Oil drain plug center bolt

What is the use of that bolt in the center of the oil drain plug? Do I have to loosen it before I can remove the drain plug. Do I need a Philips or a torx bit or whatever other bit to loosen that bolt if necessary?

I also found that I need a 6 inch extension to reach that drain plug below the oil filter, due to my 4-in-1 exhaust system, and I find it a bit tricky to make sure I have the right socket, so should I use a 19 mm?

What do you guys with a similar exhaust system use to avoid to much oil drops on your hot pipes?

 

That screw is fills a hole for a temperature probe used in emissions/tuning. Just ignore it.

 

Who avoids? I have the bike on the centerstand, and hot oil regularly pees everywhere. Two "overlapping" drain pans don't help, there will be spillage and drippage.

Haven't burnt down the garage yet, the pipes aren't THAT hot.

I've always considered oil changes to be like a good sandwich: it's not proper unless it drips all over the place and makes a nice hot mess. Hot oil on clean chrome is no problem; gives you a reason to wash the bike.

 

Hey Fitz

I just changed my Honda Magna engine oil last week. This bike is equipped with a spin-on filter with plenty of room between the pipes, so it is VERY easy to change the oil without one drop of oil out of the drain pan.

Now I understand that with the Seca I should prepare myself to a real mess. The problem is that I wanted to change the oil where the bike is stored now, but now that you said that, I doubt it's a good idea. I will get some sh*t load from the owner if I mess the place up.

 

I forget who said this to me, but someone mentioned to use aluminium foil between the pipes and the bottom of the engine. It's worked good so far, make a little spout and it drains right into the pan, no oil on exhaust.

 

Nice little trick, thank you!

 

That can be said for soooo many things.

 

An oil change is not an oil change till you drop the oil plug in the tray of old oil! Go fish! I made a trough out of sheet metal that catches the oil from the drain and the spin on oil filter.

 

Now you make me think of that scrap of metal sheet I found besides the road this winter, I'm pretty sure I could cut apiece of it and fold it to suit this purpose.

 

An oil change is not an oil change until you are cleaning oil off of the ceiling because you tripped over the oil pan.

 

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... ilter.html

http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_pro ... 60461.aspx

 

Just finished the engine oil and filter change on the Seca900. Everything went pretty fine. I used a section of foil from the kitchen to form a big spout to catch the oil from the drain hole, it worked perfectly, no mess on the pipes neither on the ground.

I wasn't so happy with the o-rings provided with the Wix filter. The small one seemed to fit perfectly, but the large one looks too thin to seal properly. WHen I put it in place, it sat too low in the channel all around the filter housing (I could barely se it when looking from the side), and I suspected it would leak. So I put the old one back in. I ran the bike shortly around the yard (1-2-3 then downshifted, then 1-2-3 again) then parked the bike in the garage with a towel under the filter. We'll see later if it leaks or not.

The very thin metal washer was still where it should be, between the filter and the big spring.

I put a mix of 20-50, 10-40 and 15-40, all JASO MA rated oil leftovers I had on my shelf.

I saw what looks like a small oil leak from one of the valve cover donuts. That gives me another good reason to pull it off and check the valves clearance soon.

Air filter is pretty dirty, I'll have to bring it here to blow it with my compressor.

 

. . . and don't leave a pan of oil on your back porch or a stray cat will fall in it and leave a big mess . . . :roll:

 

WHen I changed the spark plugs, I realized the old ones were BPR7ES, and the manual says my bike needs BPR8ES.

Just to update my understanding of the plug codes, an 8 plug will run hotter or cooler than a 7 one?

 

No problem, I already emptied the pan in plastic containers that i'll bring to my car mechanic who will have the old oil recycled or reused. I have a cat by the way, so I am concerned with toxic products around the house (oil, coolant, etc)

 

The #7 plug is hotter.

 

Alright, and a hotter plug is less prone to foul in stop and go traffic, right?

 

NGK Sparkplug Heat Range

 

Thanks a lot, it covers more than I expected.

 

MICE fall in and then leave a messy little trail when they get out of a pan left in the garage...