Topic: Stuck Oil Drain Plug...It's killing me.

[KilgoreTrout]

Any tips on getting this SOB out? I WD-40ed the bastard and also had a 4' breaker bar on it with no luck. Is it opposite thread? I know the righty thighty lefty loosey rule so I'm cool  . Usually I heat it up but I don't want to f'up the aluminum. Any tips or tricks. The bike has been sitting for 20 years so anything that has to do with starting it is not happenin.

Thank you.

[Jonesy]

The drain plug threads like most normal fasteners. I had the same issue on a CB360. Took a couple pops from a pneumatic impact wrench to finally bust it free.

Aside from that you could drop the pan to see what's up.

[grumburg]

Honda loved to put steel plugs and bolts in aluminum threads. Guess they didn't plan on someone trying to get them out 30 years later.  I have seemed to work minor miracles with an impact tool. Has paid for itself a dozen times.

[ElCheapo]

A trick I use for exhaust bolts (not sure it will work with a drain plug) is warm it with a propane torch and then take a candle and smash it into the hot bolt.

On stubborn ones I take a good heavy ball peen hammer and smack her a few times and then try again. You have to be careful not to goof the sides of teh bolt head up. But it does work.

[Noel]

I had to EZout the last one.

Not that you care much now, but it's a good idea to replace the plug with an aftermarket one that has a larger head. And don't forget the anti-seize.

[Tim.]

You might want to start sourcing a used replacement pan, just in case 

[HondaMan]

Go to your Honda shop and get the aluminum washer that goes under the bolt. It distorts on assembly, a little more each time, to prevent jams like this. It wears out after 30 or 40 oil changes, so you gotta spend another $1...

[KilgoreTrout]

Right on. I'll try all of the above. Thanks for the replys.

[cben750f0]

mate wish i had that when i was pullin the exhaust studs out!!!!! sounds like the #$%*e... cheers for that..peace

[grumburg]

Right on. I'll try all of the above. Thanks for the replys.

Get a can of PBBlaster. It has immensely wonderous proterties like magnetism and some sort of surface tension that just "sucks" little brown bubbles right into rusted tight or seized bolts or nuts.

It's absolutely incredible, and after 20 years of trying everything around, I swear it is 10 times better than anything else I've ever tried. It will do it.

http://www.specialtauto.com/delorean-parts/images/PB-Blaster.jpg

It also stinks to high heaven.

Great stuff. Some of the best things in life don't smell too good!

[shockinYallTim]

 HEAT  HEAT  HEAT, hit with a brass hammer, unscrew,  that's what works for me....TIM

[putnaja1]

Impact driver, 3/8" drive that you hit with a hammer- my favorite tool of all time, and should help you out here..  This bad boy also works wonders getting out those stuck carburator screws/screw in jets, etc.

The breaker bar method in my opinion is almost certain to screw you over.  At least, the worst possible things you could break, I've only broken them using a breaker bar.

Another method I like to use as a pre-emptive strike before I start with the impact driver:  Spray a penetrating lubricant- like the PB mentioned above (or WD-40 or liquid wrench) as close as you can get to the threads, and then with a ball-peen hammer, lightly tap on the head of the bolt.  You aren't trying to spin the bolt here, only light tapping.  I've started using an open end wrench to do the tapping now- as I've grown to like the bell like tone it produces!  Anyway, this is to cause minute vibrations in the bolt, hopefully drawing in the penetrating oil into the threads.  I do this a few times, letting the penetrating oil do it's work for a few minutes in-between, and then use the impact driver.

Jason