Help! Stuck oil drain bolt

[crimsonrick]

Apparently the previous owner of my 09 FZ6 used Metropolis Yamaha to change the oil, while Superman was working. I have almost rounded off the oil drain bolt and it has not loosened at all. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[chaskell27]

I guess I'd start by finding a socket that has as many teeth in it as possible so that it grabs the head of the bolt in as many spots as possible. Then I would get some more leverage. slip a steel tube over the end of the ratchet if you have to. Good luck just don't go too over the top

Something else that sounds stupid but I can't tell you how many times I thought I had dislexia when I figured out i was turning it the wrong way :spank:

 

[sublime0713]

WD-40 has been my friend for stuck bolts more times than I can remember. Give the contact point between the bolt and the pan a good soak, wait a minute, and try again.

 

[tomari]

if you can still grip it give it a wd-40 bath and try again in a couple of hours, best would be spray a lot on the bold and a lot on a rag and let the rag on the bolt overnight

 

[stink989]

get a SINGLE hex socket and give the bolt a few taps with the hammer with the socket on it, if that doesnt work you can rattle that thing out. it is 17mm so use the corect socket

 

[dantrigg]

I guess I'd start by finding a socket that has as many teeth in it as possible so that it grabs the head of the bolt in as many spots as possible.

Although well intentioned, unfortunately this is bad advice. A standard bolt has six sides and no matter how many teeth you have in a socket, only six will engage. You should use a socket with as many teeth as you have sides. this will allow the socket to have the most contact area with the bolt as possible. With more teeth you are contacting it with less surface area and each contact point is closer to the points of the bolt that are rounded off.

 

[08fz6]

wd 40, or any other Penetrating spray should help! spray it between the bolt and the case you should be able to see it "suck" it in give it a little bit of time and you should be able to get the bolt out. o yeah I would get a new bolt as well

 

[616ah]

Sometimes using a brand new, unworn socket, most definatly a six point, makes all the difference. If you can get it to somebody who is experienced with the feel of air tools there is a good possibility that it will rattle right out with carfull use of an impact gun... even if it does feel bad by hand. BTW superman or not, the factory manual spec is 31 ft/lbs, thats really tight IMO. Guess they don't want them falling out...

 

[Norbert]

Although well intentioned, unfortunately this is bad advice. A standard bolt has six sides and no matter how many teeth you have in a socket, only six will engage. You should use a socket with as many teeth as you have sides. this will allow the socket to have the most contact area with the bolt as possible. With more teeth you are contacting it with less surface area and each contact point is closer to the points of the bolt that are rounded off.

+1
Dont ever use a 12 point socket or wrench!!! Noooooo!!!

 

[LERecords]

worst case is you have to bring it to the dealer and let them "fix" it.. sucks, but good luck

 

[YamahaMAXdRPMs]

If it were me, i would leave it... if its not coming out, nothing your going to do is gonna make it... Get a drill with a 1/4 bit... drill a hole about one inch to the right of the drain bolt, grab a pan and catch all the running oil... once its all out your good to go, tap that hole and get a new drain bolt. Now you should be good to go, and halfway done your project!















in case you couldnt tell... this is very bad advice. It seems everyone else gave all the proper advice and left nothing to add... Good luck!! a good socket and some leverage are your best friend!!:BLAA:

 

[RJ2112]

I guess I'd start by finding a socket that has as many teeth in it as possible so that it grabs the head of the bolt in as many spots as possible. Then I would get some more leverage. slip a steel tube over the end of the ratchet if you have to. Good luck just don't go too over the top

Something else that sounds stupid but I can't tell you how many times I thought I had dislexia when I figured out i was turning it the wrong way :spank:

This is actually 180° out from what should be done...... you want as FEW teeth as possible. A 6 point socket or box end wrench, in six points. A bolt is not actually tightened or loosened on the 'points'.... it's all on the 'flats'. The more contact you have with the flats, the more leverage/torque you can put on the bolt.

The extra teeth in a 12 or 18 point socket or wrench are there so you can more easily find a convenient angle to slip the tool onto the bolt. A 6 point only lines up every 60 degrees... the 12 point cuts that in half, to 30 degrees, and the 18 cuts that into a smaller arc yet.

Each time you cut the 'face' of the tool into a shorter length, you reduce the area that can apply force to the bolt.

An open ended wrench is worse yet. The jaws can spread out, and that will more readily result in rounded off fasteners. Crescent wrenches are the work of the devil.:spank:

If you can get a box ended tool on a fastener, always use that before an open sided tool. Given a choice between 12 and 6 points, gauge how much force you need to apply against how much convenience you need.

Cheap tools will tear up bolts faster than quality tools will.

I've got Craftsman tools that I have owned since 1984..... still getting my money's worth out of them, too.

 

[YamahaMAXdRPMs]

I've got Craftsman tools that I have owned since 1984..... still getting my money's worth out of them, too.

Love this!!!

 

[macem29]

couple of suggestions: like mentioned, a 6 point socket only, quality one
and metric for a metric bike...this will sound funny but give the plug a whack
with a hammer inward towards the casing, use a large diameter punch if
you need to to reach in there, it WILL help loosen the plug, hammer the
propper sized socket over the damaged nut and use a 1/2 drive ratchet
or Johnson bar to brake it loose, agree with the previous post about 31
ft/lbs being silly tight for a drain plug...and no matter how tempted you
are after getting the old one out, do not re-use it

 

[LERecords]

minor note.. go get a new drain bolt and washer after you get that one loose..

 

[Falcon1220]

If it were me, i would leave it... if its not coming out, nothing your going to do is gonna make it... Get a drill with a 1/4 bit... drill a hole about one inch to the right of the drain bolt, grab a pan and catch all the running oil... once its all out your good to go, tap that hole and get a new drain bolt. Now you should be good to go, and halfway done your project!

in case you couldnt tell... this is very bad advice. It seems everyone else gave all the proper advice and left nothing to add... Good luck!! a good socket and some leverage are your best friend!!:BLAA:

Well done :rof: :iconbeer:

 

[Botch]

I'm wondering out loud here: would it be easier to loosen when the engine is hot, or cold?



I don't know...

 

[crimsonrick]

Thanks for all the tips. I was using a new 17mm socket. Local dealer wanted $99.95 for an oil change so doing it myself seemed like a good idea. I used to work construction so I've had plenty of tool experience. I soaked it with WD-40 & left it for the night. It reminds of a time years ago when I needed to change a flat on my car & wrung off the lug it was on so tight. I think this was definitley more than the torque spec. Wish me luck as I'll try again in the morning. I do plan to buy a new bolt.

 

[ant_mb]

You see so many threads like this on the first oil change that it makes we wonder. Be it oil filter or drain nut. Is Yamaha doing this on purpose? I mean come on, who can't place a wrench on a oil plug and loosen it? Does it really need to be so tight? I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I put a wrench on my drain plug and it came right off, I put the proper wrench on my filter and it came right off.

Is it a misuse of of tools? Are people using the wrong tools the first time therefore screwing everything up? It really make no sense to me! Why is changing oil so freaking hard?

 

[crimsonrick]

I suspect it's a dealer thing myself. I had all the right tools, made sure of that before I started. An a**hole with an impact wrench can make your life miserable. $100 for an oil change is pretty good incentive to make it hard on a diy'er. Just my frustrated $.02 worth.