Another Cracked Oil Pan

[foxtrot722]

Learned a few things during the install, 

Parts list, 

As you know, there is a revised part # for the pan with the side drain, it also showed a revised part # for the 15 screws that attach it. I purchased just in case there was a length difference. End up the only difference was the color of the head of the screw, it was black, so I'll be returning these. 

Also, someone mention that the drain plug was included with the pan, and that was correct. 

The pan replacement is fairly straight forward, I did take a few photos of the process. It can be done with bike on side stand if you don't mind laying on the floor for a few hours. I used a couple on exercise mats to lay on. 

Picture of new pan. 

Center stand needs to be removed, the spring was a bit of a challenge to get off. Used a block of wood to brace up the brake lever and used a screwdriver to remove. The nut for the bolt on the center stand is welded on the back side, so just unscrew the bolt, one on each side.

Removed screws holding wiring harness, was planning to disconnect the plug, but it was not giving up easy, so unscrewed the O2 sensor, there was enough slack in the harness that it didn't twist the wires too much. I used high temp anti seize compound on the threads during the reinstall. Remember to put 5 of 6 twist counterclockwise before reinstalling so you don't end up with twisted wires. 

Other than the header bolts, exhaust has two bolts at the rear, one on each side. nut is welded, so just unscrew the bolts. Be sure to replace the 3 crush washers and step torque to 14 foot lbs., way too much work to take a chance on a leak. 

Putting the spring back on the center stand was a challenge also, here is what I came up with that worked, in retrospect, this would have been a better way to remove the spring. 

End Product, 

 

Photos of cracked pan, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rockinsv]

Nice write up, thanks. I hope that I never need this.  I find the situation interesting, I've never bottomed a bike until this one, but I got lucky. Mine was an unusual situation, I hit a huge pothole in a set of railroad tracks that I wasn't able to see soon enough to avoid. I got lucky. This bike is tall enough it really surprises me there's this many problems.  

[betoney]

40 minutes ago, foxtrot722 said:

Putting the spring back on the center stand was a challenge also, here is what I came up with that worked, in retrospect, this would have been a better way to remove the spring. 

 

For anyone needing to remove and replace springs, a Spring Puller Tool  is worth its weight in gold, it makes it a 2 second job.  As a life long 2-Stroke dirt bike rider, I have always had one in my tool box for the expansion chamber springs.

 

[micah2074]

These also work well for springs.

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/performance-tools-brake-spring-pliers-w175/11505733-p

[nhchris]

Nice work @foxtrot722 and good write up (I hope I never need it;)

From the photo it looks like the new pan is about 1/2 inch less deep than the muffler. That should really help.

I've got dents in my muffler that could have easily been the pan if I was going slower.

I can't imagine riding this bike two up on a bumpy road!

[Cruizin]

12 hours ago, foxtrot722 said:

Learned a few things during the install, 

Parts list, 

As you know, there is a revised part # for the pan with the side drain, it also showed a revised part # for the 15 screws that attach it. I purchased just in case there was a length difference. End up the only difference was the color of the head of the screw, it was black, so I'll be returning these. 

Also, someone mention that the drain plug was included with the pan, and that was correct. 

The pan replacement is fairly straight forward, I did take a few photos of the process. It can be done with bike on side stand if you don't mind laying on the floor for a few hours. I used a couple on exercise mats to lay on. 

Picture of new pan. 

Center stand needs to be removed, the spring was a bit of a challenge to get off. Used a block of wood to brace up the brake lever and used a screwdriver to remove. The nut for the bolt on the center stand is welded on the back side, so just unscrew the bolt, one on each side.

Removed screws holding wiring harness, was planning to disconnect the plug, but it was not giving up easy, so unscrewed the O2 sensor, there was enough slack in the harness that it didn't twist the wires too much. I used high temp anti seize compound on the threads during the reinstall. Remember to put 5 of 6 twist counterclockwise before reinstalling so you don't end up with twisted wires. 

Other than the header bolts, exhaust has two bolts at the rear, one on each side. nut is welded, so just unscrew the bolts. Be sure to replace the 3 crush washers and step torque to 14 foot lbs., way too much work to take a chance on a leak. 

Putting the spring back on the center stand was a challenge also, here is what I came up with that worked, in retrospect, this would have been a better way to remove the spring. 

End Product, 

 

Photos of cracked pan, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any chance you could redo this post and put it in the tech tip section, so that others can find it over the years and use this as a guide?  It would probably help some people save a ton of money 

[chitown]

Might add that If you have access to a rear stand you don't need to remove the center stand. The headers only need to be rotated out of the way, which can be done without pulling the cat through the center stand.

