B and C
Well-known member
I apologize in advance for a long post. :s
I'll post here as there are knowledgeable folks to help me decide my game plan. Here are the facts as I know them.
My Onan MicroLite 2800 generator has a ruined (?) aluminum oil pan where an RV tech overtorqued the drain bolt (12-1.25) and stripped the pan threads :-( This was discovered upon my return from a three month trip out West when my normal shop/guy unscrewed the drain plug and the aluminum threads from the pan came out with it.
I do NOT want to return there (rv tech) and have them screw something else up. He also broke a key off in a lock he did not need to open. They did get the old key out and provided two newly cut keys for replacement though. The tech is not the sharpest tool in the drawer. I had to show him where the generator was and where the side panel comes off for oil fill. I guess he never thought to follow the exhaust pipe to where it came from and may well have never seen a generator before. IDK
Anyway, to remove the oil pan on the genny would require disconnecting and dropping a 110 LB Box. After it is out, the whole assembly would have to come out of the box and turned over onto something that would support it and not screw something else up just to get to the pan for removal. The upside of this is I would be able to replace the hardened motor mounts where it attaches to the box. I am not experiencing any other troubles with the mounts other than they have hardened with age (from 2000) so this would be a minor repair while it is apart. I took the box out when I first got the van and it was a pain. The previous owner had not exercised it and the jets were clogged. This was the only means I had to get to the jets for cleaning. I forgot to mention a 100 LB battery would also have to be removed for access to a mounting bolt. I do not want to remove the genny for these reasons.
I have come up with four ways to fix this without removing the generator.
1. Rethread oversize with a tap
2. Put in a heli-coil.
3. Glue a nut to the pan and use it as a new oil drain.
4. Self tapping bolt 1 oversize.
1. The oil pan boss does not have enough meat left on the sides (with flat gasket space left over) to hold new threads and leave a flat space for the gasket washer by tapping it.
2. I would also have tap it to put in a heli-coil. I am not sure of the downsides of doing this other than they anr not made for frequent bolt removal and it would be a pain to get the tap square in a small hole as it is recessed in the box that encloses it.
3. Gluing a nut to the flat part of the oil drain hole (where the gasket goes) seems easy enough. What I am thinking about is the original J-B Weld two part epoxy.
4. Use the oversize self-tapping bolt to cut new threads and then replace it with a 1 oversize regular oil pan bolt. Amazon sells both! Plenty of lubrication and back it out about a 1/2 turn for each turn in to break off the shaving and a thorough flush afterwards (with diesel fuel or gasoline?) to get rid of any chips that may have gotten into the pan. The drain hole is in the very bottom and not the side.
I Guess the new 1 oversize self-tapper with a replacement bolt would be the way to go to start. If this doesn't work, the epoxy is my next best option.
I have always changed my own oil up until a few years ago and have never stripped an oil pan bolt or hole. Guess the genny will be my new thing to change oil on. The vehicle will still get the oil change place to do it.
Anyone have experience using an oversize self-tapper that wants to give me some pointers or an opinion on the other ways?
Thanks for making it through this long post but I was trying to give all the info I can.
I'll post here as there are knowledgeable folks to help me decide my game plan. Here are the facts as I know them.
My Onan MicroLite 2800 generator has a ruined (?) aluminum oil pan where an RV tech overtorqued the drain bolt (12-1.25) and stripped the pan threads :-( This was discovered upon my return from a three month trip out West when my normal shop/guy unscrewed the drain plug and the aluminum threads from the pan came out with it.
I do NOT want to return there (rv tech) and have them screw something else up. He also broke a key off in a lock he did not need to open. They did get the old key out and provided two newly cut keys for replacement though. The tech is not the sharpest tool in the drawer. I had to show him where the generator was and where the side panel comes off for oil fill. I guess he never thought to follow the exhaust pipe to where it came from and may well have never seen a generator before. IDK
Anyway, to remove the oil pan on the genny would require disconnecting and dropping a 110 LB Box. After it is out, the whole assembly would have to come out of the box and turned over onto something that would support it and not screw something else up just to get to the pan for removal. The upside of this is I would be able to replace the hardened motor mounts where it attaches to the box. I am not experiencing any other troubles with the mounts other than they have hardened with age (from 2000) so this would be a minor repair while it is apart. I took the box out when I first got the van and it was a pain. The previous owner had not exercised it and the jets were clogged. This was the only means I had to get to the jets for cleaning. I forgot to mention a 100 LB battery would also have to be removed for access to a mounting bolt. I do not want to remove the genny for these reasons.
I have come up with four ways to fix this without removing the generator.
1. Rethread oversize with a tap
2. Put in a heli-coil.
3. Glue a nut to the pan and use it as a new oil drain.
4. Self tapping bolt 1 oversize.
1. The oil pan boss does not have enough meat left on the sides (with flat gasket space left over) to hold new threads and leave a flat space for the gasket washer by tapping it.
2. I would also have tap it to put in a heli-coil. I am not sure of the downsides of doing this other than they anr not made for frequent bolt removal and it would be a pain to get the tap square in a small hole as it is recessed in the box that encloses it.
3. Gluing a nut to the flat part of the oil drain hole (where the gasket goes) seems easy enough. What I am thinking about is the original J-B Weld two part epoxy.
4. Use the oversize self-tapping bolt to cut new threads and then replace it with a 1 oversize regular oil pan bolt. Amazon sells both! Plenty of lubrication and back it out about a 1/2 turn for each turn in to break off the shaving and a thorough flush afterwards (with diesel fuel or gasoline?) to get rid of any chips that may have gotten into the pan. The drain hole is in the very bottom and not the side.
I Guess the new 1 oversize self-tapper with a replacement bolt would be the way to go to start. If this doesn't work, the epoxy is my next best option.
I have always changed my own oil up until a few years ago and have never stripped an oil pan bolt or hole. Guess the genny will be my new thing to change oil on. The vehicle will still get the oil change place to do it.
Anyone have experience using an oversize self-tapper that wants to give me some pointers or an opinion on the other ways?
Thanks for making it through this long post but I was trying to give all the info I can.