Oil Pan replacement

[Firehawk068]

A few weeks after returning home from the awesome 6,000+ mile trip with Cap'n Ron, I went to change the oil.
I first noticed that I had an issue when I went to remove the drain plug. It was not as tight as it should be.............in fact, it was just barely more than finger-tight  
An immediate sense of relief came over me, as the last 2-days of that trip were monster-mile days coming across Nevada, Utah, and Colorado to get home. I was happy that it had not come loose on me during the ride!
So..........after draining the oil, I went to put the plug back in. It just spun, and spun, and kept spinning.................CRAP!

After a bunch of swear-words, and a couple calls and text-messages, Chris Wyatt came through with a spare Oil Pan!  

I've been busy ever since with Family stuff, and getting to know my (new to me) Super Tenere.

Today I started on the Pan swap. The removal of the Oil Pan was super easy.....
Looked at the Oil Pump pickup, and at first it appeared clean. I almost wasn't going to remove it.......................
I'm glad I did!  Once I got it off, I found all kinds of debris stuffed up in there!
I inspected it really close............it appears to be bits of gasket material, some strips of RTV-silicone, some threads from my oil drain plug hole, and some really hard bits that appear to be plastic (possibly from the cam-chain guides?)
There's 150,000 miles worth of stuff in there!

Anyway, I just ordered a new Pickup Screen from Randy..........I'll re-assemble everything this coming weekend.

[Tuned forks]

Wow, that's a lot of trash.  You're so lucky in many ways Alan.

Joe

[red]

A few weeks after returning home from the awesome 6,000+ mile trip with Cap'n Ron, I went to change the oil.  I first noticed that I had an issue when I went to remove the drain plug. It was not as tight as it should be.............in fact, it was just barely more than finger-tight   Anyway, I just ordered a new Pickup Screen from Randy..........I'll re-assemble everything this coming weekend.

Alan,

It's just me, but I would recommend using a Magnetic Drain Plug there, which is drilled for safety wire.  You won't need excessive torque to secure the drain plug, if you use safety wire.  A pound of 0.032" Stainless Steel wire should cost less than US$15 and last a lifetime.  They do make automagical wire-twisting pliers, but twisting the wires with small vice-grip pliers holding the wires can do the job just as well.  You can drill a second safety-wire hole in the new drain plug, to make things simple.
Anytime somebody asks me if I am worried that my drain plug might come out, I just laugh and say No, with easy confidence.   

Randy at RPM has drilled Magnetic Drain Plugs, or there are lots of aftermarket choices.
.

[Pat Conlon]

Great idea Red

If you ever get a chance to take your FJ to the track, some tracks require safety wire on the oil pan drain, the oil fill cap and the oil filter.

[aviationfred]

Great find and definitely a major incident avoided. I can imagine with very bad results of the drain plug departing on I-70 coming down from the Tunnel. 

I shared similar photos of my oil pick up screen during my 1300 build and recommended that everyone should remove their oil pans at the next oil change for a debris check in the oil pick up screen.


Fred

[Motofun]

Speaking of safety wiring stuff....check out "pro-bolt", they stock am amazing supply of pre-drilled bolts that make safety wiring a snap.

[ribbert]

.......... You can drill a second safety-wire hole in the new drain plug, to make things simple.
Anytime somebody asks me if I am worried that my drain plug might come out, I just laugh and say No, with easy confidence.   

Red, no downside to a safety wired sump plug, especially if it gives you peace of mind but I must say, in all my years, I have never seen one back out. And we are talking a lot of sump plugs.

I can't recall an automotive thread problem since VW's from the 70's had the cylinders come loose because the bolts had the wrong pitch. I have confidence in threads. The fact the sump plug is particularly important doesn't make it any more prone to failure but does make it more prone to over tightening, stripped plugs are not uncommon.

