How screwed am I?

[jwjulian]

I was changing the oil and fuel lines in my GS500 today, everything was going smooth. Once all the oil was drained, I put the plug back in, replaced the oil filter and cover and refilled with new oil. I started it up and let it run for a minute, then noticed a big oil spot underneath the bike. Thinking it might have been overpour or spilled oil, I moved the bike to a different location and let it idle for a couple more minutes. Still have an oil spot. I checked down and the drain plug wasn't dripping or leaking, but on the side of the oil filter cover I could see oil coming out and dripping down. Thinking I just didn't tighten the cover enough, I made a rotation of tightening each bolt just a little bit to see if the drip diminished. Then on one turn *snap*   and broke the screw stud off the bike.

f%$k.

It doesn't seem to drip anymore than before, but I have a feeling it will find a way to.

Is there a fix to this besides putting another engine in?

Anyone done this before?

It feels pretty crappy that I'm just losing oil every minute I ride it. PITA to have to keep checking the level and refilling it....

And before this, I had no problems with leaks or anything... 91 GS with 22k miles...

Thanks for listening everyone.

[skimhitz]

You're not overly screwed. You can extract the stud and put a new one in there. Some of the more experienced members on this forum will be able to explain how that's done. Either way, you definitely will not need a new engine.

For future reference, those acorn nuts (the three bolts on the filter cover) need barely any tightening, and are very prone to snapping off. Instead of using a socket wrench, pick up a screwdriver with a socket end on it and use that. You don't need or want the leverage that a wrench provides. The screwdriver will allow you to tighten it enough without worrying about going too far.

The leak was probably caused by the rubber ring for the filter cover being torn or out of place. When you take the filter cover off, inspect the black rubber ring, make sure the area around it and the area it covers on the engine are free of all debris, and replace the ring with a new one if it shows any signs of damage.

Good luck!

[kyle_99_gtp]

Does the stud have anything left sticking out that you could grab and turn with vise-grips? if not you can always use an e-z out to turn whats left of the stud out and then replace it.

[jwjulian]

I'm not sure if the stud has enough for me to grab and get out.

If I do get it out, where can I go about getting a replacement stud?

[jwjulian]

Just checked bike bandit

Would part #12 be the part I'm looking for here?

http://www.bikebandit.com/showschematic/m6051sch236927

[The Buddha]

Just use a 6mm bolt. Just a wee bit harder to put the cover back on and maybe putting a bit more stress on the aluminum threads in the engine, but its failure isn't the end of the world either, just put heli coil in it.
Cool.
Buddha.

[ineedanap]

I'm not sure if the stud has enough for me to grab and get out.

Before you drill the bolt out you might want to consider finding a welder.  I just went thru this headache on an exhaust bolt last week.  Even though there was only 1mm of bolt sticking out the welder was able to weld some stuff to it and unscrew it.  It's alot easier than drilling.

Good luck!  

[jeremy_nash]

I second the welding and screwing out idea.  I did that with the mirror perches, and it worked perfectly! I welded a bolt to what was sticking out, and put a wrench on the bolt and unscrewed it like it wasnt a problem

[ohgood]

first, riding with any oil leak no matter how small is a bad idea. think of that back tire

there are a few discussions here about how to fix it easily. the search feature takes some trial/error, but it works good luck !

[jrains89]

lol can't believe that because you snapped off a tiny stud you'd have to put an entire new engine in. easy fix man.

[johnny ro]

ride with leak and find out the hard way the leak grew while you were riding. I am not talking slippy rear tire, I am talking seized motor and ruined gear box. I lunched an SRX6 this way to my eternal regret. Tiny slime leak down low was topped up a few CCs a day then it went dry one day.

[BeerGarage]

I have found broken bolt extraction not overly difficult.

clutch on Subaru


oil pan on GS500, vice grips had enough to work with after I removed the oil pan.


Do you think you are up to take the oil filter cover off and try the vice grips?

[tt_four]

Riding with an oil leak is a bad idea, and I've had an engine replaced to prove it.

My last bike developed a leak in one of the breather covers, which was connected by a hose up to the air box. I just unplugged it from the air box and went on with my life. I checked the oil level constantly and always kept the oil level topped off, but it didn't matter. Eventually the motor developed a pretty awful noise, which turned out to be the crankshaft rattling around. The bike was still under warrantly, so the whole inside of the engine got replaced, but I saw the statement after it was done, and it cost Triumph a couple thousand dollars.

The GS would be cheaper considering how easy it is to get used parts and do the work yourself, but still, I'd just park the bike until you figure it out.

An other thing to consider, if you don't believe me that it's worth parking is the fact that you've only seen a little puddle after letting the engine idle. Take it out to the street, and rev that thing up to 10k rpm and see how much oil comes spitting out when the engine gets moving. My bike used to slowly drip oil at idle, but when I'd get closer to the redline oil would come shooting out of that hose. I rode a couple miles goofing around with my friend behind me in his white car, and 15 miles down the road we stopped at a gas station, the entire hood and windshield of his car were splattered in oil.

[jwjulian]

Thanks for all the input. I've got the parts on the way from bikebandit, once they get here and the weather clears up a bit, I'm going to give this a shot!

[jwjulian]

Well I tried to get it out with a pair of vise grips. Wasn't happening.

Tried to drill a pilot hole to get an extractor in. Wasn't happening. (Bolt wasn't flat, and I don't have a dremel to get it down flat)

So I broke down and took it to the mechanic shop next door. Luckily it's only a couple hundred feet so I could just walk the bike over. Guy said he's pretty sure he could get it out to the tune of around $65.

Well, I tried....

[tt_four]

That's alright. Lessons you've learned are easier to remember when they've cost you a lot of money.

The other thing to learn from this experience, is that $65 can get you two different things. It can either get one broken stud extracted, or it can just buy you a dremel...
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xiy/R-100647084/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

If you buy the dremel you'll be ready next time something happens. If you have a drill you could also just buy some of the little grinding stones for $3 a peice and use them in your drill. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xiy/R-100069455/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

[BeerGarage]

tt_four - A flat file and a finishing nail as a centerpunch - $5!