Oil Plug head broke off on 1330 F3.

[Ojonesy]

Hi guys, I have just done my first oil change and found this post to be very interesting. I didn't have a torque wrench, so hand tightened by feel was the method. My concern is the method by which Can Am have adopted for removal and reinstalling the oil drain plugs. I am a mechanically minded type person and my experienced with fittings that use allen key or torx arrangements for unscrewing/screwing the fitting tend to be wear and the tool loses its ability to grip the fitting. This oil change was the first time I have done since the dealers warranty service, the main oil drain plug does have a larger torx arrangement whereby the torx tool does have some material to be positively located and grip the plug, but I am nervous in regard to the reliability long term of this arrangement. The clutch drain plug uses a smaller torx tool and I was uneasy when I was trying to remove this plug as it felt it was about to fail. However with a couple of short sharp taps with a hammer onto the end of the torx tool, the plug finally undone. I cannot understand why Can Am have persisted with this arrangement, most other manufactures use the conventional hexagon head whereby the reliable standard socket can be used for its removal/reinstalling. (and on the rare occasion where the hex head becomes rounded, you still have the metal to work with to remove it) The size of the torx tool to remove the drain plugs are in my opinion too small in relation to the size and force that I have experienced to remove and reinstall these plugs, the sealing head of the drain plugs are not very thick, and particularly with the clutch drain plug, the torx inset goes into the main body of the plug so it does not surprise me that the head had sheared off. I had thought about replacing them with conventional plugs but unfortunately Can Am have come up with an internal O-ring sealing arrangement for the main drain plug (I guess one could machine one up) and the clutch plug has the magnet attached. Moving forward, I will be looking at least of purchasing a spare set of plugs and ensure that my torx tools are in pristine condition, wondering if there is any aftermarket plugs that would do the job.
To Finish, I love my RT 1330, but would have to say that Can Am need to think about how does one work on these machines. Just to do a standard oil change, you have to strip halve the bike down to get access. Hate to think what you have to do if eg. one developed an oil leak around the rocker cover.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hi guys, I have just done my first oil change and found this post to be very interesting. I didn't have a torque wrench, so hand tightened by feel was the method. My concern is the method by which Can Am have adopted for removal and reinstalling the oil drain plugs. I am a mechanically minded type person and my experienced with fittings that use allen key or torx arrangements for unscrewing/screwing the fitting tend to be wear and the tool loses its ability to grip the fitting. This oil change was the first time I have done since the dealers warranty service, the main oil drain plug does have a larger torx arrangement whereby the torx tool does have some material to be positively located and grip the plug, but I am nervous in regard to the reliability long term of this arrangement. The clutch drain plug uses a smaller torx tool and I was uneasy when I was trying to remove this plug as it felt it was about to fail. However with a couple of short sharp taps with a hammer onto the end of the torx tool, the plug finally undone. I cannot understand why Can Am have persisted with this arrangement, most other manufactures use the conventional hexagon head whereby the reliable standard socket can be used for its removal/reinstalling. (and on the rare occasion where the hex head becomes rounded, you still have the metal to work with to remove it) The size of the torx tool to remove the drain plugs are in my opinion too small in relation to the size and force that I have experienced to remove and reinstall these plugs, the sealing head of the drain plugs are not very thick, and particularly with the clutch drain plug, the torx inset goes into the main body of the plug so it does not surprise me that the head had sheared off. I had thought about replacing them with conventional plugs but unfortunately Can Am have come up with an internal O-ring sealing arrangement for the main drain plug (I guess one could machine one up) and the clutch plug has the magnet attached. Moving forward, I will be looking at least of purchasing a spare set of plugs and ensure that my torx tools are in pristine condition, wondering if there is any aftermarket plugs that would do the job.
To Finish, I love my RT 1330, but would have to say that Can Am need to think about how does one work on these machines. Just to do a standard oil change, you have to strip halve the bike down to get access. Hate to think what you have to do if eg. one developed an oil leak around the rocker cover.

:agree: ………… Look at VALUE ACCESSORIES on the home page - I think they have the best prices on the better Style drain plugs ….. I use the GOLD brand , and I only changed the TORX plug ….the HEX plug has never been an issue …………..PS - maybe you know this , after you put the socket on the drain plug give a couple of solid Taps with a hammer - this will break the Varnish seal that gets formed over time due to heat cycles ….. Good luck …. Mike :thumbup:

 

[jcthorne]

The plug on the clutch side is Allen hex, not torx. The one on the engine side is Torx.

 

[Lew L]

OEM's often use the cheapest, lowest strength/quality fasteners due to trying to keep costs low. These fasteners are often made of " cheese " like the tool kits on Honda's of the 60's. When I bought general fasteners for my shop classes I went with Grade 5 nuts and bolts as general use fasteners ----no lower grade ( Grade 3 with no marking on the bolt head). Sure it cost a bit more but as I did a lot of repair for the school, there just can't be fastener failures.
Lew L

 

[Ojonesy]

Hello JCTHORNE, That's very interesting about the clutch drain plug because initially I thought the same thing. Having tried my allen keys and not finding one that felt good and seeing that the main oil plug was torx, I tried them and found one that fitted, but as I said in my previous post, I was not comfortable with it. If what you are saying is correct, I suspect the dealer had issues last time they did the service and possibly rounded off the allen key profile in the plug and then tried a torx tool to do the job. As BlueKnight911 said, a quick sharp tap with the hammer can break the seal and release the grip on the plug, this is exactly what I did, and if the clutch plug was originally an allen key type and had been rounded, the torx tool may have been able to slide in and with me giving it a tap, may have driven it in firmer so that I was able to undo it. Certainly now I will have a closer inspection and if proven correct, will be ordering a new one. Will also check out Value accessories too.

 

[Ojonesy]

I have opted to buy an accessory magnetic drain plug, found a few here online in new Zealand, however when it arrived, it had a thread length of 18mm as compared to 12mm length of the original. Didn't think that would be an issue, however did check to make sure there was clearance in the sump because you also have to allow for the length of the magnet. The overall length was 25-26mm and there was just enough room, but CanAm decided to provide around 15mm of thread in the sump casing which meant that the new plug bottomed out in the thread before seating. Done some more research and found another plug with 12mm length of thread, so this is due to arrive and this should do the job. So the thing here to be aware of, if you do intend to change the clutch side drain plug to a conventional hex head type, be sure that the thread length is no longer than 12mm. the magnet protrudes another 5 - 10mm, that's fine as the original is much the same. The main drain plug requires a torx type tool to remove the M14 x 1.5 thread plug and conversion to the conventional hex head is not so easy as this plug has a shaft of aprox 30 - 40mm extension beyond the thread with two O-rings positioned on the shaft. Not sure on the purpose of these O-rings, however my plan is to eventually machine a bolt to suit. The only saving grace is that the torx tool is reasonably large and therefore does grip the plug reasonably well, but over time I believe it will become loose and eventually burr and round off.

 

[jaherbst]

Righty Tighty lefty Lucy

Jackq:joke:

 

[Nobodyjj]

Great you got itout. A center punch on the edge would have done it also. Small taps and out she would come enough to grab with vise grips. Lots of over thinking going on here!