NEAR DISASTER ON CHANGING OIL!!

[JKMSPYDER]

I was changing the oil for the first time this week at 10,000 miles. My dealer had changed it at 600 and 5000 miles. I was all set with the tools, oil, filters, oil pan, etc. in my garage. When I went to unbolt the plug at the oil tank I couldn't budge it with my socket wrench with the 18" allen hex bit. Trying so hard and trying to keep it straight, I ended up wallowing out the center hole. Would you believe it also happened when I went to take out the engine plug?:yikes: Well, now I'm in a fix!! I called a good friend of mine who can fix anything and has a million tools. He said to bring it over and he would attempt to get the plugs out. I drove the Spyder to his house last night after having taken my ATV jack, ramps, oil, etc. in my car. Chuck couldn't believe how stuck the plugs were. For the oil plug, he had to drill deep into the center, then use a left threaded bit and crescent wrench to break it loose. For the engine plug, the metal was so hard that his drill bit wouldn't go in deep enough to allow the left threaded bit to get in far enough. He ended up attaching a chisel bit to his air powered drill and banging the plug on the side until it broke free. Then we could unscrew it by hand. I have no idea what my dealer used to tighten the plugs at the last oil change, but I'm gonna find out. Luckily I had ordered the aftermarket gold plugs months ago anticipating that I would replace the factory plugs when I did the oil change. Once I got those on, I torked the plugs to 15 ft/lbs as the manual says so I won't have any trouble getting them off at the next oil change. The screws holding on the oil and transmission filter covers were not a problem to get off.

[Jeriatric]

Cause it's a given the tech did not use a torque wrench. Or, if he did...it was set to torque lug nuts. :cus:

[mrfats]

It's always nice to have friends!

[SPYD3R]

JM;
the Service Manager at the last place you had your oil/filters changed need to know about this.... call him/her 1st thing Monday AM....
one plug, ya, maybe i'll buy that.... but BOTH..... something was done intentionally, or without the proper training... you deserve a FREE oil/filter change from those guys for your troubles.... if nothing is offered, i strongly suggest you find another service center, and also advertise who the 'bad guys' are on this website....
at age 66, i've about had it with some of the crooks we, the public, have to deal with... i nolonger return to places that try to rip me off...
good luck my SPYD3R friend....
Dan P
Easley, SC

[jcthorne]

Luckily I had ordered the aftermarket gold plugs months ago anticipating that I would replace the factory plugs when I did the oil change.


What aftermarket plugs are you referring to?

[Jeriatric]

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?21268-drain-plug-stripped-out-anyone-have-a-better-replacment&highlight=gold+plugs


What aftermarket plugs are you referring to?

[Terry L]

JM;
the Service Manager at the last place you had your oil/filters changed need to know about this.... call him/her 1st thing Monday AM....
one plug, ya, maybe i'll buy that.... but BOTH..... something was done intentionally, or without the proper training... you deserve a FREE oil/filter change from those guys for your troubles.... if nothing is offered, i strongly suggest you find another service center, and also advertise who the 'bad guys' are on this website....
at age 66, i've about had it with some of the crooks we, the public, have to deal with... i nolonger return to places that try to rip me off...
good luck my SPYD3R friend....
Dan P
Easley, SC


:lecturef_smilie:GREAT FUN MACHINES!!! Very poor service, once you buy it, it's yours..... The dealer gets their money, Can Am gets their money and you get a bike you can only keep riding due to people on this forum. Good Luck on finding someone to work on it and then you have to wait 7 - 10 days for the part to come from Canada and then you have to wait for it to be put on. Apparently there are some people who don't or have not had any problems with their Spyders and have not had to go back to their dealer and you don't know how much I wish I was one of you. Can Am called me yesterday and wanted to know how I liked my Can Am. After I told her the problems I have and have had she said "But do you like your Can Am", I said "YES, best machine I have ever rode". She could not find the telephone number for complaints but just wanted to know if I liked my Can Am. I guess when I said yes, it meant I was satisfied!! May be I am just one of those people that can't be pleased and expect to much when I spent $30 plus on my Spyder and just want to ride and enjoy it like the rest of you. Yes, I did write to Can Am and complained a few days ago and thought the call yesterday was it, and may be it was my reply. HAD to pay, last week $65 to put my ignition system back together and ride home and then I put the wires back on the seat and Fronk in their parking lot so I could fill the machine. Sorry, I am Disappointed in Can Am but THEIR Spyder is ONLY as good as the people they have selling and serving them. Sure hope you people on :bowdown:Spyderlovers.com can keep me ridding longer on this Can Am product than the dirt bike I bought from them in the 70's. :banghead:

[JKMSPYDER]

Go to goldplug.com. There you will find them. These should have been standard from the factory. Order the MP-01 and the MP-02 for the 998 Rotax engine. One is for the oil reservoir and the other is for the engine.

