Help! Idiotic Mistake!

[phantomtek]

Hi guys,

Well today I was going to change the oil on the SV, as it needed doing.

I went to untighten the sump plug, and in a stupid lapse of concentration I was turning the socket the wrong way, and I heard a snapping sound and the bolt started to turn freely. Then I tried the other way and the bolt came out, so I changed the oil. Then I put it back in and tightened up the bolt up (It just kept spinning, wouldn't tighten) but it looked ok so I left it.

Quick blat up the M1, and parked up. Checked under the bike, the oil is slowly dripping, checked the back tyre, yes the left side is covered in oil.

My Dad had a look and he says that I have basically fooked the thread on the sump, because the bolt is fine. My question is, what the hell should I do in this situation, and how much is it going to cost?

I'm so gutted, because it was totally stupid but there's nothing I can do about it now so I will have to forget it and try fix it.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

[jay_666]

sounds like a new sump for you matey...

umless you can do something like get that liquid stuff and try and re-thread it i duno...
____________________
CBT - Done | Theory - Passed | Test - 4th Oct [PASSED!]
https://www.bikepics.com/members/jay666/

[phantomtek]

[DucatiEVO]

Don't know if it's removeable, but if you have a good look you should be able to tell.

If it's not removeable you could always try fixing it in-situ. I know a mate did the same as you on his crosser, used some of that chemical metal stuff to fill the gap, then just tapped a large M10 thread in it and stuck a bolt in.
____________________
aKa: Ducky

[jay_666]

[phantomtek]

[extreme3d]

[Blau Zedong]

Did the same thing on my Gixxer 750 . You CAN helicoil it in situ, I think it's M12 or M14 (Get the shop where you buy the kit from to measure the plug with a thread gauge), but the helicoil kit is about £80 (cheaper than a sump though). As far as I remember there isn't any drilling, you wind a tap in then fit the helicoil, just the fact you are working upwards makes it a bit fiddly. Do not ride it "as is"..if the sump bolt falls out you will either a) fall off b) wreck your engine or c) both. PTFE tape / Threadlock are NOT suitable bodges for something this critical. When I did mine I flushed the engine with a few litres of Halfords shittest oil just to make sure there was no debris from the tapping process floating about in the engine, then did an oil and filter change as usual. Plus it also makes a stronger thread the same size as standard
____________________
18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[phantomtek]

I can't ride it as is because there is no oil in it at the moment.

I simply can't afford £80, do you reckon the mechanic will charge me this much?

[G]

Hmm, that's bad if it's all one piece.

Any rethreading, you'd really want to do it with the sump off, so that you don't get swarf in the engine.

Did similar on my ZX6 and got a helicoil kit to do it myself - this results in the same size thread, so you can use the original bolt.

Just looking at the SV engine that I happen to have in bits in my bedroom (the boxes of bits are my bed side table, at the mo ) - doesn't look too good I'm afraid.

Best bet is probably going to be to recut the thread (ideally using a recoil kit - or timesert is better, but a lot more £££ for the kit), then maybe flush the engine a couple of times to be sure.


Alternatively, a could do you a deal on a SV engine .

[Blau Zedong]

I've not a clue what a mechanic would charge, plus how will you get it to him with no oil? It's possible he won't have the helicoil kit in that size on stock, so he might have to buy one anyway. Usually people carry 4 - 10mm as these are common sizes, they are only likely to have others if the've done one before for someone else. I bought the kit and used just one coil . Have to go around stripping sump plugs to get my money back lol
____________________
18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[Blau Zedong]

If your plug is M14 x 1.25 I might be able to lend you my kit for a small fee.
____________________
18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[phantomtek]

[Blau Zedong]

Got about 8 coils left lol...that's how desperate i was to fix it without changing the sump! I would only want postage costs there and back if it is the right size for you.
____________________
18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

[Kickstart]

Hi

If you search on Ebay for davethetools , he has a load of helicoil type repair kits. About £38~£58. M14 x 1.25 kit here.

However you do need to use one of these straight, and it is not a bolt that is in a good position to learn with. Also a touch critical to the bike. And the must be very sure there is no swarf left inside after doing so (and the crankcases being alloy, any swarf will be alloy and will not stick to a magnetic sump bolt).

If the drain hole is in the main crankcases then I would say take it to a local bike mechanic. They should be able to do it quickly and for not massive amounts of money.

All the best

Keith
____________________
Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[G]

The helicoil kit I got was about £23, if I remember.

Just checked and mine's a M12 x 1.75. Unfortunately, this is a slightly different pitch to the SV; which is M12 x 1.5, I reckon.

There are people that will come to your house and fit a helicoil for you.

[phantomtek]

Well the problem with taking it to a mechanic is that there is no oil in it, I have about two 500g jars of oil left and the rest is all over the floor outside. I have a few litres at my Dads though.

How much do you reckon that those people who come to your house will cost, and is there anywhere I can contact them? I'll try Google.

The drain hole is part of the main crankcase, how much do you reckon a mechanic would charge?

[mchaggis]

[loply]

You could apply a gasketing compound of some description to the sump plug to make it temporarily useable. I managed this using a combination of loctite and liquid gasket once, onto the oil pressure test bolt.

As I think some others have suggested too, one of those "liquid metal" type substances could possibly be used to bond an internally and externally threaded tube into the sump plug hole, and then screw a new sump plug into the aforementioned tube. This would in theory mean you could fix it without needing professional assistance.

It's a bit of a hack though, and I'm not sure how easy it would be to source an internally and externally threaded steel tube.
____________________
Yamaha SZR660 Caution to the wind, the throttle pinned!

[irving]

[Pete.]

You can helicoil the sump in situ, and though you should be careful to get as much swarf out of the sump as humanly possible any left behind will easily be stopped by the strainer and the oil filter, and oil passes through both of these before doing any work. The sumps on most engines carry an amount of engine debris anyway.

[phantomtek]

Ah christ this is a mess.

I just want to say, thank you to everyone who has/will replied so far, it makes me feel alot better knowing there are many people who want to help out.

I will probably ring some garages up tomorrow, see how much they want to charge, then probably go down there with the bike and see if they can fix it. I have someone who has kindly offered to transport it for me. The SV must hate me Though I must say, it ran alot better with the new oil, for what little time it had it in.

Anyway, if this doesn't go to plan I may be back to ask for more help on how to fit a helicoil.

It's been a crap day.

Cheers

[extreme3d]

[G]

Were I doing it, I'd lean the bike right over so it was pretty much on it's side (old mattress maybe?)

However, I would agree - I'd get a garage to do it as you can't easily get a replacement sorted as I could do when I did my zx6 sump.

If you get a garage to do it, see if they do 'timesert' - which is a superiour version of the helicoil.

[phantomtek]