still need one or two things from pepboys, so I'll just keep an eye out for some crush washers while I'm there.

I don't know if I'd go as far as to drill a hole in one of the engine fins, but I bet a whole through the nut with a long skinny cotter pin might do the same thing. As long as the cotter pin was close enough to the engine that the ends would hit the fin if the bolt tried to come loose, it would keep it from falling out.

[VSG]

I think some of those steps are overkill for the average rider.  Drain plug + crush washer tightened to torque specs is enough.  If you are worried, add a little RTV sealant between the washer and oil pan before tightening.

[JB848]

Warning when using RTV! Do not use too much and only apply to the plug. There is however remote a chance of sucking excess into the oil cooling system. I would advise against doing this at all.

[VSG]

I don't think there's any more risk than when using an RTV sealant for an oil pan or (for our bikes) oil filter cover.  I've done both with no issues.  But under normal circumstances, it really isn't needed for the drain plug.

But proper application is important.  You don't want to use the whole tube and you'll want some time for it to cure.