1. 4 Stroke Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Italy - About 1989 to 2014
    TE = 4st Enduro & TC = 4st Cross

Broken drain bolt

Discussion in '4 Stroke' started by Buchshot1, Apr 15, 2018.

  1. Buchshot1 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Virginia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2012 txc310
    So the head of the drain bolt on my 2012 TXC 310 broke into pieces, anybody have suggestions or am I going to have to remove the engine?
  2. Trenchcoat85 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Northern NorCal
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    '14 TE 310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    '85 shovel, '75 DT400, '97 XR400
    Pictures.... so we know what we're dealing with.
  3. Dirtdame Administrator

    Location:
    Rock Springs Wy
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    11 WR300,13 WR125,18 FE501
    Other Motorcycles:
    17 Beta Xtrainer
    Exactly. If t he whole head broke off, complete with the flange, there should be no pressure holding it in place, so you should be able to get it to unscrew easy enough by poking the uneven surface with a screw driver to rotate it. Otherwise, you can drill a hole in it and tap in an easy out to back it off.
    Trenchcoat85 likes this.
  4. Buchshot1 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Virginia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2012 txc310
    For your viewing pleasure.

    Attached Files:

  5. Trenchcoat85 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Northern NorCal
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    '14 TE 310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    '85 shovel, '75 DT400, '97 XR400
    Okay. I have 2 potential solutions or work-arounds:

    1. look at the very bottom of your xlite motor. You may have ("may") another drain bolt at the very bottom of your motor, pointing down to the ground- which takes an 8mm allen. Use that if your oil return plug doesn't leak; then plug the nipple with J-B weld, plug the hose too (or just re-plumb it like a TC)

    The first parts image is 2014, the 2nd parts image is 2012. The red circle is what we're looking for. This part does NOT appear in the service manuals and may not be on earlier xlites. BTW, did your plug look like the blue circled one or the yellow? (yellow: don't have to do anything)
    drain plugS te310r 2014.jpg . drain plug te310r 2012.jpg

    2. gotta get the current drain bolt out because you only have one? okay, gather up some supplies: new plug, chisel or punch, good hammer (2lb drill hammer would be good), Vise Grips maybe, butane torch (best- small flame) or propane torch, aerosol can of Dust-Off (you can get cheap $1 small cans at some dollar stores, else expect to pay $5 for dust-off or $10+ for liquid refrigerant... which is what this stuff is), fire extinguisher, eye protection (refrigerant and metal pieces)

    one dollar dustoff upside down 20180308_212614.jpg

    Here's the procedure (order a new drain plug first!):
    lay the bike on it's right side probably. clean around the area (carb cleaner, brake cleaner). practice moving tools in and out of the immediate area of repair just to get a feel for things.

    First thing to do: with the chisel/punch, make an indent in the side of the drain plug very close to the engine, but probably not on the flange. (straight in radially- this is a lip we're gonna use to put the the chisel/punch in to hit the plug around COUNTER-CLOCKWISE). Now take the refrigerant and spray the liquid on the plug ONLY. (btw, you have to hold Dust-Off upside down to get liquid to come out). get it cold (ice may form). While you're waiting for the steel to cold-soak, take your torch, on low flame, and make slow circles around the aluminum case surrounding the plug. Don't touch the plug with the heat. Get the case about 200° (spit will boil) but don't go overboard. Now, put the chisel in the indent tangentially, and hit the plug around to loosen. Firm strikes, but we're not try to remove metal... you might need to aim the chisel in slightly.

    Hopefully it'll loosen with a couple of strikes. Use the vise grips after it moves a bit.

    BTW, someone else got confused with this method and thought we were "shocking", annealing, or quenching the metal (heating and then rapidly cooling). We're not- we are heating one aluminum part and cooling another steel part... so this is a different animal.

    Thanx to Bill at BMP for this procedure.

    good luck.
    Burgo likes this.
  6. Trenchcoat85 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Northern NorCal
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    '14 TE 310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    '85 shovel, '75 DT400, '97 XR400
    I was looking at my records when I did this to my bike. It looks like I used a punch rather than a chisel- something to think about.

    This image shows both drain plugs on later xlites; skid plate removed.

    both oil drain plugs IMG_3960.JPG

    here is a picture of the $5 dust off I got at Walmart.
    dust off refrigerant IMG_3951.JPG

    here is my soft steel POS drain plug (I thought it was aluminum when I first boogered it up, because it was so soft).
    soft drain plug removed IMG_3965.JPG
  7. Buchshot1 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Virginia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2012 txc310
    mine is like the 2nd yellow one. the bolt is aluminium,(checked with magnet). about the only surface left is the flange.
    Was not aware of a different engine(xlite). guess I will give these a shot.
  8. Trenchcoat85 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Northern NorCal
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    '14 TE 310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    '85 shovel, '75 DT400, '97 XR400
    Did you check for the existence of the "red" drain plug also, at the very bottom of your motor?

    If indeed you only have a single yellow one (so you have to remove it) there should be plenty of meat on it.

    On other xlites, only TCs have the yellow style.

    Your engine is an xlite.
  9. Trenchcoat85 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Northern NorCal
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    '14 TE 310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    '85 shovel, '75 DT400, '97 XR400
    BTW, removing the whole engine just buys you room to work- at the cost of loss of leverage. Even taking the cases apart does not give you much advantage.

    Go slow, be patient, be smart.

