Stripped Primary Outer Cover Drain Threads! - How To Fix?
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Club Member
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Idaho Falls
Stripped Primary Outer Cover Drain Threads! - How To Fix?
Wonderful, just wonderful! The technician at my old dealership either cross-threaded, or more likely over-tightened, the primary drain plug in the outer cover. Now, a new drain plug will not seat tightly. What is the way to re-thread or repair these threads in the aluminum cover? A new cover is at least $200, so there must be a way to repair a perfectly good cover. A search on this forum did not find a thread for how to repair the plug threads. Thanks.
Last edited by OneBlackFly; Sep 20, 2009 at 03:14 PM.
Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,476
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From: Summit, Mississippi
It's a 1/8 NPT thread...I think. In other words...a pipe plug. You can tap it out to the next size, but you will have to also use a new size pipe plug. They can be had in stainless, or just about any color anodized aluminum. I have to say that that is one that I have never tapped-out, but I think there is enough room on the boss for that. Maybe yank it off and take it to a machine shop, if you are unsure of doing this. By the time you buy a drill, tap and a new plug, the cost may be a wash. The other old try may be to just wrap it good with Teflon tape, but that will always be an aggravating fix.
I could be wrong, but I don't think they make an oversize pipe plug.
I could be wrong, but I don't think they make an oversize pipe plug.
Thread Starter
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Club Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,360
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From: Idaho Falls
It's a 1/8 NPT thread...I think. In other words...a pipe plug. You can tap it out to the next size, but you will have to also use a new size pipe plug. They can be had in stainless, or just about any color anodized aluminum. I have to say that that is one that I have never tapped-out, but I think there is enough room on the boss for that. Maybe yank it off and take it to a machine shop, if you are unsure of doing this. By the time you buy a drill, tap and a new plug, the cost may be a wash. The other old try may be to just wrap it good with Teflon tape, but that will always be an aggravating fix.
I could be wrong, but I don't think they make an oversize pipe plug.
I could be wrong, but I don't think they make an oversize pipe plug.
Thanks to all that replied. I'm off to the hardware store now. Bye.
Big Kahuna HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 23,881
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From: USA
First...get a ball pein hammer.......and go whack the ahole that stripped it in the forehead so he has a large cherry knot to explain for 2 weeks.
Then tap it oversize and get a larger plug. No real oil pressure in there so not to worry. If it is totally FUBARED....JB weld the plug in there and use a vacuum fluid extractor (pela or motive brand) and suck the oil out the derby cover hole. When the oil is hot a fluid extractor will drain a primary in about 3 minutes.
Then tap it oversize and get a larger plug. No real oil pressure in there so not to worry. If it is totally FUBARED....JB weld the plug in there and use a vacuum fluid extractor (pela or motive brand) and suck the oil out the derby cover hole. When the oil is hot a fluid extractor will drain a primary in about 3 minutes.
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Novice
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 24
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From: Russia, Moscow
Hi!
I use to fix a bad thread
DONE DEAL REMOVABLE THREADLOCKER or DONE DEAL THREADLOCKER AND SUPERGLUE KIT.
To eliminate leakage of oil from Primary cover I used a DONE DEAL RED RTV SILICONE GASKET MAKER. Leaking oil has been eliminated.
Good luck!
I use to fix a bad thread
DONE DEAL REMOVABLE THREADLOCKER or DONE DEAL THREADLOCKER AND SUPERGLUE KIT.
To eliminate leakage of oil from Primary cover I used a DONE DEAL RED RTV SILICONE GASKET MAKER. Leaking oil has been eliminated.
Good luck!
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From: Idaho Falls
I want to summarize what I had to do to get this drain plug fixed. The previous H-D technician overtightened and thereby stripped the threads in the primary outer cover drain hole. The steel plug was fine but the o-ring was destroyed. How the plug stayed in is a miracle.
The fix was to tap the hole to 1/8" NPT and use a H-D drain plug from any model year prior to 2004. Those plugs are 1/8" NPT. Since there was very little material into which the new threads were tapped, I put teflon tape on the threads of the plug. Now it holds firmly and with no leaks.
If this ever happens again, I'd just enlarge the hole to 14" NPT and use a NPT pipe plug.
Since I had to remove the outer cover, I used that opportunity to adjust the chain tensioner and clutch too. I'm back on the roads.
The fix was to tap the hole to 1/8" NPT and use a H-D drain plug from any model year prior to 2004. Those plugs are 1/8" NPT. Since there was very little material into which the new threads were tapped, I put teflon tape on the threads of the plug. Now it holds firmly and with no leaks.
If this ever happens again, I'd just enlarge the hole to 14" NPT and use a NPT pipe plug.
Since I had to remove the outer cover, I used that opportunity to adjust the chain tensioner and clutch too. I'm back on the roads.
Last edited by OneBlackFly; Oct 2, 2009 at 10:54 AM.