Broken Oil Pan Bolt

[MickP]

I changed my oil filter and oil today for the first time. All was going swimmingly until I got to the very last pan bolt which I overtightened and snapped off. I was left with two thirds of the engine bolt in my hand.
It all seems to be oil tight, I refilled the oil and rode around for an hour or so with no leakage.
I'm just wondering if I should trust my dodgy workmanship or whether I should re do the job. I don't really want to find out the hard way.

One day I'll do one of these jobs without stuffing something up..

[mick]

Personally if its not leaking i would leave it for now and attend to it next time you change the oil and filter  cheers Mick.

[K2-K6]

I'd agree with mick, if it's ok then you've time to consider what to do and it may be warmer by then also!

It's unlikely to give a serious problem as it is now in that you don't usually get a staright failure just a bit of a weep if the gasket isn't quite pinched enough for long term sealing, but would ideally require fixing eventually.

Make sure any breather pipes are functioning ok and it's fairly low risk.

[Bryanj]

The 500/550 has a big "O" ring as a gasket and one bolt should be OK for quite a while.
I would get a new "O" ring gasket ready for next time

[Tomb]

Can I ask one of my usual daft questions   ....oil pan bolt?? to change the oil and filter??

When I change oil and filter I remove two bolts, one in the oil filter housing, the other the oil drain thats in the sump pan. Neither of them I could run without.

Is there summat I don't know, Ok yep lots I don't know LOL, but about the oil + filter change

[totty]

I'm guessing he's removed the sump the clean the screen on the oil pickup pipe.

[Tomb]

Ah, Ok

[MickP]

I just took the oil pan off to make sure I got out as much old oil as I could. There was also a bit of crusty old sediment in the oil pan when I removed it which I cleaned out. I drained it for about six hours and I guess I could probably change the oil and filter next time without removing the pan. will probably invest in a new set of bolts too. Thanks for the reassuring words everybody..

   

[florence]

I remember being very worried when I read on the USA site that people had engine siezures due to blockages of the screen in the bottom of the 'sump'.  It was especially troubling to learn this fact as I had not looked in there for about fifteen years.  In a rare fit of panic I removed the one on my bike, but, happily for me, everything was spotless, including the screen. It just goes to show that regular oil changes are indeed really important.

[MickP]

Yeah I gave that screen a good cleaning too, amazing how stuff builds up and it's kinda fun to take all that apart and have a good look too

[Bryanj]

Its actualy in the Honda service schedule to remove the pan and clean the screen every 12,000 miles (or annualy---YEH RIGHT!)

[SteveD CB500K0]

12k miles eh?

My bike's 39 years old and only has 11k on the clock.

[matthewmosse]

when it was in regular use that would  have been annually, I 'll be up to that milage again on a 500/4 by next year hopefully. I've seen some filthy screens in some of the bikes I've owned, most notably when the cam guide blades or tensioners have decided to throw in the towel. It can give a good indication of the internal health of the engine. I had one 500/4 motor that kept chewing it's tensioners - I suspect something in the bottom end to be ammis but never had the chance to open it and look. The mess a tensioner can make is alarming if it lets go - bye bye the valves (bent), gearbox (everything scrored and chipped) and crank plus rods (would you trust them - it's easyer to replace the motor and strip for parts (head and cluch if lucky)