2 oil issues

[panamaniac]

Hi friends, two issues I wanted to bring up:

1. I KEEP (as in this has happened twice now) end up buying the DIESEL version of the T6 Rotella oil. Just realized I'd done it again. Do I definitely need to swap in oil again? Would be frustrating but at least it'd have provided a good washing out of the old oil, I guess.

2. My drain plug just spins and spins--pretty certain I overtightened it previously. Seems to leak oil but very slowly. From what I've read on this issue, I should be hopeful that it's just the bolt that's messed up but it's possible the drain pan is, so I just need to get a new bolt and try it, yeah? Relatedly, I've been replacing bolts here and there with ones I'm getting from a big box hardware store (e.g., just replaced the pinch bolts holding the front turn signals on since one of them snapped)—but the one's I'm getting from the hardware store are usually dark metal vs. the ones off the bike are usually bright. So what are we talking here, stainless, zinc, what? And does this mean I should be trying to use replacement bolts from like a motorcycle shop or off the internet? That would be much less convenient but if I need to do so I guess I will!

Thanks all.

[hillsy]

I've run diesel oil in my bikes and so have many others with no issues.

The oil drain plug is steel versus the pan being alloy. It ain't gonna be the plug that's fubar'd.

[panamaniac]

I've run diesel oil in my bikes and so have many others with no issues.

The oil drain plug is steel versus the pan being alloy. It ain't gonna be the plug that's fubar'd.

Sounds like some good news and some bad news, lol.

OK, so then knowing that the oil leak is SUPER slow (possibly only happens after a ride), how risky does it seem to you to just monitor the oil level basically? Or how would you handle the situation?

[hillsy]

I've run diesel oil in my bikes and so have many others with no issues.

The oil drain plug is steel versus the pan being alloy. It ain't gonna be the plug that's fubar'd.

Sounds like some good news and some bad news, lol.

OK, so then knowing that the oil leak is SUPER slow (possibly only happens after a ride), how risky does it seem to you to just monitor the oil level basically? Or how would you handle the situation?

The slow leak of oil is not the issue really - you won't really be losing enough to harm the engine as it always looks like heaps more than it actually is.

The REAL problem is the plug is at the bottom of the engine and you will NEVER KNOW if and when it just falls out. Then you're in trouble.

You might be lucky and a new plug will fix it (stranger things have happened) or you might be able to run a tap through the case thread and fix that. Failing that a HeliCoil will be a better fix if it's the case thread. You won't know what's really going on until you inspect it.

[panamaniac]

Well. Shucks.