[Chupaca]

To those finding the drain plugs tight, use an impact driver or in the event you don't have one hammer on the plug or allen. This helps break the crystalization acting like a strong loctite. A hammer operated impact driver works wonders on many nuts and bolts where steel and aluminum meet...:thumbup:

[SPYD3R]

:lecturef_smilie:GREAT FUN MACHINES!!! Very poor service, once you buy it, it's yours..... The dealer gets their money, Can Am gets their money and you get a bike you can only keep riding due to people on this forum. Good Luck on finding someone to work on it and then you have to wait 7 - 10 days for the part to come from Canada and then you have to wait for it to be put on. Apparently there are some people who don't or have not had any problems with their Spyders and have not had to go back to their dealer and you don't know how much I wish I was one of you. Can Am called me yesterday and wanted to know how I liked my Can Am. After I told her the problems I have and have had she said "But do you like your Can Am", I said "YES, best machine I have ever rode". She could not find the telephone number for complaints but just wanted to know if I liked my Can Am. I guess when I said yes, it meant I was satisfied!! May be I am just one of those people that can't be pleased and expect to much when I spent $30 plus on my Spyder and just want to ride and enjoy it like the rest of you. Yes, I did write to Can Am and complained a few days ago and thought the call yesterday was it, and may be it was my reply. HAD to pay, last week $65 to put my ignition system back together and ride home and then I put the wires back on the seat and Fronk in their parking lot so I could fill the machine. Sorry, I am Disappointed in Can Am but THEIR Spyder is ONLY as good as the people they have selling and serving them. Sure hope you people on :bowdown:Spyderlovers.com can keep me ridding longer on this Can Am product than the dirt bike I bought from them in the 70's. :banghead:

NOPE, SORRY 2 DISAGREE WIT U, BUT :bowdown: BRIDGETT @ POWERSPORTS of GREENVILLE, SC is EXCELLENT to all her customers.... i've used them since '09 without any issues whatsoever..... luckily, they r only 10 miles from my house.....

[Bob Denman]

JKM,
I'm glad that this was only a "near-miss"! :shocked:
:congrats:on your foresight! :2thumbs:

[JKMSPYDER]

Thanks Bob. Sometimes it pays to think ahead when repairing our own Spyders.

[Flamewinger]

""18" allen hex bit"" Question, What's an 18" allen hex bit? The Spyder's are metric and it's possible the allen socket bit was not solid in the drain bolts and was the wrong size?

[JKMSPYDER]

Flamewinger, I'm not sure what the proper name of the bit is, but it was a 6mm metric bit. Still couldn't get the plugs out. I would recommend everyone replace these plugs with hex bolts like I did if you want to change your own oil. Much easier.

[Flamewinger]

Two things to think about.

One, is when I torqued a bolt in a brake caliper bracket to 7ft lbs I used a cheap set of allen sockets and a long torque wrench. The allen key was not a tight fit and I broke the head of the bolt because the allen key moved just enough to damage the bolt head. Learned to use Craftsman or Snap on tools.

Two, when you torque the oil drain bolts, the next time you break them loose they will be tighter than you thought due to the engine heat making them that way. So far I've not had a problem with my drain bolts but might get a second set just in case. Good thing you had another set.

[NancysToy]

Two things to think about.

One, is when I torqued a bolt in a brake caliper bracket to 7ft lbs I used a cheap set of allen sockets and a long torque wrench. The allen key was not a tight fit and I broke the head of the bolt because the allen key moved just enough to damage the bolt head. Learned to use Craftsman or Snap on tools.

Two, when you torque the oil drain bolts, the next time you break them loose they will be tighter than you thought due to the engine heat making them that way. So far I've not had a problem with my drain bolts but might get a second set just in case. Good thing you had another set.

Very true. In addition, the use of a crush washer makes them require more torque to remove than when they were installed.

[JKMSPYDER]

Now that I have the gold plugs installed I think it will be a lot easier to loosen them in the future. The oil reservoir bolt uses a 3/4 socket and the engine bolt uses a 5/8 socket.

[NancysToy]

Now that I have the gold plugs installed I think it will be a lot easier to loosen them in the future. The oil reservoir bolt uses a 3/4 socket and the engine bolt uses a 5/8 socket.
Just don't over-tighten them. It is easier with the hex bolts, and you could strip the case or tank instead of the plugs.