oil change, drain plug unable to tighten.

[stoneboy]

Hi All,

I got my Agility 50 2013 model last October. Everything runs well until I started to change engine oil myself.

I decided to change engine oil myself after the dealer did the first service. I got 17 mm socket and was able to easily get the drain plug out on the lower side of the engine (not the bottom one). However, I noticed that I was not able to tighten the drain plug anymore.  It seems that I could tighten it up to a point, then it became loose again. I thought that the crush washer is at fault. I replaced it and the problem still persists. I inspected the nut's threads and they look OK to me. Does it mean that I might have damaged the threads inside the plug hole (threads in the oil drain plug hole stripped)? If so, that would be a very bad news. I am shocked by the poor quality of Kymco!

Right now, I just left it as it is, although I notice a constant minor leak on the floor of my garage.

What would be the remedy to this problem?

Thanks very much for your help in advance,

S.B.

[blue]

Get some whit plumbers tape and wrape around the threds that might help..........

[Vivo]

Yes...teflon tape..

[stoneboy]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll give that a try this weekend. Do you think getting a new drain plug might help? Or just waste of the money since the damage is inside the hole?

[MaryK]

A new drain plug may have deeper threads and work a bit better.
They also sell oversize drain plugs, but installation may create metal pieces  to watch out for.

Any chance you can get a new oil pan ?

scoot safely.

PS.  We have used non-metalic seals on some drain plugs and they came loose after a while,
 so I worry about the teflon tape idea.

[streido]

Hopefully its just the nut threads that stripped, i would def try a new sump plug 1st, they only cost a fiver or so anyway.

Normally the threads on nuts are made of softer material so they strip before the casing/shaft does.

[The Rookie]

Isn't it a steel plug into an alloy casing? Not looking good.

[fshfindr]

Not a mech here, but a long time ago I had a pipe flange with the same problem.  I brought it to a hardware store and they sold me a rethreading tool (die?).  I oiled it and slowly ran it through the flange, backing off whenever it got too tight, with a bit of patience, it worked.  Good luck with it and let us know how you make out.

Richard L.

[MotoRandy123]

Some of the F650GS BMW's had a problem with stripping that plug. BMW actually made a kit to fix it.
You threaded it to a bigger size and installed a big bolt with a smaller bolt through it to drain the oil.

If it were me I'd get one of those Fumoto drain plugs and JB weld it into place. You can still drain the oil
but it shouldn't leak;

http://www.fumotousa.com/

You just need to figure out the thread size... It's most likely metric and a standard size but I don't know
much about that stuff...

 You could mod the stock bolt too like this guy did (then JB Weld it in);

[The Rookie]

Not a mech here, but a long time ago I had a pipe flange with the same problem.  I brought it to a hardware store and they sold me a rethreading tool (die?).  I oiled it and slowly ran it through the flange, backing off whenever it got too tight, with a bit of patience, it worked. 

You can recut damaged threads, but it won't put material back into a strippout out thread.

Helicoiling would be a possibility - it's where you drill and cut the thread one size up and then screw in a steel thread which then stays in place and provides a metal thread for the original plug to screw into.

[blue]

Yes...teflon tape..

  the king of all fixing just like duck tape.

[streido]

Isn't it a steel plug into an alloy casing? Not looking good.

Not on mine??? Mine is a soft aluminium/alloy, much softer than the casing.

[stoneboy]

You're right. It is a steel plug into an aluminium alloy casing. Since the scooter is not even half a year old, I took it to the dealer to look at. The dealer said that they could put a slightly bigger plug (over size) to re-thread it, but they can't guarantee it will work 100%. They suggest that they replace the whole casing instead. The labor and part will amount to one third of the original scooter's cost. It seems so unacceptable because this scooter is almost new.

I uses the teflon tape today but I still can't lock it completely. There is still a very slight leakage.

So I am think that since there is another drain hole for the engine oil on the bottom, I could just seal the hole on the side with some sort of thread sealing material, like threadlocker made by Permatex. What do you think of this alternative?

I don't feel bad about this. It feels like a good lesson to learn in life... things that seem very simple can be easily messed up.

[blue]

funny you say that I got my gear oil plug sealed with a clear silacone comes off nice if I have to replace
and I can do it over and over again. Only thing you have give it some time to dry. maybe 4 hours.

[stoneboy]

Thanks all your responses. I really like MotorRandy123's idea. It seems easy to do and the fumoto's product is very innovative. I wonder if anyone has experiences with that engine oil drain valve. Does it work as advertised?