TE310 oil drain plug mod

[Allan Briscoe]

By the way I have done about 1000 km now since the mode with no problems. I know it doesnt change the way to drain the oil by much but I just didnt like the look of the hose being held on by the hose clamp compared to the rest of the finish of the bike and also was worried that the whole .9 of a liter of engine oil would be gone in seconds if the hose blew off for some reason. So i may be just fussy but I think it looks a lot better and oil changes are less messy in my book.

 

[jcrocker]

I stipped the outside of the bolt the first time I changed the oil on my 310 , someone should make an aftermarket solution ( for those of us sans taps and dyes )

 

[Wayne69]

I stripped mine on first try as well. How did you finally get it off?

 

[MikeB]

Several others of us have stripped the oil drain bolt too - and learned to be VERY careful. I was able to lay my bike on its side and use some vise grips around the bolt flange to get it out.

 

[Tessier]

Looks like i am joining that club too! Mines stripped out and look's like its not gonna be so easy to get out.

 

[Tim Randall]

Haha I just went through this yesterday :P
Mine was rounded when I got it and couldn't get it off last oil change, so before I done this one I got a proper pipe spanner from work to try and still no good ended up making a mess of it, couldn't get vise grips to work, tried small pipe wrenches as still kept chewing the bolt away, so out come the hammer and chisel and I got it out after a few decent blows

Buying a new one today and ill be more careful of how tight it is, I don't get why people tighten sump bolts so much

 

[Wayne69]

I guess I have the factory to blame for it being so tight, nothing worse than getting a brand new bike and time to change the oil the first time,when you are still very excited about doing maintanance. Put that wrench on and it gives that first slip, and your like, oh no, you have got to be kiding me.

 

[Johnrg]

I just finished mine since were going to have rain for awhile. What a PIA but should be just this once as I will have a better routine. Basically the manual explains it but, in such a tight space you need certain tools and not to be in a rush. I had two OEM sets of 12mm wrenches from my old Honda and Kaw and fit well. The plug is on tight from the factory but no issues. What would have helped me a lot was first, if they had done a better job trimming the braided hose. Mine is pretty ragged so trying to rotate the hose clamp so I had clearance to push the hose back took some wrangling with strands of steel hose. Once the plug was out I was looking for the screen and couldn't find it so after re-checking the manual knew it had to be in there somewhere but getting it out is another PIA as you can't access that area easily 1/2 inch in. Eventually used a long slotted small carb screwdriver to carefully extract it. Back together not so bad except trying to line up the plug with that fat hose on it and little space to work. I any regard, glad to get it done.

 

[Aaron8]

I swear that drain bolt gets tighter as you ride

After 4 or 5 oil changes I noticed my bolt was starting to round off. At this point I abandoned the oil change procedure outlined in the manual.

Now I pull the breather hose off first, and let it drain a bit. Then I can get a high quality 12mm closed end wrench around that bolt to loosen it without issue. Removing the hose also makes it far easier to line the bolt up when re-installing.

 

[Wayne69]

Do you guys have a USA online company that your are able to order parts from? I need to go ahead and get a drain plug ordered.

 

[Johnrg]

I swear that drain bolt gets tighter as you ride

After 4 or 5 oil changes I noticed my bolt was starting to round off. At this point I abandoned the oil change procedure outlined in the manual.

Now I pull the breather hose off first, and let it drain a bit. Then I can get a high quality 12mm closed end wrench around that bolt to loosen it without issue. Removing the hose also makes it far easier to line the bolt up when re-installing.

Sounds like a good method. Can you say how long that nipple is on the plug and if it's barbed or just a straight tube? I may do the same in the future if it's not wearing the hose end much.

 

[Aaron8]

Sounds like a good method. Can you say how long that nipple is on the plug and if it's barbed or just a straight tube? I may do the same in the future if it's not wearing the hose end much.

On my 2011 TE310 x-lite, the nipple is about an inch long with a single barb, IIRC. I don't think it does any harm at all to the hose. It slides on and off easily. Just remember that hose clamp when you button everything back up!

 

[bensl]

......
Now I pull the breather hose off first, and let it drain a bit. Then I can get a high quality 12mm closed end wrench around that bolt to loosen it without issue. Removing the hose also makes it far easier to line the bolt up when re-installing.

i have just done the first oil change on my 310 and this advice made it ALOT easier. im not sure why the manual says to do it the way it does.

cheers

 

[mnb]

By the way I have done about 1000 km now since the mode with no problems. I know it doesnt change the way to drain the oil by much but I just didnt like the look of the hose being held on by the hose clamp compared to the rest of the finish of the bike and also was worried that the whole .9 of a liter of engine oil would be gone in seconds if the hose blew off for some reason. So i may be just fussy but I think it looks a lot better and oil changes are less messy in my book.

My hose didn't come off, but it either came loose or got the inside damaged and spewed out all the oil in about 15 minutes in a steady stream with the engine off.

Turns out the hose cracked just past the barb tip, about 1/4 of the way around. Fortunately, this had to have happened moments before I pulled into camp on the last loop of the day. The sight glass showed full when I checked it as soon as I got off the bike.

 

[FLATOUT]

Why not just remove the hose and cap the rear oil drain with a "normal" oil drain bolt?

 

[reveille]

Why not just remove the hose and cap the rear oil drain with a "normal" oil drain bolt?

That's what ZipTy developed for the bike. It replaces the barbed hose fitting with a simple plug and re reoutes the drain hose to the oil fill cap.

 

[FLATOUT]

OK, I1m gonna have to get one of those from ZipTy then!