Re: ALERT: Sump plug problem

[Eric Sheley <eric@xxxxxxxxxx>]

At 04:46 PM 07/09/1999 +1000, Lorin O'Brien wrote:
 >underneath which had dripped from the sump plug. Triumph forgot to include
 >the right size allen key in the toolkit, so I took her back to the
 >workshop.

I don't think they forgot .....

 >Anders said that he'd replaced the old aluminium sump plug washer with a
 >brass one. Don't know if this is relevant or not.

I would think the aluminum would deform (which is what you want) much 
easier than the brass.

 >So Anders got the allen wrench on the sump plug and torqued it up a bit,
 >but he didn't like the feel of it - mushy and not keeping the torque on.
 >When the plug was taken out, the head was found to be shearing off the
 >shaft. Must have started when it was being tightened during the oil change.
 >My plug was replaced with a BMW item and Triumph will be sent the original.
 >
 >Maybe this is a freak occurance, but it wouldn't hurt to look for any oil
 >weeping from your sump plug, especially after an oil change.

It sounds to me like a classic case of the sump bolt being over torqued. 
The bolt is designed to fail before ripping the treads out of the case (so 
you only have to replace the bolt if you make a mistake). I wonder if they 
torqued it using a calibrated wrench or the just put it on by hand and 
guessed the torque?

Let us know what Triumph says about the bolt.

- - Eric


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