TE310 oil drain plug mod

I love my 2011 TE310 but the oil drain plug with the oil line pushed on and held on with the hose clamp looks bad and it is a pain when it comes time to drain the oil. I have modified mine as per the below photos. I fitted a -4 jic 90 degree end on the oil hose I then bought a TE250 oil drain plug and drilled a 5mm hole all the way through the center and then drilled 8.5 mm hole 3/4 into the plug and tapped a 1/8 NPTF thread into the plug. I then fitted a 1/8 NPTF to -4 jic male/male fitting into the plug. This needs to be as short as you can get to clear the frame I cut three threads off the one I used and cut the thread all the way up so I could turn it into the plug all the way. Once you fit the new plug into the engine then fit the line to the plug. Next time I drain the oil I just need to loosen the line fitting and then the plug as it will turn but the line will stay still. This will be easier, less mess and I think it looks a much better set up. You can get the 90 degree fitting and male/male fitting from any Caterpillar dealer. I have a Husqvarna bash plate which covers the bottom of the engine very well so the plug and fitting are well protected.

Nice. I hate changing the oil. Make and sell all the parts to make the upgrade. I'll pay.

+1 good job

nice

Allan.
I was thinking along similar lines, get something that has a 90 degree fitting, but with a quick release coupling? but have yet to find something suitable. It would have to be VERY foolproof - you dont want it coming loose while riding.
Anyone got any ideas or suggestions for a quick release (oil proof/tight) fitting, something maybe aircraft grade?

Great concept. Terrific to see some good ole engineering

Robertk61
The only quick release fittings I know of are to big and you also need the ones that seak off when seperated so oil wont go all over the place. I will ask a mate who works in hydraulics to see if he know of anything small enough, remeber it is only a 5mm hole in the plug and there is not a lot of room under there and if I find anything I will let you know.

David B show the photo to any hydraulic person and they could do it for you. You just need to buy the TE250 plug. I havent given it a good work out yet so it is still a proto type idea and as I am in Australia the postage would be more than the cost of the parts. I still used the original rubber hose as well and kept the original drain plug set up in case things dont work out as they are only availabe X Italy for Australia so I didnt want to cut it up.

Good Job! I like fixes that aren't hack jobs.

Also, as another possibility, could the hose be re-routed and dump into the motor at some other spot- ie. the fill plug, or???

I am trying to find some one around my area with the 2011 te250 as this is the same engine and frame and it doesnt have the oil line set up so I would love to know why and how is the breather hose set up done.

Not to sidetrack the thread but, why in the world did Husky change the routing for the breather to THAT location instead of the airbox? Guess the question is mostly rhetorical.......

I saw it on a 2011 310 at Tasky's and was surprised how 'not' user friendly the breather installation appears in addition to the already tight working area provided just to get the plug and screen out/in on a non-TE bike like mine.

I was really afraid last time I was reading this sort of posts, that once it will take me to do this on my bike

The time arrived and I am really surprised how easy it is, just unscrew it with an open wrench and take it out. No hose clamp removing, nothing. So, maybe I am lucky with my bike, but I do not really get it
regards,

I'm a bit confused with this, what actually has been achieved? Easier way to drain the oil?

I too found it wasn't as bad as I'd feared. It's just really tight down there.

The real question is, why does the 2011 TE310 have the breather hose and the 2011 TE250 does not
Oil changes on the 310 would be a whole lot easier without it.
Can we get rid of it?

I have 2011 TE 310 and hate the oil drain plug set up on it. No other motorcycle doing it as far as I know, so what was the Italian design engineers was thinking ?. If you follow the oil plug hose upward you will see that it connect to portion of the back bone box frame which hold the steering stem. I presumed this box backbone frame is a closed section, and the hose is connected to the lowest point of the box frame, so as is a drain point if they are liquid in it. On the same box frame, but located much higher up, there are two more breather hose (larger diameter) connected to it. One in the middle is connected to the upper section of engine cam cover, the other one (most high position) is connected to the intake section of the airbox. So judging from this set up, My understanding is, the box backbone frame above engine is basically an overflow holding area for any oil spew out from the cam area, either from high speed oil fling or if we tip over the bike. Then the various hose location on the box seperate the overflow, the oil is collected in the bottom and drain back to the crankcase thru the drain plug, and the fume/gases is routed thru the top hose to the airbox.
So this is it, The idea is nothing new and have been done in many bikes, but the BIG question is how come the Italian engineers chooses the drain plug as their oil overflow return line ?.. Other manufacturer usually uses a seperate entry point some where on the top of the gearbox/crankcase.
So if we want to modify 2011 TE 310 oil drain set up, logically we have to find another entry point for the overflow drain to the crankcase.. Or just plug both the drain hole and the Box frame drain point. na just remember to drain the box frame every now and then, or after a fall.
2011 TE250 owners, could you look what is the connection on the Upper box back bone frame ?, does it have a drain nipple ?. If doesnt, that means probably the box frame is not a closed unit, but the excess oil will drain thrus the lower frame and to the ground...

I looked at te250 yesterday and it only has two breather hoses. The one from the valve cover goes to the bottom of the farme box section and the air intake hose one goes to the top of the frame. So on the 310 it should just be a matter of putting in a tee piece to connect the the oil drain line that goes to the sump plug to the valve cover line. Then just fit a standard 250 drain pug. I am looking in to this next week and will post the out come. I think the 310 set up is due to emission requirments as it must breath slightly more than the 250 that why they are set up differently.

I followed up with the tech people from the Husqvarna Australian supplier and they told me the 310 due to the larger bore and stroke flows alot more hot air/oil than the 250 and therefore under hi revs and heavy load oil can be pushed into the breathers frame box and into the air intake vent hose if you block off the drain line that goes back to the sump. Also it could be worse if you drop the bike. So they recomended not to remove the drain line to the sump. Hope this answers the question as to why the 2011 te250 and 2011 te310 are different set ups for the breathers.

I'm in the process of doing this mod and I have question about the mesh filter behind the oil drain plug:
Does the mesh filter need to be clean and inspected with every oil change?
Does oil flow thru the mesh filter when the engine is running?

Yes it is best to remove the screen and clean it at every change I always find small bits in it so best to get them out of there. Going by what I have read this must be the screen for the oil pump pick up.