I am really trying to like my Service Department... but lately.... it's getting harder to.

I have been taking my bike into the dealership for all maintenance because partly I wanted the service records, partly I didn't have the time to do it myself, and partly I just made excuses and frankly I like my service dept. and their prices were not too bad actually considering the price of consumables along with the discount that I got for basic oil changes.

But lately I wanted to get my hands dirty and I did my first oil change at home. Now, I have done my own maintenance before on my other bikes so I'm not a novice... just lazy.

but man... am I glad I started to look after my own bike instead of relying on the dealership.

I present to you, my drain plug...



After seeing this and then there was my fuel tank mounting bolts before... I'm really having hard time telling myself that the dealership knows what they are doing.

 

Uh what's wrong with the drain plug? Looks normal to me.

 

What do you think is wrong with the drain plug ?

 

To me, the threads look rough and that Teflon tape or something was put on the threads.

Maybe a new O ring could be put on, as the one in the picture not so good.

Maybe get a new drain plug ?

 

I did not think you were supposed to use teflon tape on your oil drain plug. Not to mention I know they make teflon tape that is designed to be used in hydraulic systems and I would think that if did use teflon tape you should use that and that tape does not look like that hydraulic stuff.

 

Tiki that looks horrible, are you going to sue them? What do you expect a drain plug to look like? What do your fuel tank bolts look like, maybe they look like they have been used and not new anymore? Damn maintenance people, I bought a new bike and I want it to stay that way, is that what you are thinking?

Also, I don't think that is tape on the plug, it is some kind of residue build up, I've seen that before. I think it might be a teflon coating they put on when they are made.

 

The o ring should be changed every time the plug is removed. Most dealers use liquid pipe thread sealer on the drain plugs. So do I. Looks normal to me....

 

Although I don't use it generally, I don't see anything wrong with it. I think it may be something done as a matter of course and they do it on all bikes.
Some people use tape/sealer on plugs, some don't. I will say that I don't like tape on hydraulic systems as it can come off, get into the system and cause all sorts of problems. I prefer the liquid stuff.

And at the end of the day, when you change your oil and the drain plug weeps a bit, what are you gonna do?

 

Those threads are def screwed up. They look like they were over-torqued. I'd be a little concerned about the female threads on the pan too. And that's def not build-up on the threads , it's some sort of Teflon tape, which shouldn't be used. I'll admit, I do use paste Teflon in addition to the new o-ring, every time I change my oil.

 

These are straight threads. No teflon tape or pipe dope should be used on straight threads. Teflon tape and pipe dope are for NPT threads. NPT stands for national pipe taper. Tapered threads need the tape or dope to take up the space between threads and seal them. Straight threads are sealed with the O-ring.