Drain cock valve assembly

[Devl Max]

I replaced the o-ring in the drain cock assembly, stripped the 6mm bolt hole in the thermostat housing. Any suggestions; tap deeper and use a longer bolt or go to a bigger bolt?

A 6mm time-sert would be a correct fix.

 

[beezer66]

A 6mm time-sert would be a correct fix.

I ordered a helicoil kit after posting.

 

[Marauder03]

So I’m attempting to pull out the drain plug to replace o rings. I drained fluid and was able to get the screw loose and pull the plug out almost enough. The thing is I’ve got a header on the bike and one of the pipes is directly in front of the plug. Damn! So do I loosen the header and take a chance with that leaking when I put it back together or do I try and disconnect the drain plug from the hoses and water pump? Hmmmm dilemma, what are your thoughts? Thanks

 

[Marauder03]

Ended up taking it off, wasn’t that hard. Cleaned it up and new o rings and back together. Filled up the coolant and ran to temp, no leaks and it’s staying at operating temp. So I think that was successful.

 

[rebar]

Of course I fully restore these when restoring my bikes. I know overly anal !
But I can't tell you how many I find with the plastic hex head already destroyed/rounded by people using pliers or some other inappropriate tool to turn these or attempt to pull them out without pulling the "Set " screw first. I use a 1/4 inch socket drive screwdriver with the correct sized six point socket. Use a 12 point and you may round it off it is corroded in place.
I can almost always tell the ones that have never been touched, which is good for part restoring but a bad sign for bike maintenance history.

Thread resurrection..

Wondering if I can change out the oring without removing the assembly, considering the hoses are 38 years old..

 

[Spyglass]

I have a bunch of seals & o-rings that I will replace either on spec or because they're already leaking.

I just checked my drain cock valve, and after the set screw is out, it rotates with just finger strength, albeit with some resistance.

It turns out the ball isn't even there. When the valve is in the on position ("on" pointed 2 o'clockish), the empty hole is visible on top.

Funny, that's one of the few places where it isn't leaking.

From what I'm reading here, some have the ball missing, and others have run it in both the on & off position with no noticeable difference.

If so, this assembly is an odd critter we have to deal with.