oil plug

[newride]

hey all,
Got a free 97 Kat from a friend and I am in the process of trying to get it to run.
1st problem: major oil leak from the drain plug. got a new plug but it feels like I am missing a piece. I stuck my finger in the drain whole and I feel no threads. It feels smooth and plastic like. The drain plug just spins when I try to tighten it. Am I missing something?
Anyhelp would be great!
Peace.
jeremy

[ZukiFred]

Sounds to me like someone stripped the threads out of the hole, witch is realy east to do.

A new pan from Ron Ayers will cost about $64.88 + shiping. http://www.ronayers.com/fiche/300_02...90&parent=4850

Or you can look for a used one on ebay, or someone here might have a spare pre98 oil pan they want to sell.

[lopeha]

Yep, I agree with Fred. But for the price you can go crazy with mods & fixing it up & still not have what a new one would cost. Order a new pan/gasket & do it right

[brooder]

You could also have it retapped and put in a larger drain plug.

[Black_peter]

You could also have it retapped and put in a larger drain plug.

Sounds like someone "fixed" it with JB weld..
Hunt for a "new" pan while cheking into retapping it.
It is best to have a machine shop retap it.

[The CyberPoet]

KNOW THIS:

If retapping it, remove the oil pan first. Although you could in theory get away with placing grease on the tap (in the hopes of the grease capturing all the cuttings), with an oil pan, it's far wiser to clean it out afterwards from the inside -- carb cleaner or brake cleaner will help do the trick after tapping.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[newride]

KNOW THIS:

If retapping it, remove the oil pan first. Although you could in theory get away with placing grease on the tap (in the hopes of the grease capturing all the cuttings), with an oil pan, it's far wiser to clean it out afterwards from the inside -- carb cleaner or brake cleaner will help do the trick after tapping.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

Wow,
Thanks to all for the great replies!
You will probably hear more from me as the bike comes a long.

[SlipKid]

You can actually buy self-tapping oil drain plugs at the auto parts store. These work fine, but be sure to grease the plug and withdraw it periodically as you cut the threads to remove the chips. If you do it this way, you'll get them all.

As another alternative, they make rubber expansion plugs that should work as well. However, I'm not sure I'd want one of these as anything more than a temporary solution. Over time, the rubber could harden and deteriorate. Not like over a month though...