Stripped Tranny Drain Plug

[62wild1]

Well I'm going to name her Christene...............Went to drain the tranny to make sure it had fresh clean oil and some nimrod had stripped it out and stuffed it full of JB Weld so when I went to remove the plug it crumbled out. I pulled the tranny and there are no threads left. Righty tighty/ lefty loosy, I'm sure they got it backwards since the bolt is upside down as I watched a friend do it once. What are my options as the thread pitch is quite different than most bolts?

[awander]

You could get this from V-Twin MFG:

Transmission Drain Plugs.
A. Chrome dome head plug with an oversize thread and one
tap for rethreading the stripped out drain hole. Fits 1965-up
O.H.V. Big Twin and 1967-up Sportster.
VT No. Type
7502-2 Plug and Tap
7503-1 Plug Only
or maybe drill & tap for a pipe plug.

[62wild1]

Thanks for the info. I'll look into the kit but the pipe plug sounds like a good idea.

[awander]

hMM-i JUST NOTICED THAT THE PART i POSTED SAYS IT IS FOR 65-UP.

[FlatHeadSix]

pipe plugs in aluminum cases are not a very good idea, they have tapered threads and will exert a lot of pressure against the opening when tightening them. Stripped threads are bad enough, a split case is a whole new problem.

The oversize plug with a straight thread is a better idea but as long as you have it out and on the bench why not put an insert in it and go back to the original plug size?

mike

[62wild1]

Mike,

Where would I find an insert to go back to the correct plug? I would prefer to do it that way since the hole is buggered anyway.

[RICOCHET]

This is what I did for my knuck tranny drain that was stripped out. Cleaned all stripped out threads then measured what the minimum I'd need for the next size plug. Then went to auto parts store and got the right size to meet that oversize once threaded. Even better they had these steel plugs with a smaller plug in it so once you set the larger OD plug in place with loctite you were only using the smaller plug within the plug when needed. Good idea to make sure you're not too long to interfere with internal workings.

ricochet

[panz4ever]

Since I too will be joining 62wild1 in the repair department for the tranny drain plug, what is the correct size for the threads and the hex head.

[panhead55]

i was taught or told by all the older harley guys around here to leave those plugs alone. i asked then, how do you change your tranny fluid and they said......why does it need to be changed??? is it black??? the oil just sits there and moves around!!! leave well enough alone. haha, do what you want though. i know everyone has an opinion on this one...

-billy

[RUBONE]

The biggest problem with tranny oil is moisture contamination, not thermal breakdown or combustion by-products like motor oil. Some years are better than others. The worst seem to be the ones with the breather in the case next to the top. Not the breather in the kicker cover or the later extended top cover screw. There is a natural pocket cast in the case to collect outside liquids. There is also a large amount of condensation caused by short rides where the box never gets hot enough to evaporate the water, instead it mixes with the oil and looks like spoiled milk. Realistically, on a regularly used machine the tranny oil should be good for a long time, up to 30K miles. But if moisture gets in it screws it up fast. It is a common problem on bikes ridden to profile and washed excessively, primarily with pressure washers or car wash wands, neither of which should ever be used to clean a bike.
Robbie

[sleeper]

Mike,

Where would I find an insert to go back to the correct plug? I would prefer to do it that way since the hole is buggered anyway.

http://www.timesert.com/html/drainplug.html ( first choice imo)

http://www.helicoil.com

PS: Change the tranny fluid... Oil is cheep, trannys ain't...

[FlatHeadSix]

thanks Billy, I was going to post the same links but you beat me to it.

and Robbie is 100% correct, WATER is the enemy when it gets inside a tranny and homogenizes with the oil.

mike