Drain plug

[thor452]

Has anyone had there oil drain plug come from the factory so tight that they couldnt get it to budge? a friend of mine got a 2012 se last year and is atempting to do his first oil change. he has tried heat and penatrating oil and it still wont budge he states he is afraid of stripping out the bolt head. have any of you had this and what did you do to get it apart safely. he lives about 30 mins from me so im tring to avoid the drive out to help so i figured id ask here first. Thanks.

 

[jagabom]

I can't help you. Mine is an 08 with only 120 miles on it. Oil drain plug was so tight I had to bring it into the dealer as I was also afraid to strip the head. They got it out though. They put a new drain plug in as well. It is like the lug nuts on my truck. The problem arises from the inside head of the bolt seizing when it makes contact tith the oil pan and seizes on. On my truck I put a little anti seize compound on the part of the lug nut the contacts the aluminum wheel. It wasn't the threads that were seized but the lug nut against the wheel. No more seizing of the lug nuts and they haven't backed off. I havn't done that to the APEX yet but am tempted. I'd like to know if there is a torque for the oil plug?
Jim
08 APEX

 

[Notenoughtoys]

I had the same issue. Just bought a 2006 apex and attack with only 250 miles on both....Wow u say??? I know crazy ha. All I did is put a little cheater pipe on the end of the Ellen wrench and gave her a bit of muscle and the bolt broke loose. Just make sure the end of your Ellen wrench that goes on the bolt is in good shape....she should break loose. Good luck!

 

[Sasquatch]

I had the same issue. Just bought a 2006 apex and attack with only 250 miles on both....Wow u say??? I know crazy ha. All I did is put a little cheater pipe on the end of the Ellen wrench and gave her a bit of muscle and the bolt broke loose. Just make sure the end of your Ellen wrench that goes on the bolt is in good shape....she should break loose. Good luck!

Make sure you use the right Allen Wrench. Metric not SAE! I use socket style Allen wrench bits on a 3/8th ratchet!

 

[thor452]

thanks guys turns out he has a allen wrench and is tring to get it with that little dink thing i am bringing in a socket version for him tomorrow hope it works out for him.

 

[Notenoughtoys]

Even with the socket version you may have to put a little cheater pipe on the end, you'll break the socket before you'll strip out the bolt head. Don't be afraid to put some muscle on it....wear gloves or you'll bust up your knuckles when it breaks loose....ouch!

 

[yamaha1973]

It doesnt surprise me, you should try and remove the lower unit drain screws on a new Yamaha outboard... Most of the time it requires a hammer and a hand impact to break them loose.

 

[darv]

The best thing is to put a Allen socket on a hammer impact an they will come right away. The hammer impact are cheap they are under $20.00 an a good tool to have for this kind of stuff.

 

[yamahinn03]

I had the same problem once on my 03 RX1, I was also afraid of stripping it out so I put a vice grip around bolt head an she finally broke loose. Just another option.

 

[RxThunder]

Same issue here on both of the RX1's I've had, first season with the Apex so I haven't done a thing to it yet. I just get the right wrench, get good leverage on it and twist and pray I don't strip the head of the bolt. I coat it in anti seize before it goes back in and make sure to get some on the head of the bolt.

 

[THKSNOW]

Word to the wise: REPLACE THE STOCK DRAIN BOLT WITH A NEW HEX HEAD BOLT. No more problems -ever.

 

[vader2185]

X2 on the vise grips around the head. I was afraid of stripping it. Once I locked them on really tight. It came right out.

 

[biffdotorg]

I stripped the head of my Phazer drain bolt. I was even using a Metric Allen Socket too!

I ended up draining the oil tank and swapping the filter to find that I had 95% of the oil out anyway based on the amount I put back into it.

I may try some other options next spring, but I think it is pretty well shot now.

 

[biffdotorg]

I stripped the head of my Phazer drain bolt. I was even using a Metric Allen Socket too!

I ended up draining the oil tank and swapping the filter to find that I had 95% of the oil out anyway based on the amount I put back into it.

I may try some other options next spring, but I think it is pretty well shot now.

So I use the search tool looking for answers to this issue, and find that my post is the last one to be found. I changed the oil on my new Apex XTX, and the SAME DAMN THING! Oil drain bolt is way too tight and started stripping the head. I drained the 95% of the oil I could get out of the oil tank/filter and went with that. This sucks that these are so tight.

I used a good quality metric socket as well this time, and it just would not budge with my 1/2" breaking bar. I'm not sure I can get a vise grip in there as it is sunk un after you take the access door off.

I will do my other apex this weekend, bug that one came out just fine last spring.

 

[Notenoughtoys]

If its that tight, maybe try a impact driver. The kind you hit on the end with a hammer. Ive seen them for around 25 bucks. My dad owned a snowmobile shop for years and that's what we always used on the real stubborn bolts. Just put a little tension on the impact driver and give a few hits and I bet she" ll break loose for ya.