Weird Final Drive Bolt Anomaly

[bill lumberg]

Changing oil and final drive fluid today. No one has changed either but me, always torqued to proper specs. Today, when I removed the FD drain bolt, there was weird shit in the threads in one spot. My initial thought was- did wheat shit in my threads? But I don’t think he could have gotten to them. Plus, he stuff is silver.
What is this, and should I be concerned?

ETA- I picked it out. And it’s what the British call aluminium. Looks like it anyway. Por que?
https://lumberg.smugmug.com/Tech/i-kW8t27g

https://lumberg.smugmug.com/Tech/i-Wsnbs36

[gixxerjasen]

Al you min eee yum?

[bigjohnsd]

Don't overtighten when you put it back in.

[Red]

Bill,

Looks like a housing thread came out on the bolt. Chances are, other threads in the housing are fractured, as well. I would vote for a Heli-Coil. You also might find a larger drain plug, so that you can simply drill and tap the housing for a larger plug. Fill the drill bit and the tap with a heavy grease, to catch any metal shavings, and replace that grease in the tooling several times, while doing the job. If a larger plug would be your choice, look at the Imperial sizes, that may be between the 14mm drain plug and the next larger Metric size.

FWIW, I am a proponent of using RTV on drain plug crush washers to prevent leaks, rather than any overly serious torque value. Snug plus a little can do the job nicely, with RTV. I also recommend the use of safety wire (rather than excessive torque), to keep the oil plugs from coming out on the road. Then, you will be bulletproof, there.

[bill lumberg]

Thanks guys. Tightened to spec every time since I’ve owned it. If I find more on subsequent changes, going to have to get it recorded for warranty/posterity. Any work done will be yamaha’s responsibility. The FD drain plug has always felt sketchy. I think this was boogered from the factory because, for the first time, the plug goes in smoothly without any resistance. There was always one spot of resistance before. At over 82,000 miles, I’m surprised to have something so basic (threads-okay, one thread) fail. It has never and still doesn’t leak. We shall see.

[wheatonFJR]

My initial thought was- did wheat shit in my threads?

Yes. Yes, I did.

I eat steel and shit Alyoumineeum.

[raYzerman]

Get your flashlight out and check the rest of the mating threads maybe only the first one broke, which is no biggie. When using crush washers, toss your torque wrench, when the washer starts crushing give it a 1/4 turn more, you're done. Anything beyond that is crushing the crush and making a flat washer.. I'm not a fan of flattened steel crush washers, would rather have flat aluminum washers, torqued snug until you feel aluminum being displaced (no more than 20 ft. lbs.). One 35 cent aluminum washer will last you for years.
As well, if you're changing final drive oil every oil change, that's too often. Yamaha says 2 years, but I say once at end of every riding year. It will save wear and tear on your threads.

[bill lumberg]

17 foot lbs is spec. If that’s too much,
It’s yamaha’s problem. Re:wear and tear- I’ll definitely stop changing FD fluid if it will help yamaha’s defect from worsening while I own the bike. For the miles I ride, spec is much more frequent than every two years, but doing it very oil change is obviously excessive.

[raYzerman]

17 is just fine. I suspect the rest of your threads are just fine, the first thread may have been fractured by the tapping process, if the rest are fine, then no worries, nor would I call it a Yamaha defect... it can happen... alloy castings are porous by nature although measures are taken to prevent as much of that as possible. Don't worry too much about the mileage on FD oil, people rarely change it in their autos and it lasts forever..... the issue on bikes is the vent is open to atmosphere and moisture can get in causing it to look milky, if you ride in heavy rain a lot (or commute short distances where it won't heat up enough to evaporate that moisture), perhaps change it twice a year if it looks milky.

[Hppants]

If things go to crapola, and you are so inclined, I’ve got a perfectly fine pumpkin housing. The stuff inside of it is questionable, but the housing is perfect.

Long story.....

[HotRodZilla]

Don't use a torque wrench on wet threads. If the threads are lubed, what the wrench thinks is 17lbs is significantly higher. This is what has led to so many people stripping out their oil pan drain bolt. It's not a defect, it's user error. Shit happens.

[bill lumberg]

Shit happens. In this case, that shit is minor, and Yamaha picks up the tab if it worsens. I don’t categorize doing.l things to manufacturer spec as user error. But I’ve definitely changed the drive fluid more often than Yamaha requires. Thanks for the helpful replies.

[rbentnail]

If you go to Advance Auto or Auto Zone, you can get 14mm washers with bonded rubber o-rings. Use 1 to replace your crush washer, then about 4 ft lbs will seal it. I've done this since my first FD oil change in 2009- never leaks, never comes loose but I also do NOT use a torque wrench for minor small stuff like this. IMHO aluminium threads are no place to use a torque wrench ever.

[Hppants]

And now for a counterpoint.

I performed the 600 mile service on my (then) brand new '14, including the final drive oil. Little known to me, about 300 miles later, the drain plug vibrated its way loose and knocked a riding buddy in the chest. I then proceeded to run about 25 miles at 80 mph with NO oil in the pumpkin.

With help from some outboard motor oil, using the fill plug as a temporary drain plug, and a fishing cork as a fill plug, I got home.

I replaced the entire pumpkin assy for peace of mind.

My point is this - in my stupidity and carelessness, I neglected to tighten the drain plug enough and it could have cost me my life. Now, everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) on the motorcycle gets torqued every single time.

Your mileage may vary....

[wheatonFJR]

Please don't tell me my mileage may vary...I want all the mileage AND all the horsepower.

[bill lumberg]

The fishing cork makes that story. I torque to manual specs (or slightly below) for just that sort of reason.

And now for a counterpoint.

I performed the 600 mile service on my (then) brand new '14, including the final drive oil. Little known to me, about 300 miles later, the drain plug vibrated its way loose and knocked a riding buddy in the chest. I then proceeded to run about 25 miles at 80 mph with NO oil in the pumpkin.

With help from some outboard motor oil, using the fill plug as a temporary drain plug, and a fishing cork as a fill plug, I got home.

I replaced the entire pumpkin assy for peace of mind.

My point is this - in my stupidity and carelessness, I neglected to tighten the drain plug enough and it could have cost me my life. Now, everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) on the motorcycle gets torqued every single time.

Your mileage may vary....

[Hppants]

When one finds himself in the middle of a river flood plain, at a gas station/bait-n-tackle shop, one must find the courage to make lemonade.

[Harald]

I'm kinda late to the game here, but just want to add a thought on torque wrenches. If you're using a torque wrench that goes from, say 15 to 200 lbs and set it at 17 you'll probably be way off 17 ft/lbs torque. Torque wrenches are notoriously off at either ends of their range.

BTW, I'm still using the flat copper washer from the auto parts store that I installed when my 07 was new and it's still not leaking at 135,000 miles. Same type of washer is on my engine oil drain plug too.

[wheatonFJR]

Copper washers will rust and turn your 2007 bright green.

[Uncle Hud]

Hell yeah! I want a bright green FJR!