When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Did mine a year or so ago with the time-sert kit.That's going to depend on how much meat is left in the drain pan. Mine was striped, but not whored out so one and done, no more leaks. Threads around here somewhere.
But have you tried some sealant on the threads?[/QUOTE]
Try this first- just use some locktite PST- or use a little teflon tape on the threads. I ripped the oring on my sportsters primary plug- i just used some tape instead- hasnt leaked yet.
Thanks, I'll try the Dorman first. If it still leaks, I'll buy the timesert set up. I'd rather buy the expensive tool kit and have it myself rather than let a shop touch my toys. I still have the $150 Ford 5.4 triton spark plug removal kit from a long departed F250, but if I ever have to change plugs on a 5.4, I'm ready!
I bought a new slide hammer to pull the baffles out of my slip ons... The bar across the front of the baffles promptly broke off since they were barely tacked in place so the baffles are laughing at me and the slide hammer is now useless. It will go in my collection of obsolete tools.
I'm going to drive the baffles out with a long 1/2" extension and a big *** socket. If I can find the right one among all this junk.
The oil drain plug in my pan is already oversized, thanks to the previous owner. Even with a new o-ring it still drips. What's the best fix? tap for the next size up? Replace the pan? Fatter o-ring?
If your oil pan plug is oversized, the normal o-ring will not seal correctly as the chamfer where the o-ring sits in the hole is gone.
As stated in the above posts, use a flat sealing washer, there are many different kinds from fiber, aluminum, and fiber/aluminum with rubber gasket.
If you can pull torque of 15 - 20 foot pounds, without it stripping then you should be okay.
**Guessing that your unit might be an aluminum pan.
1-Review current drain plug.
If it is a 1/2-20 ...there are a few options
2- Check to see if yours is a 1/2-20 S.O (single oversize).
Perhaps a piggy back "S.O" style of plug would provide a solution. You can use sealant on the part that will remain stationary (the S.O part).
The piggy back type of plug should be used with a brake line washer for smaller plug..the kind of washer that is a metal ring with rubber sealer in hole part since the rubber o-ring that is generally supplied is not good.
3-If that does not work then you can buy a tap and plug kit. The plug will be a larger size..colony brand kit i believe.
Also..for giggles.
Remove plug and look up the drain plug hole with a flashlight.
Sometimes the hole in some vehicles has more thread than required and a longer plug will provide sufficient bite.
The plug on a Harley is a MS fitting. It's designed to seal in the bevel in the pan and the steel plug torque on the aluminum face machined in the pan. The threads are straight and sealer will help but should not be necessary. Be sure you are using the correct o-ring. It should be tight in the undercut of your plug. If your plug doesn't look like my sketch, it may not even be an MS plug.
If the plug torques, it's not the threads, it's either the bevel or someone tapped it over and used a helicoil or an insert. Welding it makes a mess. Then you don't even have a flat face.
If the hole is ever tapped oversized, you need a face gasket. Use the copper one with a seal ring in the center.
Don't depend on a soft face gasket to keep a plug in a shaky Harley motor. That's why Harley spent all that costly machining time on that MS fitting.
Last edited by Jackie Paper; Dec 20, 2023 at 09:23 PM.
A Parker Stat-O-Seal, which is a washer with a molded rubber sealing ring on the I.D. would work. Alternately a Parker Lock-O-Seal is also a option. It is a washer with a individual o-ring that fits in the I.D. I have made my own Lock-O-Seal type seals by getting the correct size o-ring for the drain plug and then finding or filing the I.D. of a washer to fit the o-ring. Either of these options should work if the space under the hex head of your drain plug is wide enough to bear on the metal washer while fully compressing the rubber sealing element.
A Parker Stat-O-Seal, which is a washer with a molded rubber sealing ring on the I.D. would work. Alternately a Parker Lock-O-Seal is also a option. It is a washer with a individual o-ring that fits in the I.D. I have made my own Lock-O-Seal type seals by getting the correct size o-ring for the drain plug and then finding or filing the I.D. of a washer to fit the o-ring. Either of these options should work if the space under the hex head of your drain plug is wide enough to bear on the metal washer while fully compressing the rubber sealing element.
The nice thing about the two seal types I mentioned is that they work on a hole that doesn't have a chamfer that's necessary for o-ring clearance like you pointed out in your earlier post. With the OP's drain hole being oversized the chamfer on his drain hole is probably gone or very narrow with not enough room for the o-ring.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
