Happy new year!
My bevel drive drain plug is turning in its housing without tightening or loosening, so i am assuming the thread has stripped either on the plug or in the casing. I will have to extract it somehow. Whats the best way to do this? There is no leak and the oil level is correct, but it needs changing. Thanks in advance.
If you really want to get the drain plug out, I'd suggest gripping the head with something like a needle-nose pair of what we Yanks call
Visegrip pliers. Apply straight line extraction pressure and turn the pliers CCW.
lefty loosey-righty tighty You will probably catch a thread and it should come out easily.
You will likely need to install what we Colonials call a HeliCoil. A steel insert threaded on the outside and inside. Hand snug is a good rule for laying a spanner on the drain bolt during refit. Do not use the BMW manual's torque specs -as someone may have done to you scooter- as they will strip the aluminum case, fork leg slider, etc.
Will leave it up to you as how to remove the chips generated by drilling out the case prior to HeliCoil install. A tought... if the case does not have an OEM steel insert, I be planning on screwing in the HeliCoil without the oversized drill work as speced in the instructions. The insert will cut its own threads and you're good to go. Use some Red LokTite during installation. If you must drill and tap, some heavy grease may capture most of the junk. If it's aluminum, doubt you'll have a concern as to interior damage from debris. My 2 cents worth.
Hope this helps. Should not be a difficult fix. Visualize the task, then do it.
Monte "I ain't no Yank"
