drriviera

Member
Mar 13, 2003
27
0
Howdy all! me again...

Just pulled off my clutch cover, had a good look at it, discovered the clutch hub nut worked its way loose! No wonder I had little clutch travel! All fixed now, tightened to spec, with clutch cover back in place.

Which comes to my next problem, the oil sump plug. It seems that the sump plug is not standard. It has stripped the sump hole thread. All I know about the sump plug bolt at this stage is that it has a 17mm head on it. What options do I have? Would like to find a suitable magnetic sump plug as a replacement, but not sure how to go about re-threading...

Many thanks in advance, for ANY help in regard to my problem as stated above.

I'm sure most of you KDXers in the northern hemisphere will have plenty of time on your hands now, sitting by a nice log fire as your cabin ranch gets snowed in... :-)

btw, my KDX page.... (copy n paste link...)

http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~rcacic/kdx200
 

drriviera

Member
Mar 13, 2003
27
0
I know I could've used the "edit" button... but a corrrection if I may.

Oil Drain Plug... just in case you lot were having difficulty locating the oil sump in your KDXs... :-)
 

dirt bike dave

Sponsoring Member
May 3, 2000
5,349
3
Up here on the north side, we use a product called helicoil to make thread repairs.  A good tool store should have a variety of thread size for you to choose from.
 

drriviera

Member
Mar 13, 2003
27
0
thanking you once again dirt bike dave. :-) hope i didn't sound rude or impatient in my previous posts. at times it just seems there's very little help out there for owners with pre-86 model (air cooled) KDX200s.

kinda frustrates me when there's millions of posts on how to "winterize" my 2003 KDX. my advice fwiw, just ride the bloody thing! nice word to use in scrabble "winterize"... :-)

what sorta thread should i go for, fine or coarse? has anyone tried those magnetic drain plugs that sell on ebay? they sound like a good investment...
 

Michelle

Sponsoring Member
Oct 26, 1999
1,245
0
Whenever I've enquired at local shops about a magnetic sump plug for my old kdx, they've recommended me going to a wreckers with mine to match it up. I haven't got around to doing it & probably won't, but do think about it sometimes.

My husband's old TM250 has got one & it's brilliant. I don't know how much metal shaving he gets on it these days, but know when the bike was new the other year, he got a lot the first couple of oil changes.

Sorry, couldn't resist (my bike's a 99 & winter's the best time for riding, but then again, what does snow look like?)

Dirt Bike Dave, helicoils are common here, too, so I presume they are in Aussie.

Hmmm, thinking about what thread - I'm thinking (female logic here) coarse. I'd imagine a fine thread would be easier to strip out due to muck at the bottom of the cases & how often the plug comes out (and the angle you have to get your body into to undo the bloody thing). That's my opinion & worth about less than nothing & what the hell do I know (not much) - but I'm interested to find the "correct" answer. BTW, you should be able to get a medium thread too, from memory.
Michelle
 

gwhII

Member
Mar 31, 2003
238
0
Howdy,

A few thoughts come to mind, you could take the bolt with you and try to screw it into a die and that will tell you what thread pitch it is. The second thought is a thread gauge which would have the same effect. I would assume that it is coarse but I'd make sure. If you haven't done a Helicoil before, make sure you have the needed drill bit and tap. I remember them coming in kits too but I haven't played with one in awhile. The other thought would be to see if there are oversize plugs available.

Best,
Greg
 

drriviera

Member
Mar 13, 2003
27
0
Thank you one and all for your help thus far.
It has somewhat restored my faith in this board/forum.

Will try these suggestions this weekend, although it's the last thing I want to be doing right up to Christmas.

Summarizing (not "winter"izing...), you're all saying it would be a good idea to purchase a re-threading kit with a coarse thread, of course slightly larger than the one that's stripped the thread in the first place. Of course I'd want to check what size plugs are commercially available too (ie. before I get around to purchasing an aftermarket magnetic plug).

Am I spot on? Many thanks once again, keep sending in hints where ya can. Much appreciated.
 

Michelle

Sponsoring Member
Oct 26, 1999
1,245
0
Check out: http://www.dirtrider.net/forums3/showthread.php?s=&threadid=81541
That's a useful forum to search through too, not just the KDX one ;) (there were five pages with "oil drain" in the threads).

You may think we're snobs, but if you ask what torque do I use, I, for one, won't want to give you the torque amounts for a 99 bike, in case it's too much or too little & stuff up your day.

There is one person I will tell he's riding a POS bike, but as I've told him, I'm allowed to, we gave the bike to him. I'd rather see someone on an old bike having fun, than someone with a new bike on a trailer watching. I started on an old POS & it was great. I don't want to go back to those days - working on the damn thing more than riding it, or breaking down while riding. But then again, if you know the bike (I checked out your pages a while back), what the hell, there ain't nothing wrong with that. It's when you don't strip it down & rebuild it & rely on previous owners to have done stuff that it becomes a PITA ;)
Enjoy your ride & good luck with the sump plug. Let us know how it goes.
 

gwhII

Member
Mar 31, 2003
238
0
Originally posted by drriviera


Summarizing (not "winter"izing...), you're all saying it would be a good idea to purchase a re-threading kit with a coarse thread, of course slightly larger than the one that's stripped the thread in the first place. Of course I'd want to check what size plugs are commercially available too (ie. before I get around to purchasing an aftermarket magnetic plug).

Am I spot on? Many thanks once again, keep sending in hints where ya can. Much appreciated.

If you want to stick with the stock plug or a stock sized aftermarket plug, figure out what thread pitch it is and then get the corresponding Helicoil kit. Since the Helicoil is actually a coil, it will need space in which to screw in, hence the oversize hole. If the threads aren't munged on the original plug, it can be used as a gauge for what you're looking for.

Don't go and buy the coarse thread Helicolil kit without making sure that it is what you need. Here in the States, you can get thread such as coarse, fine, plug, NPT, etc. so one size will not necessarily fit all. For example, for some bolt sizes, I have three different taps for the same diameter and all three are standard threads.

If you don't care about it being the stock size, you can also go and see if there is an oversize plug available. At least for automotive applications, many of them are self-tapping so you don't need a tap. The downside would be that if it gets stripped, there may or may not be a 2nd oversize plug available and at that point the hole may be too big to effectively Helicoil it.

I would check into both possible solutions and see what is available. If your local m/c shop has oversize plugs for cheap, it may be worthwhile. If they only have a stock size, your only easy option may be to Helicoil it.

Best,
Greg
 

drriviera

Member
Mar 13, 2003
27
0
Oil drain plug update! (insert wacky "TV news" theme music here - de-d-d-da...)

I have purchased a simple 40 pc metric "tap and die" set.

I have since found out my original plug/bolt is an M10 x 1.5 thread.

My kit has helicoils for an M12 x 1.5, and an M12 x 1.75. Haven't gotten to the stage of taping a thread yet...

Managed to spend a lovely weekend cleaning out the garage. Out went a cuppla Ford V8 engines, crates full of old school BMX gear, a stack load of radiators, and enough curtain rods to fill the bloody MCG! (australians will probably only get that one...)

I figure it'd be good practice to stick to the same thread. I've a couple of plugs made up for those sizes just in case. Will keep this thread alive with updates. Stay glued.
 
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