Stripped Oil Drain Plug

[ITALN]

Not the threads (I hope), the Allen socket. I just bought a 96 Monster 900, the previous owner is an acquaintance and I know for a fact he had this ride serviced at the dealer. I am not totally surprised; I have been taking my BMW to this dealer for years and have a handful of WTF stories. Anyhow, I am going to handle this myself. I am thinking PB Blaster, vice grips, hammer and chisel.... I am wondering if I should put a little heat on the drain plug via oxy-propane torch. I would appreciate any and all advice in this matter.

Thanks,
Vinnie

[tonered]

On a recent thread in the ST forum, I think, it was noted to coat the allen wrench in oil or grease, then sand. I think this is covered in the desmotimes.com service manual. I believe this worked for other folks' stripped oil plugs.

Have a good one.

[moto]

And then replace it a billet hex head drain plug.
The allen head drain plugs have a tapered tool hole- so tools don't grip it well.

MOTOWHEELS Billet Magnetic Drain Plug

[boxingjoey2]

I've used both method, but really love the craftsman bolt out set.
Craftsman 7 pc. Ratcheting Bolt-Out Set 52164

http://www.diybuildingandrepairs.com...ped-bolts.html

How to Repair or Remove Stripped Bolts
If your bolt is stripped and you're finding that it is difficult to remove or repair, there's a few simple tricks you can try before turning to a professional for removal. Which method you use to remove the stripped bolt will depend on your particular circumstance. But first start by using a suitable penetration fluid, such as PB Blaster or WD40 to help you along with the removal process of the bolt. Spray the fluid around the head of the stripped bolt. You want the penetrating fluid to work its way down into the threads of the stripped bolt as you are working on it so removal will be easier. It can mean the difference between the stripped bolt coming out faster or you having to resort to more procedures to remove the bolt. Craftsman makes an excellent damaged bolt or nut removal tool that works like a vice on the head of stripped bolts and nuts. The more you tighten down on the stripped bolt, the more it bites into it and helps turn it out. You may want to try this first before resorting to drilling out the bolt. If you have to resort to drilling the stripped bolt out, you will of course need a drill and drill bits. Use a 1/4 inch drill bit in the center of the stripped bolt. Drill down about an inch. This hole will help guide the larger drill bits so drill it as straight as possible. Once you have that first hole drilled, you can start moving up in sizes with your drill bits until you have one drill bit a little smaller that the actual diameter of the hole. If you go too far you can damage the inner threads of the hole and make it near impossible to get a new bolt back in once you're finished removing the old bolt. Take your time at this stage. Once you have most of the stripped bolt drilled out, you can use a screw extractor kit to remove the bolt. This kit basically has threaded screw type heads that dig into the inside of the drilled bolt and grasps it as the bolt is being turned outwards. One of the least popular ways to repair a stripped bolt is to heat the head of the bolt. Do not use this technique when the bolt is screwed into an aluminum surface. If you heat a bolt that is in aluminum, when you go to turn the bolt after heating, you will not only remove the bolt, but also some of the aluminum surrounding the bolt. Once the bolt is removed you may want to spray the inner surface of the bolt hole with WD-40 or PB Blaster so the next time you don't start out an easy job by stripping one of your bolts.

[ITALN]

FYI - A hammer and a chisel worked fine. Got a good bite in the side of the flange and rotated it out. This destroyed the drain plug but I took the advice above and got a Billet replacement.

[Gilly]

That's why I don't even trust myself with hand tightening things. I use the inch pound torque wrench for anything under 20 ft pounds, and anything over 20 ft pounds gets the "standard" torque wrench. Ca Cycles had the inch pound torque wrench at a fair price.

[Libido]

$28 plus shipping for a drain plug?! I'd rather buy a few of the OEM's and risk having to tap them out.