Get a new crush washer.
Don't crush it..
You should never need to lay the bike down for an oil change.
Know what wrench fits,
The oil plug doesn't hold the bike together.. Whoever put that in musta been about nuts. Good thing it didn't wreck the case threads. The surface smooth?

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 07/12/15 at 19:26:06:


Lol...nuts about bolts  . Good one!

Gary makes a point, but ,six sided box ends are scarce.
A twelve point is pretty much what's handy. Just don't overtighten. NEW CRUSH WASHER, inspect the case surface, needs to be flat, that plug is Long winded, I wrapped around it with string and spun it out.
Next oil change,you lay on starboard side, get wrench on , aimed forward, smack down. It should resist, pop loose and the weight of the wrench should fall, I held down and smacked the wrench.
Before you install the plug, get a wrench on it that has the least free play you can find, Mark the wrench so you're not guessing up in a hard place to see. I've etched and marked certain wrenches...
If you need a cheater pipe, you Did it wrong..I only used the other wrench or hammer to break it loose because it's an awkward angle and my shoulders don't like it.
I've never seen an oil plug cause such trauma.,,I wish I could have seen has much the wrench moved freely on the plug . With a six point, slop worries me, with a twelve point, it's not gonna take much slop before I'm gonna do something to solve that Before I round corners.
And don't be fooled by dirty bolt.

Lots of sound advice again everyone.  

I agree that lying the bike on it's side is a bit scary - but it's a tip I came across and as I don't have a bike jack my makeshift support meant there was no damage to the bike. I never would have gotten the drain plug off with the bike just on it's stand. There was an awful lot of trauma with this thing and I am really surprised as the bike has done less than 300 miles since it was bobbed, (not by me). I don't think the original builder changed the oil and at some point someone has really gone to work tightening the oil plug down. The good news is that the oil plug is out, there is no damage to the bike, a new plug is in, (tightened just 'snugly'), a new filter is in, new oil, (pepped up with some zddp additive), and after a brief test ride there are no leaks!

The next thing I am going to do is get some insulating tape on the tabs which the headlight rim screws onto. Another thread here indicates that this may be contributing to some of the vibrational noise I am coming across when riding, (and this is a hard tail after all).

In relation to the combination spanners I originally used - I have a decent Teng set and picked the size which seemed to fit snuggest, (bearing in mind it was difficult to see with the bike just on it's stand). This was all about 'feel', and I first used the open end of the spanner and originally thought I was getting the job done. It was only when I realised the 'movement' was the bolt starting to round that all the trauma began!

Anyway happy ending for now and once again thanks everyone.  

Thanks Justin - good advice, (again!). We can't get Rotella in the UK but I have come across Mobil 4T Racing and Valvoline VR1. Both have a high ZDDP content - 1300ppm for the Mobil. I have used Mobil 4T this time around but it's expensive and I think I will go for the Valvoline next time as it's much cheaper, (£6 - £7 per litre or about £28 for 5 litres compared with £11 - £12 per litre for the Mobil). I haven't been able to identify the Rotella equivalent in the UK - but I'm sure it wouldn't be as cheap as you can get it over your side of the pond in any case. When it comes to fuel and oil we just get ripped off in the UK.

Six point wrenches are great where you have room to swing them, but you don't always have that room, and a 12 point box end will usually do the trick
Of course on the oil plug some can get a socket on it, I never tried, I just used my (12 point) box wrench
I had a set of those Metrinch wrenches / sockets one time, and they were awesome, the box ends were six point, so they were of limited use working in an auto shop, but they hit the nuts / bolts on the flats, not the corners, and they NEVER slipped
Hell, you could round a bolt with another wrench, and the metrinch would get the sucker off
the other mechanics didn't like them, because they had a fair bit of play, but they never, ever rounded a bolt (you would twist the head off first)
I disagree we need more taxes, I think less waste is the answer, but that's a discussion for TT

I have the Matco Stubby set of those, though the 10mm is MIA atm
best (almost only) way to get the thermostat out of a GM 3.1l v6 in a Lumina without pulling the exhaust crossover or upper intake (even then it's a PITA)