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Cracked oil pan


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You tried to do the right thing. Good for you!  But the corollary is,  no good deed goes unpunished!

I've read that a torque wrench is accurate ONLY in the middle 50% of its range.

I switched to a Mazda low-profile drain BOLT with a hex key head, which is it hard to over tighten.

S&it happened my friend.

1968 Triumph Bonneville 650
1971 Norton Commando Roadster
2002 Harley 1200 Sportster
2003 Honda ST 1300
2016 FJ 09
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When I use a torque wrench on oil pan bolts, I use a beam type. I like it because you can 'see' the torque increasing. I have marked the scale with a sharpie when I do something where the manual has been proven to be sketchy.

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On 7/17/2021 at 7:46 AM, waterbed said:

Best part: the oil pan comes with the plug pre-installed, so I didn't have to run the risk of repeating my mistake.

I don't get it. You are so concerned about the exact tightening of a drain plug that you use a torque wrench.....then don't bother to check the torque of the drain plug that comes "pre-installed" on a new pan??

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  • 1 month later...
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Well, now I have a story to tell.........

I just moved from Seattle, Washington to Fresno, California, and I loaded up my UHaul truck being very careful to strap my Tracer 900 to the side rail and ensure it was safe for the trip. I stopped once or twice on the way down to check to see if it was ok, and everything looked fine. when I arrived at my new home, I opened the truck, and found a puddle of oil soaking the UHaul moving mats I had put around my Tracer. The bike was still secured to the side rail and didn't look like it moved at all, but I noticed that my Chop Saw, which had been tied to the other side of the truck had come loose and apparently in a sick rendition of a heat seeking missile, slid across the UHaul truck and slammed into my oil pan.

When I saw what happened I was sick, but nothing left to do but get it fixed. With all the work I have to do moving in and setting up a new home, I decided to take it to the local dealer (Clawson's Motorsports) and have them deal with it. It should be done by end of next week, and hopefully good as new.

Sometimes, you just can't get a break, but you can pick up the pieces, learn your lesson, and move forward.

And if there are any folks on the forum who live around Fresno/Clovis, send me a PM and once my bike is fixed, we can do some riding....

 

 

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3 hours ago, DavidS said:

The bike was still secured to the side rail and didn't look like it moved at all, but I noticed that my Chop Saw, which had been tied to the other side of the truck had come loose and apparently in a sick rendition of a heat seeking missile, slid across the UHaul truck and slammed into my oil pan.

The irony!  Safely secured within a covered trailer and that happens!

If only you could have those odds in winning the lottery.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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On 9/2/2021 at 10:03 PM, DavidS said:

slid across the UHaul truck and slammed into my oil pan

ugh, tough luck man.  Hope you can get riding sooner rather than later.

2015 FJ-09 / FJR touring bags / oil plug mod / Evotech rad guard / SW Motech bash plate / VStream touring windshield / Seat Concepts:  Sport Touring / Vcyclenut ABS rings (speedo correction) / Cosmo RAM mount

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On 7/18/2021 at 12:41 PM, sandman900 said:

Doing my first oil change on my Tracer, I could not believe how factory tight the oil drain bolt was. Tighter than any other drain I've ever felt- really felt wrong, and finally released with a huge snap

Same here, on the replacement oil pan that came with a drain plug installed in it, I was worried it was going to crack the pan the first time I removed it. 

1970 DT-250 / 1972 250MX / 1973 360MX / 1974 250MX & 1974 CZ 400 Red Frame & SC 500 / 1978 YZ 250 / 1979  YZ250 / (2) 1980 YZ 250 / 1986 YZ 490 / 1989 YZ250 WR / 1994 YZ 250 / (2) 2002 YZ 426 / 2007 YZ 450 / 2007 DR 650, 2015 FJ 09 / 2020 YZ 250

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