Update on the use of a DR650 Generator Cover Plug on a VX800
Be somewhat careful when tightening and loosening the plug! Apparently it is made of the same alloy of cheesium that the stock VX plug is made from.
The other day I went to remove the plug for the purpose of doing a valve adjustment. It was on there pretty darn tight. I guess I over-amped it during installation. So there I am pushing hard on the wrench, but no go. So I try to "nudge" the wrench with my foot, for more leverage. After a couple of kicks, the metal gave way and the wrench is now completely ineffective. The damage was likely due to having a kick come from the wrong angle, rather than from excess turning force. Oh well...live and learn.
In my own defense though, the service manual has a torque value listed for the generator inspection plug, which I followed. With the stock plug in, of course I never paid any attention to the torque value because there was no way I could use a torque wrench on it.
Before:
After:
I tried to use a Dremel type tool to cut a groove into the plug, similar to the stock screwdriver slot. Then various pieces of metal all gave their lives, but to no avail. Actually I was asking for trouble by using the shock adjustment tool...too soft. Then some of the beefiest washers bent like potato chips. I even tried to double- nut one between two other washers on a length of threaded rod, but it just chewed up the slot.
Oh well.....phase 2, coming up. Memories came to me of a lister posting a story about a plug removal gone bad (Bruce B. fesses up that it was he and Rick B. who ended up knocking a chunk of a stuck plug into the engine. He got it out with some disassembly. Apparently it stayed in the alternator area rather than falling deeper into the guts.). I didn't want to risk any further damage by having any plug bits falling into the engine during a forceful removal, as the posting described. So I removed the generator cover, which involved removing the generator windings and related wiring/clamps, to head to safer ground. Of course I damaged the gasket where the big rubber wire grommet goes, and it would be an ordeal to get a new one quickly.
Into the kitchen I go armed with a Dremel, a power drill, prybar/screwdrivers, and a mallet. It took me quite a time to get anywhere, but it came out. Note to the married guys.......don't do this in the kitchen! The amount of Aluminum dust and metal shavings that will result is quite astounding.
If you go this route, please be careful not to cut up the gasket, the cover's threads, or the cover itself. I unfortunately ate through a tiny bit of the threads and through about a third of the diameter of the o-ring.
I reassembled all, and it seems to be oil-tight despite the torn alternator cover gasket (which I reused), and bunged up plug o-ring and threads! I sincerely thank the VX Gods for this one. Only hand-snugged from now on!
In hindsight, I wish I had taken some pics during this whole procedure. But I was just too ticked off to be bothered with a camera...greasy hands and all. Oh well.