When dealing with springs and no spring tool there's the penny trick too. Coins/washers/etc inserted between coils. 

[foxtrot722]

20 hours ago, Cruizin said:

Any chance you could redo this post and put it in the tech tip section, so that others can find it over the years and use this as a guide?  It would probably help some people save a ton of money 

Yes Sir, just completed

[Duke]

In looking at the pictures of this failure, I wonder if simply epoxying an extra layer of material to the bottom of the pan would provide additional protection? A  piece of 1/4” steel would protect the drain plug, and would also add strength to the bottom of the pain to keep it from flexing if you were to bottom the bike on the pan. At a minimum, it would take a lot harder hit to crack the aluminum, because the crack would have to form on the stronger parts of the pan instead of the weaker flat bottom. I only wonder if the epoxy would hold. 

[nhchris]

I actually thought of gluing shoulder or elbow armor bit round the leading edge of the pan.

The things we will do to compensate for Yami's phuckup!  OMG

[Cruizin]

1 hour ago, foxtrot722 said:

Yes Sir, just completed

Thank you! 

[wordsmith]

2 hours ago, Duke said:

At a minimum, it would take a lot harder hit to crack the aluminum, because the crack would have to form on the stronger parts of the pan instead of the weaker flat bottom. I only wonder if the epoxy would hold. 

Which begs the obvious question - is the OE oil-pan aluminium, or steel?

[Duke]

Cast aluminum. 

[whistler]

13 hours ago, Duke said:

 I only wonder if the epoxy would hold. 

There's some stuff in the boating world called Marine Tex.  I've used it to fill and bond holes and cracks in wood and aluminum alike in the past years.  Once it sets, it's sandable, drillable, impervious to solvents and damned near bulletproof.  This is strictly my opinion . . . I would  rough up the bottom of the pan with some 50 grit sandpaper, rough the 1/4"/6mm steel plate with same and then clean/degrease with strong rubbing alcohol to prep both surfaces.  Then, mix the Marine Tex epoxy and hardener per the instructions and apply it like peanut butter.  Apply just enough upward pressure to hold the steel in place with wedges or a very light stroke of a bottle jack or similar until the epoxy hardens.  Dress the edges and you're good to go.  Again, just my .02 cents based on my experiences with using Marine Tex.

Edited info:  Just had a wild thought.  What about just mixing Marine Tex and applying it like the aforementioned peanut butter to the prepped and cleaned pan surface only?  It applies thick and dries extremely hard as described above...maybe go that route vice adhering a steel plate.  Use the epoxy itself to serve as the sacrificial impact coating that protects the aluminum pan surface?  Food for thought...

[Duke]

7 hours ago, whistler said:

There's some stuff in the boating world called Marine Tex.  I've used it to fill and bond holes and cracks in wood and aluminum alike in the past years.  Once it sets, it's sandable, drillable, impervious to solvents and damned near bulletproof.  This is strictly my opinion . . . I would  rough up the bottom of the pan with some 50 grit sandpaper, rough the 1/4"/6mm steel plate with same and then clean/degrease with strong rubbing alcohol to prep both surfaces.  Then, mix the Marine Tex epoxy and hardener per the instructions and apply it like peanut butter.  Apply just enough upward pressure to hold the steel in place with wedges or a very light stroke of a bottle jack or similar until the epoxy hardens.  Dress the edges and you're good to go.  Again, just my .02 cents based on my experiences with using Marine Tex.

Edited info:  Just had a wild thought.  What about just mixing Marine Tex and applying it like the aforementioned peanut butter to the prepped and cleaned pan surface only?  It applies thick and dries extremely hard as described above...maybe go that route vice adhering a steel plate.  Use the epoxy itself to serve as the sacrificial impact coating that protects the aluminum pan surface?  Food for thought...

I’ve heard of that product, and I think it’s great stuff. 

I’m not sure that the epoxy alone would be enough. I think the bottom of the pan needs to be thicker and less flexible. Now, using that stuff around the edges to reinforce the curved part in addition to a plate could work.

My biggest concerns with a steel plate are due to the possibility of corrosion die to dissimilar metals, and the possibility of adhesive failure due to the different expansion and contraction rates of steel and aluminum. After thinking about this a bit more, I wonder about just using Marine Tex to add a nice thick layer of aluminum to the bottom of the pan, and then using Marine Tex to blend in the edges. Obviously it wouldn’t be as strong as a Higdonion cage, but it would probably be strong enough for Street use.