Oil Filter Housing Bolt

Hey all,

Figured I'd introduce myself properly with the first  moment of the new wr250r! Had been tightening these soft little flange bolts by feel for the first few oil changes. Of course...I just HAD to try a recently acquired $20 harbor freight clicker-type torque wrench. Never again. I think I'll borrow a calibrated one from work after this nightmare!

Faaaaantastic


Too small a tit to grab  


Got some drills and a grabit set


Sweet, sweet relief:


This'll have to do until the OEM comes in (replacement would only fit on the bottom hole due to larger flange head):


Anyways, figured I'd share since I've just been lurking and didn't have too much to contribute. She'll be looking like this again in no time:


On another note: how long is the supposed "unsealed oil" that accumulates around the oring after a filter change supposed to eek out for? It's practically non-existent now but I still lugged a quart of oil in the backpack to work today...

Yeah - those bolts bare butter soft. You're far from the first to break one of those. Myself included.

Forget using a torque wrench completely.

Finger tight. Then use wrench to snug down a tiny bit more.
Then just give wrench about an 1/8th turn more.

The little drip that appears after oil change disappears after a ride or two.

Why on earth would you carry an entire quart of oil with you if you know that drip is just residual oil from the oil change?

motokid wrote:

Yeah - those bolts bare butter soft. You're far from the first to break one of those. Myself included.

Forget using a torque wrench completely.

Finger tight. Then use wrench to snug down a tiny bit more.
Then just give wrench about an 1/8th turn more.

The little drip that appears after oil change disappears after a ride or two.

Why on earth would you carry an entire quart of oil with you if you know that drip is just residual oil from the oil change?

Just nervous caution I suppose. Hadn't experienced the post-filter-change drip before so rather be safe then sorry.  I didn't notice the extra weight.

Good post & pics.   

Just did the same #@i%$ thing.

Same bolt too.

Thanks for "grabit" tip. Just ordered a set.

Frustrating...but lesson learned. Saving the torque wrench for the big stuff going forward.

This is exactly the application where you do need a torque wrench. But you need an accurate one rated to inch pounds. You will never strip a fastener if used correctly.

I am thinking those cheapy torque wrenches are false economy. Last week I dialed up and torqued my lower shock mount after servicing my swingarm and ended up stripping the bolt!

Hey all,

Figured I'd introduce myself properly with the first  moment of the new wr250r! Had been tightening these soft little flange bolts by feel for the first few oil changes. Of course...I just HAD to try a recently acquired $20 harbor freight clicker-type torque wrench. Never again. I think I'll borrow a calibrated one from work after this nightmare!

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Which grabit bit did you end up using for the oil cover bolt...5mm or 6mm?

And did you do pilot hole with regular bit prior to using the grabit pilot hole end? Thanks.

Honestly, seriously, and truthfully, there's no need for a torque wrench on those bolts.

None what-so-ever.

It's pretty easy to get the feel very quickly. I finger tighten with socket extension. Then using the smallest wrench I own, I snug each bolt a tiny big more, then give each bolt about an 1/8 of a turn more.


We all go through this as new owners, but believe me, you don't need to spend extra money on a special torque wrench for 3 oil filter bolts.

I have yet to hear of anyone posting about a oil filter bolt working itself loose. The vast majority of us don't use a torque wrench on those bolts.

motokid wrote:

Honestly, seriously, and truthfully, there's no need for a torque wrench on those bolts.

None what-so-ever.

It's pretty easy to get the feel very quickly. I finger tighten with socket extension. Then using the smallest wrench I own, I snug each bolt a tiny big more, then give each bolt about an 1/8 of a turn more.


We all go through this as new owners, but believe me, you don't need to spend extra money on a special torque wrench for 3 oil filter bolts.

I have yet to hear of anyone posting about a oil filter bolt working itself loose. The vast majority of us don't use a torque wrench on those bolts.

You mean these bikes have oil filters?

Fixed!   

This was my first time busting a bolt off in an engine.

Bought an extractor kit. Read everything that i could find on the subject. Took my time. No joy.

Real fortunate to have an awesome service dept that I've been using for what I can't (or don't wanna) do. They did it for a song.

The important part: I got to talk with the tech that got it out. His advise....grind working area flat. Use center punch. Poof.

His advise on torquing in these situations..."just snug it up".

Gonna save the torque wrench for suspension/controls (head work/ect).

Side note...with broke bolt extracted I finally got to try out Mobile 1 moto specific in the R2. Think i like that alot. Shifted very well with dino. Now...even smoother.

Side note#2....After the motocross thing I put alot of miles on a few different dualsports (XL600R/XR650L/(2)KLR650's/DRZ400S).

As real world dualsport bikes go...This WR is brilliant. Love it.  

Well I changed the oil and filter. I was going to use a torque wrench trying to be precise. One of the filter housing bolts would not torque to 7 ft pounds. I calibrated the wrench to 7 ft pounds with a fishing scale and tested it a few times. I even used the scale on the wrench while it was on the bolt.


When I was using the torque wrench, I noticed the bolts resistance slacked up and it would not reach 7 foot pounds. I turned it about a half turn past the point the tension slacked off. When I removed it, nothing appeared to be stripped. So I just hand tightened snug plus a 1/4 turn. It is holding like this. I am assuming the bolt stretched. Hopefully it's not the case threads.So I am not sure what happened. Did the bolt stretch? It did not appear stretched. The housing is still tight with no oil leaking after a 1.5 hour ride.