Sie würde ein gutes stripperin sein. Ein verfluchtes gutes!
Meesa say dissa bad stripping:
Take it from me, over-tightening the sump plug is firmly in the latter category.
So, 1000 km ticked up on the clock, the engine was spicy hot, and it was time for the first 'regular' oil change - actually the 4th change I've done, but who's counting? Me, that's who. The plug came out easily enough, and after a thorough drain, I put it back in. Like a cheapskate, I didn't replace the crush washer though.
I am fairly certain that I didn't over-tighten it this time, which just means that I must have over tightened it last time. In it went, tighten, tighten... slacken. Ouch. That dawning moment of realisation is just awful. When I took it back out again, it had the sump wrapped around the lower threads. Ouch. I'd blame the soft alloy (aluminium and cheesecake?) but this isn't just an issue on Chinese bikes: BMWs eat their sumps too. It's more likely an Idiot Tax issue than a materials problem.
The long term fix is to fit a helicoil. This will actually be a Good Thingtm in the end, since it'll provide a harder thread. However, it'll be tricky to do it in situ, and trickier to get all the swarf out, so I don't want to rush it.
So in the meantime, I've bodged it, in best mend-and-make-do stylee. Removing the defunct crush washer and the spring washer (what was that doing there?) from the sump plug and replacing them with a thin rubber seal - a repurposed bicycle inner tube repair patch - allowed the plug to reach further up into the sump and grip the good threads that I hadn't stripped. Then I tightened it up... very... very... carefully.
Praise to the Invisible Sky Giant, it's holding tight, with not even a hint of seepage after 2 days. I'll punt on it until the next oil change, since there's no point in disturbing it if it's good for now. Nicely dissembled, non?
To lighten the mood, I can report that actually riding the bike is still an absolute joy, and the engine is still getting smoother and stronger. Nothing has broken that I haven't broken myself. If I'd just leave it well alone, it'd be fine.
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