The bits of thread in Alan's sump show in his case it was stripped. Good to see his pick up screen doing it's job. I'm glad it didn't give him any grief on the trip, for several reasons it would be a ride ending event.

You sure dodged a bullet there Alan.

Noel

[ribbert]

Great idea Red

If you ever get a chance to take your FJ to the track, some tracks require safety wire on the oil pan drain, the oil fill cap and the oil filter.

I imagine it changes from operator to operator. The ones I've done require luggage racks and mirrors removed, speedo taped over, tyre pressures dropped to 30psi, one piece leathers or 2 piece if they zip together, full face helmet

Noel

[red]

Great idea Red   If you ever get a chance to take your FJ to the track, some tracks require safety wire on the oil pan drain, the oil fill cap and the oil filter.

Thanks.  

Cases or drain plugs get stripped by people who do not want to lose the oil drain plug "in flight."  I have read about a few instances of riders losing their drain plug (and all the oil) on the freeway, and they had to deal with very little traction from the oily rear wheel as well as an engine about to seize.  Excessive torque is a rotten (costly) substitute for a few inches of safety wire.  Aircraft require safety wire because it works, when torque alone does not work.  The price on the link below is now US$ 16.07 for the good stuff.

https://www.amazon.com/Malin-MS20995C-Stainless-Safety-Lockwire/dp/B005VR49D6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542119722&sr=8-1&keywords=.032+inch+safety+wire

There are oil filters made with lugs for safety wiring, mostly for aircraft use (and with aircraft pricing).  I use regular oil filters, but I use a large hose clamp to secure the filter.  I put heat-shrink tubing on the band of the clamp, so the clamp will grip on the filter strongly without sliding, and without crushing the filter.  Electrical tape on the inside of the clamp band would do the same thing, there.  Once the oil filter is installed correctly, I put the clamp around the filter at mid-body, and rotate the clamp so the screw adjuster is on top.  I run safety wire through the screw adjuster, and run the twisted safety wire from the adjuster to a convenient place near the rear master cylinder.  The hose clamp only needs to be tight enough that it cannot be moved on the filter.  I never worry about losing an oil drain plug, or having the oil filter come loose, not even half a turn.
     
.

[Millietant]

I had a sump "plug" back out in '92 while on honeymoon, going up a twisty section of the D500 in the Black Forest.

First thing I knew (going steeply uphill) was the oil light coming on, immediately followed by a strange squirming from the rear end. Pulling over to check, I found a bodge job because the dealer who had done my service (more of that in a minute) had "lost" the actual sump plug.

So, at the side of the road, I tightened up the make-shift plug, put some oil in (I always carry a litre of oil on higher mileage tours, as the FJ always uses a smudge of oil under continuous days of hot-weather-high-mileage running) and then carried on to the first town to find a bike shop and hopefully a "proper" sump plug.

Luckily, we didn't fall off and the engine didn't destroy itself- the plug hadn't actually come out, but it was just hanging in and oil was leaking out, running along the underside of the sump and heading for the back tyre. Following the fix at the German bike shop - they were amazed at the sheer bodginess of the "substitute sump plug" - the rest of our honeymoon went without a hitch.

When I got home, I went to the dealer who performed the "service" - I had told them that we were going for a 2 week honeymoon tour following our wedding and needed the bike to be in tip top condition mechanically - and told them of the issue (normally I do all servicing myself, but on this occasion I was working16 hour days, 7 days a week and just didn't have the time to do it properly myself). They apologised profusely, disciplined their "mechanic" and offered me my next 3 services "free of charge".

Needless to say, I didn't take up their generous offer of free "servicing" !!

[Pat Conlon]

There are oil filters made with lugs for safety wiring,  

Yes, RPM sells oil filters that can be safety wired: http://rpmracingca.com/products.asp?cat=39&filter=oil%20filter

I use regular oil filters, but I use a large hose clamp to secure the filter.....

That's a great alternative Red, thanks!

