Stripped threads on shaft drain.

[hardwaregrrl]

Hey all, the threads on my drive shaft drain just gave in. I've red loctited the plug in and after 2 weeks, no fluid has leaked. My question is how much would one expect to pay a shop to timesert/coil this drain? I was quoted 350 bucks today and that seems insane to me. Or am I insane? I know I don't really need to worry for another 7k miles, but I hate knowing it's stripped. tia.

[mark1305]

Jenna, that seems a little outrageous to me, as well.

I'm pretty scrupulous about some types of repairs, but given the nature of the driveshaft oil setup and the small quantities involved, I'd give serious thought to doing something like this at the next service interval: Remove the plug (use at least 3-400F heat to keep the red Loctite from pulling out more threads). Drill and tap it on the bench to fit a smaller bolt or capscrew and matching crush washer. Like the size of a fork leg drain screw on the stock ST forks. Clean the drain hole absolutely oil free (may require pulling the swingarm and final drive as a unit to invert them, but maybe not). Install the drain plug with JB Weld. Use the new smaller drain bolt.

Or even quicker would be to find a drain bolt repair kit with whatever size would be the next oversize for the drain plug threads. Auto parts stores usually have a selection. The oversize bolts are self tapping and have the small inner drain bolt already fitted.

[Stagehand]

I would think that shouldnt be more than an hour's work, so like maybe $75 or so... Its not even a pressurized plug.

[hardwaregrrl]

It's such a bummer. I always ride a hour and a half to Nathan's place, thought I'd throw one of my local shops a bone, but almost choked when they gave me the price. Does anyone know the size and length of the plug? It isn't listed on Max's fische, just the final drain plug?

[JZed]

Originally Posted by hardwaregrrl

It's such a bummer. I always ride a hour and a half to Nathan's place, thought I'd throw one of my local shops a bone, but almost choked when they gave me the price. Does anyone know the size and length of the plug? It isn't listed on Max's fische, just the final drain plug?

Jenna

Mark105 has a pretty good idea about taking the stock plug and drilling and tapping it for a smaller screw with a crush washer and then cleaning the stock plug and hole and then assembling it with some JB Weld. My '86 R80 had a repaired drain plug for the drive shaft housing. It had been repaired with a auto engine drain plug repair kit. It was interesting that who ever installed it had ground a rounded clearance arc in the end of the replacement plug. This was necessary because the outside diameter spline gear in the final drive pinion shaft pretty well fills the bore in the square part of the final drive that the swing arm holds too. That makes tapping for helicoils or timeserts sort of problematic without removing and dismantling the final drive. No room to the tap to go. The threads on the replacement kit drain plug came out about 6 years ago. I removed it and cleaned everything up and smeared some JB Weld on the frist couple of threads of the ID thread in the housing and some of the last few threads of the plug and installed it flush with the final drive housing. I then applied more JB weld around the head head of the drain plug and the final drive housing. I let evey thing set up for a couple of days and then put about 125 cc or so of oil in the drive shaft. No leaks in 6 years and 40,000 miles. The repair plug has a 1/8" pipe plug for the drain plug. I install it with some teflon tape and things drain out fine.

Bring the bike over to the camp out at Nathan's this weekend. It would make a good tech project. Hope to see you there.

JZed
ABC 6179
SC
'86 R80
'92 R100GS
'2006 KLR650

[wirewrkr]

Jenna, the plug is a 12x1.5 thread and is 9mm deep from the shoulder to the end.
The threads are really shallow because of the seal carrier inside, which must be removed to change the seal.
If you can wait until after Thanksgiving, ship it to me out in the desert and I'll fix it with the proper Timesert for the staggering sum of 0. Good time to put a new seal in there too, which I can also do for you for the cost of the seal. Or send one along with it.

[trophymoto]

I have taped them up to the FD drain plug size. You just need to shorten the plug a bit. Done lots this way

[hardwaregrrl]

Originally Posted by wirewrkr

Jenna, the plug is a 12x1.5 thread and is 9mm deep from the shoulder to the end.
The threads are really shallow because of the seal carrier inside, which must be removed to change the seal.
If you can wait until after Thanksgiving, ship it to me out in the desert and I'll fix it with the proper Timesert for the staggering sum of 0. Good time to put a new seal in there too, which I can also do for you for the cost of the seal. Or send one along with it.

Holy crap, Robert!!! That is a really nice offer!!! I'm off work this week and thinking I may take a stab and insterting a smaller plug as Mark recommended. If I f$%k it up, you may end up with my final drive. Thanks all for your help.

[hardwaregrrl]

Originally Posted by JZed

Bring the bike over to the camp out at Nathan's this weekend. It would make a good tech project. Hope to see you there.

Yeah, I'm gonna miss it. Got friends in from SF and Chitown!!!! Haven't told Nathan yet, he's gonna be mad at me since I've not seen him in 2 months. Hope you guys have a blast!!

[Stagehand]

I love the plug in a plug idea.

[wirewrkr]

what shop wanted $350.00 for this repair?

[Reryder]

You really need to pull the seal holder out to do the job properly with a Timsert or Helicoil etc. That needs a special tool - easily made from a piece of pipe - and to heat the housing with a propane torch.

[wirewrkr]

I did the plug in a plug route on one of my first /5 bikes.
It worked great, but keep in mind, once the hole is hogged out, for the intermediate piece, that's it. you will have to keep it that way forever unless you disassemble the final drive and have the hole welded up.
Without the right jigs, I don't recommend doing the seal carrier job at home. Impact wrenching them is a little brutal in my book.
I have never had to heat them to get them out. There may come a day, but not yet.

[Houseoffubar]

Damn, I have a really hard time charging anything for work I do. I can't imagine the person who could look you in the eye, and say $350

Good for you fixing it yourself, and on Robert for the backup

[Bill Harris]

The big problem with repairing the drivshaft fill/drain plugs is that if you don;t get the new threads absolutely square to the milled boss on the outer surface, it won't ever seal right. And really, the absolute, proper way to do it is to pull the pinion and seal housing, which ain't for the home hobbiest. I won't even do it myself.

But I have a couple of ideas for a home repair of those pesky threads.

Remove the rear drive and clamp it very securely in a drill press vise. Drill and tap for the solid thread insert ("timeset") and get a 3/4" end mill and touch up that milled boss so that it is now "perpendicular" to the new threads.

Or get the solid thread repair insert, drill, tap, red-Loctite it in, but leave it just proud (maybe .006-.008") of the original milled boss, so that he sealing washer will bite down nice and square on it.