The threads in the drain plug hole seemed to be getting weaker and weaker the last two oil changes. I have been reluctant to torque the drain plug tight for fear they'll break completely. Today I noticed a slight drip. I just ordered a pan gasket and O-ring and plan on pulling the pan to install a Time-Sert thread repair. The drain plug protrudes 12mm from the crush washer, but not sure the threaded portion of the pan is that thickness. The Time-Serts come in 9.2 and 13.5 mm lengths for a 12x1.5 thread. Has anyone had the pan off with the plug in? I want to put the longest Sert in possible without blocking any oil from draining.

Also, If anyone else has or has had this problem, the kit comes with 5 Serts, so I'll have 4 leftover for anyone who needs a repair.

You could try what I did.Wrap the threads on the bolt with either a piece of electrical tape...or teflon.It works.

On my 07 I got one of those self tapping bolts.Ran it in there...with washer...that also worked great.

Just ordered the Time-Sert kit with the 9.2mm inserts. The inserts lock into place by way of expansion of the last couple of threads, so 13.5mm would have been a little long.

You could try what I did.Wrap the threads on the bolt with either a piece of electrical tape...or teflon.It works.
On my 07 I got one of those self tapping bolts.Ran it in there...with washer...that also worked great.-Grn

I might try that as a stopgap measure and do the insert this winter.

The threads in the drain plug hole seemed to be getting weaker and weaker the last two oil changes.

The oil pan is steel, right? That is, not aluminum. Right?

The oil pan is steel, right? That is, not aluminum. Right?-meb

No, cast aluminum as far as I can tell. Or maybe magnesium like the cam cover and outer covers.

Update to this deal; I borrowed an electric winch which I was planning to to use to stand BW II up into a static 12 o'clock wheelie to gain access to the drain hole threads. This evening, I drained the fresh oil into a clean pan and replaced the plug to stem any drips while I cut holes in the garage ceiling to hang a chain to attach the winch to.

Out of curiosity, I decided to see what it would take to strip it out completely, so I grabbed a 17mm wrench and cranked a couple of turns tight. Sure enough, the drain plug spun, but when I went to remove it, only the head came out. The rest of the plug was still in the drain hole, so I backed the bike over the driveway drain and removed the rest with an extractor bit.

Turns out, it was the crappy Lockhart-Phillips magnetic drain plug that was shearing off, not the pan threads stripping. I dug out the stock plug and spun it in and tightened it. I'm now in the process of straining the oil back into the engine.

So I will be returning the pan gasket and thread repair kit I bought for credit. The damned magnetic plug never attracted a shard of ferric metal anyway.

* Last updated by: Danno on 10/8/2015 @ 7:02 PM *

Good to hear Danno, I was gonna say the stock plug feels pretty HD and I was shocked when you said you stripped it. Looks like your all good back to the stocker.

Turns out, it was the crappy Lockhart-Phillips magnetic drain plug that was shearing off, not the pan threads stripping. I dug out the stock plug and spun it in and tightened it. I'm now in the process of straining the oil back into the engine.

What a piece of shit!

I have to take some blame, too. Expecting a hollowed-out aluminum plug to take my ham-handed torque like a stock steel plug wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. Still, you'd think such a critical item would have a bit more strength.

maybe they should come with a torque setting listed on the package then. I'm worried now since I torqued my PSR aluminum plug to factory spec.

If you feel it start to spin free when you replace it before refilling, put the stocker back in. Only blind, dumb luck kept mine from breaking off while going down the road and that might have been a disaster.

Danno I see. They have steel and aluminum bolts...so I figured it was a steel one you were talking about.

If they didn't give you the torque spec for it I'd say it's on them considering the critical nature of the oil plug.

If you have the crush washer on there...then tightening that bolt to a good snug,and a small amout more will keep it in there...you don't need a torque wrench to do this.You can feel when enough's enough if you're taking your time and thinking about it.Just like the oil filter.Snug up hand tight...go 1/4 turn more...that's it.

Those bolt threads are gonna expand more than the pan threads when she heats up to temp.It'll stay.

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 10/11/2015 @ 8:12 PM *

Not only was it aluminum, but it was hollowed out for the little slug of magnet. Still, I should have known better than to crank on it in the first place. Everything is buyer beware these days.

I have a Gold Plug with a magnet in it, it seems to be pretty sturdy ...

I have the God Plug also. Steel. No problems. I never go full torque on any drain plug though (or most other bolts). I'd go with an aluminum one. I usually use about 60% what is speced for steel with aluminum. It's possible to space out on these things though. I used a 5mm TI steel bolt to fasten my CZ rotor to my CZ rim. I torqued it to OEM spec as recommended by CZ. The problem was the OEM rotor bolts are 6mm. I guess CZ meant torque to OEM spec if you have 5mm OEM rotor bolts otherwise figure it out yourself??
The 5mm broke. What a PITA to get that out.

2nd on what grn14 posted. I work with a girl who torqued the drain plug to spec on her cbr600 and wound up cracking her oil pan! An instructor I had was really reluctant to use torque specs on aluminum. His solution was to hold your socket wrench up by where the socket is, not at the end of the handle. Only tighten it with as much hand strength as you can when holding it up by the socket, that way you won't strip the threads. I have a socket wrench that has no handle, that I like to use for aluminium threads.

A girl who cracked her oil pan torquing to spec? How long did she own the bike?

She's had it about a year. Pretty sure this was the first oil change she had done on it. I think she said the new oil pan was gonna cost about $265 from the dealer, ouch!

Did she buy the bike brand new?

No it's a 1995. I just got the sad details from her after the fact. I wasn't there. Maybe she used the wrong setting? Only light at the end of the tunnel is that she has all winter to fix it. Most bikes in this area have been winterized and garaged until spring. We have about 4 inches of snow and the roads are unridable.

Hard to say. Most likely it was either weakened or damaged from something else then incidental that the bolt was being tightened to spec. It's an old bike, aluminum can become brittle over time especially dealing with heat. Maybe over time a fracture developed and it finally just split.

It could've been she misunderstood the spec or set the wrench wrong. That can be easy to do wrench to wrench and bolt to bolt. I personally have a very hard time blaming torquing it to spec as the cause, especially in a bike where the history is completely unknown and a person working it for the first time.

What did she end up doing btw? Well after mopping up a gallon of oil that is?

Last I heard she Had ordered the parts From the dealer and was awaiting for their arrival.

Kudos to her for keeping it alive. IMO 90s were the greatest generation of sportbikes. They had usable fairings, looked great, and were as fast as they are today (except the open class)