The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 => Topic started by: mkocal on September 05, 2007, 02:26:36 PM
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Can anyone help regarding a stripped plug?
The 'level check plug' on my 1984 LS is stripped. Actually the housing on the final drive that the plug threads into. It will thread in by hand and that is about it; a slight leak. The leak is enough to slightly foul parts of the rear wheel each time out. This looks like a difficult part to try and re thread for a bigger plug. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.
MK
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I think the final drive has to be disassembled to repair that. If you want to keep riding it for now, you can seal it with some silicone sealant until you get the opportunity to get it fixed. Make sure you have the threads oil-free first. I never use mine level plug, I just measure how much fluid I put in and add it from the top.
These plugs seem prone to stripping, you have to be really careful to tighten enough to crush the crush washer, but not strip threads.
Good luck,
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An oil resistant sealant as mentioned by Ed, will get you by until the end of the riding season , or possibly put some Teflon tape on the plug threads and see if it will help the situation. Unfortunately, I don't think you have too many alternatives, other than disassembling the rear drive, and having it re-threaded for an oversize plug. A trick that I have been using for quite a while, is to use a 'palm' ratchet, and tighten it with your non-dominant hand, and it will prevent over tightening. Keep us informed on what you have done for this problem, if you find away to do it yourself, or a source for parts etc., as this is something that comes up on occasion. Another member here ( tagordon) posted about a company :www.timesert.com, and they have a thread repair system that appears to be superior to heli-coil. I just checked on prices for a Timesert repair kit, and it looks like around $70-80 US, the comment was also made that if you use a heavy grease on the drill bit and tap, and use a shop vac while drilling and tapping the hole, it can be done without disassembling the part you are working on.