[edgehaha]

I'm trying to do an oil change on a 2006 street Bob, I must not have the correct tool, but I can't seem to get the plug out. It's an allen head, but the frame is in the way of the plug; only 1/2-3/4 clearance so I can't put the allen wrench in there. I can't apply enough tq on ball driver. It looks like I need a super short allen wrench. Any one have this experience?

[CD]

Originally Posted by edgehaha

I'm trying to do an oil change on a 2006 street Bob, I must not have the correct tool, but I can't seem to get the plug out. It's an allen head, but the frame is in the way of the plug; only 1/2-3/4 clearance so I can't put the allen wrench in there. I can't apply enough tq on ball driver. It looks like I need a super short allen wrench. Any one have this experience?

What plug are you trying to remove? Do you have the service manual? The two most important tools for your bike are the service manual and the parts breakdown manual.

[edgehaha]

CD it's the engine oil drain plug as it's called in the manual. I certainly have the manual and recommends you tq the bolt to 14-21 ft-lbs. I wonder if stealer over tightened at the 1k service. Anyway, I hoped there was a trick not mentioned in the manual that would make removing it easy.

[Red Rider]

Just be darn sure it is the right plug! A bud of mine had the same complaint, but it turned out he wasn't pulling the drain plug after all. Please double check the plug to ensure it is the right one.

[edgehaha]

All right! My dumb as figured it out! Thank you Red Rider. It turns out if you look at the 2D version of the oil pan diagram (which is illistarted in the oil change portion of the manual), it's confusing and I got the oil drain plug confused with the pipe plug. I looked at the disassemble the oil pan part of the manual which has a 3D drawing of the oil pan. The plug position under the pan is more clearly orientated and a little light went on over my confused little brain!

In the 2D drawing it calls out the transmission oil plug and the engine oil plug, yet the plugs are far from one another and they are oriented in 2 different plains! So you don't really see the engine oil plug just a call out from the drawing. If you don't mind, I'd like to blame the manual, it makes me feel less stupid

[Red Rider]

edgehaha - don't feel too bad. Just feel lucky that I was hanging around at a Harley shop when a bud brought his bike in after he had the same problem as you. And he was so mad about "some idiot on the assembly line loc-titing the drain plug" that he demanded Harley give him a free oil change. When the service manager showed him REPEATEDLY that he was trying to pull the wrong bolt, he wouldn't believe it till the senior tech came out of the shop to agree with the manager. At that point the guy sheepishly left. Then the manager and the tech started jawing about how that has happened quite a bit, and that this guy was lucky he hadn't succeeded and pulled the wrong bolt or it would have been a real hair ball mess - like some others they'd seen. So you weren't alone in getting confused, not by a long shot.

[edgehaha]

Red Rider-

I think you saved me from a similar fate. Thanks... All you had to do was question if I was going down the wrong path. These threads seem to have a lot of value.