At the recent RPM Rally, on the Saturday ride coming down the little dragon, Randy's son, Ryan, had a spin on filter come lose. Only Ryan's skill (and God's grace) prevented a terrible outcome. Ryan's bike did not have the RPM spin on adapter so it was unclear the cause.
It does not take much to lose the oil seal on the filter can. It's alarming (and impressive) how much, and how quickly, the oil will pump out.

In my travels with my RPM spin on adapter, I occasionally check the tightness of the filter can (when the bike is hot)
Once or twice have I ever had to re-tighten (hand tight) the filter can. When I did, it was only a very small ~ 1/16th of a turn.  

[FJ_Hooligan]

At the recent RPM Rally, on the Saturday ride coming down the little dragon, Randy's son, Ryan, had a spin on filter come lose. Only Ryan's skill (and God's grace) prevented a terrible outcome. Ryan's bike did not have the RPM spin on adapter so it was unclear the cause.

Pat, you just confused me.  How was Ryan using a spin on filter without having the adapter?

I was using Bosch filters on my FZ1 and noticed a puddle under the filter one day.  I tried tightening the filter but it was as tight as it would go.  I pulled it off and it seems Bosch had changed the manufacturing process or supplier.  The threaded part of the filter which used to be concave but was now convex.  The convex screw surface was contacting the engine case before the filter seal was compressed enough to seal.  Now I always make sure I can feel the seal compress.

[Pat Conlon]

Ryan had a spin on adapter but not the RPM version.
Ryan's adapter was one of the early versions (pre-dated the RPM version) and I seem to recall it was sold by 600 Racing.
Ryan was riding Gary Mastro's (aka Gazza) old bike.

Thanks for the tip David....so beware of this:

[Firehawk068]

I would think that "Safety-Wiring" something such as a drain plug would provide some sort of peace-of-mind, however as Noel stated it is absolutely not necessary.
In all the years of cars, trucks, motorcycles, ATVs, lawnmowers, etc.........and everything I have ever owned or worked-on, I have never had an oil drain plug of any kind come loose.
Oil filters are even less of an issue...............they always seem to get tighter as the engine runs!  

The root cause of this instance of stripped-threads goes way back..........................back further than before I ever took possession of the FJ1200.
At some point during the previous ownership (there was only one other, so I can blame him) he stripped the threads in the oil Pan.
The very first oil change that I did on the bike after buying it, I noticed that it had a 14-1.5 SO (single-oversize) drain plug in it. The threads felt ok to me, and it always tightened up to a reasonable level.
I always kept this in mind, and was always careful not to over-tighten the plug when I did my oil changes. It never gave me any issue, even the oil change I performed just before leaving on the big trip............Hell, that was 10-years of me using it, and who knows how many years of the previous owner's use?
So I suppose I have been really lucky with this one, up to this point.
In the future, I still will not be safety-wiring my drain plugs, and I doubt that I will ever have an issue with not doing so.

When I first noticed that it would not tighten back up, I thought I would try a "quick-fix" to get me by until I could source a replacement pan. I went to the Auto Parts store and got a 14-1.5 DO plug.
It ended up being a "NO-GO"! The DO plug is so big that it would not even start to thread into the hole.............................So I did the sensible thing, and just went out and bought a new bike to ride in the mean-time!  

[FJ_Hooligan]

Same as Alan, I have done my own oil changes in everything I've ever owned for the past 50 years.  Current fleet includes 5 motorcycles, 6 autos and 3 lawnmowers.  

I experienced a loose drain plug only 1 time.  Years ago my wife's Toyota 4-Runner was recalled for a cylinder head replacement.  The recall service included a free oil change.  After a few days, I picked the 4-Runner up and drove it home.  A few hours later I noticed a small puddle of oil accumulating under the engine.  I crawled underneath and the drain plug was about 3 turns on the loose side of finger tight.  

The Service Manager got an earful over that.