    Good luck.
  10. Buchshot1 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Virginia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2012 txc310
    I dont have the red one. The drain plug had a hollowed out head. only one side of the hex remains
  11. Trenchcoat85 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Northern NorCal
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    '14 TE 310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    '85 shovel, '75 DT400, '97 XR400
    hollowed out head? like dished-for weight reduction? or was it the stock style bolt with a hose nipple on it (that someone cut off). Sounds almost like an aftermarket thingy. Is this a used bike and the first oil change for a new owner?

    Being an aluminum drain bolt is not a huge problem. it will conduct the heat (cold) better... but you'll have less time to mess around. I might cool the bolt, heat the surrounding area of the case and then give the bolt another shot of refrigerant before starting.

    don't forget to order a new one first- it does no good to get the bad one out now if you got nothing to put in there. and right now, you can put oil in it (if needed) and still ride. Hell, you could always suck the oil out of it, change the filter, add oil... and you'd be good to go. Thousands of marine engines use this technique with no problems at all.

    Keep your goal in mind: fresh oil for the engine. But if things go wrong here tying to repair it, your bike could be out of action for months.

    clean up the area (for fire and smoke purposes really) and take a few GOOD photos for us.
  12. Buchshot1 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Virginia
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2012 txc310
    not sure, It looked like it was safety wired a a point. supposed to ride this weekend. so not touching till after.
    Trenchcoat85 likes this.
  13. Trenchcoat85 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Northern NorCal
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    '14 TE 310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    '85 shovel, '75 DT400, '97 XR400
    smart. have fun; keep us posted if/when you decide to tackle it.
  14. Trenchcoat85 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Northern NorCal
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    '14 TE 310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    '85 shovel, '75 DT400, '97 XR400
    ...oh yeah: take lotsa pictures too. you gotta teach the next husky owner after you solve it.
  15. Burgo Husqvarna
    A Class

    Location:
    Sydney
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2013 TE310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    92 Honda XR250

    Ooooh, good to see this thread.

    I have exactly the same problem on my 2013 TE310R. The bike has both rear and bottom drain, but I've been in the habit of removing both on Oil changes to clean the steel filter that sits inside the sump at the rear oil inlet.

    I'll order a new plug and take photo's as I have a go at the method posted by Trenchcoat85. Thanks mate!
    Trenchcoat85 likes this.
  16. Trenchcoat85 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Northern NorCal
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    '14 TE 310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    '85 shovel, '75 DT400, '97 XR400
    my pleasure.

    But I would advise using only the bottom drain bolt (with the magnet) for a couple of reasons. First, two weeks ago, I just cleaned my screen on the oil return bolt for the 2nd time since I got the bike (Oct 2014, 7000+ miles. yeah, more than 11,000Km). There was nothing on the screen. super clean. This was my 14th or 15th oil change IIRC.

    The second reason is that even though I had only removed the oil return hose a couple of times before, it was deteriorating and delaminating. So much so that I filled the barb up with J-B Weld (an automotive epoxy here in the US) and reinstalled the hose (but basically getting rid of the liquid return; later I will convert to the TC style where the liquid oil from blow-by goes back to the head). I did not want a hose failure to destroy my engine. At the same time I added a small rare-earth magnet to the screen side of the bolt... but really, this isn't going to do much of anything.

    Note: I had never been really worried about the exposure of the stock hose to damage from the outside- it's pretty protected. I was, however, shocked at the condition of the oil hose itself. BTW, I have about 350hours of riding time on the bike, which I estimate 98% of is dirt.

    hose damage
    drain hose issues 20180423_200445.jpg

    modified oil return bolt
    drain bolt epoxy filled and magnet 20180424_114400 with notes.jpg
    Burgo likes this.
  17. Burgo Husqvarna
    A Class

    Location:
    Sydney
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2013 TE310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    92 Honda XR250
    Yep, my hose is losing it's outer braiding as well.

    And I agree, each time i've removed the filter it's been pretty clean

    The 2013 TE310 has a magnet on the bottom sump plug, so that probably does the trick for 99% of debris.

    Will fix and leave alone then.

    Cheers mate
    Trenchcoat85 likes this.
  18. Trenchcoat85 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Northern NorCal
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    '14 TE 310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    '85 shovel, '75 DT400, '97 XR400
    I have a good or bad habit of editing posts for the next few hours after submitting them. Usually, I'm just correcting spelling errors or refining thoughts. That is a major advantage of Cafe Husky in my opinion.

    They stuff I added above didn't change that much.
    Big Timmy likes this.
  19. Trenchcoat85 Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Northern NorCal
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    '14 TE 310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    '85 shovel, '75 DT400, '97 XR400
    I should also say that I had another project going from 2 years ago- to get a bottom drain plug with a rare-earth magnet on it.

    I acquired the drain plug quite a while ago, but have pretty much given up on the project. The threads of the plug and the magnet both stick up too high to catch anything I believe. As far as I could tell there was no interference though (gears, crank, skid plate etc). "Someday" I'll go back to the original thread and update it.

    Hell, who knows? maybe someday I'll cut down the after-market drain bolt and put another magnet on it.

    drain plugs 20180423_185717.jpg
  20. Burgo Husqvarna
    A Class

    Location:
    Sydney
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    2013 TE310R
    Other Motorcycles:
    92 Honda XR250
    Trenchcoat, what's wrong with the magnet on the stock plug? (I'm missing something, it it the rare earth thing?)