I need some Rancher owners to verify if the oil plug has any kind of gasket on it? I stripped mine the other day by turning it the wrong waay(DUH!!) and when I should it to someone they said it wasnt stripped but I was missing the gasket. So should there be one, if so I must have lost is long ago. But I knowfor sure I also stripped the bolt. Thnx

Jay
00 Orange Rancher ES 4WD

 

jboz, I can tell you that yes, there is supposed to be a "sealing washer" there. It is an aluminum washer made to "crush" with your drain bolt torquing. Also helps protect the threads in the cases in case somebody overtorques the drain bolt. Unfortunately, the drain plug is steal and the threads in the case are aluminum, so if it won't tighten anymore, it's most likely the threads in the case that are stripped. They can probably be repaired so as to use your stock drain plug, so don't go sticking one of those awful self sealing auto type drain plugs in there!! A Honda dealer might be a good place to try as it is a common drain plug size, 12x1.5mm, for Honda. They should have the right size heli-coil kit on hand to fix it.

 

Thnx for the info. I must have lost it on my last oil change then.

 

If the drain plug can be tightened down at all and it still leaks with the original aluminum washer.
(available at a local atv shop) You might want to try a plastic washer available at stores like NAPA, Auto Zone, etc. Just take the original washer in for proper sizing. I used one for a short time until I had the problem corrected. About three days after I bought my quad, I had found a oil spot under it. Somehow
the threads were messed up before I picked it up. When I called the dealer about it they basically accused me of doing it. I had no intentions of having the oil changed for months and had no reason to go near the plug. After sometime I finally got the quad back to the dealer. ( It took awhile because I didn't have a way to transport it.) The dealer once again accused me of stripping it. But they did coil it at no charge. Like I would have paid. Then I get it all the way home and the next day. DRIP! I am very
PISSED! I didn't want to deal with them anymore and I was very disappointed in Honda. I put the plastic washer in and ran it like that. Alot time goes by and I'm still pissed so I write Honda a letter. By this time the 6 month Honda warranty is DONE. But Honda calls me and says take it to a Honda dealer and have them look at it. To see if I did something or the original dealership. I take it to another place. Because by now, I don't like the first place. The second place took the motor apart and said that the hole was tapped and coiled crooked. The wall of the hole was too thin on one side. The manager said that he'd talk to a Honda Rep and get back to me. When he called me he said Honda was going to take care of it. They replaced that part of the motor with a new one. Even though the warranty had expired.
It shouldn't have happened in the first plac but Honda made it right in the end.
So be careful and have someone experienced take care of it.

 

Coyote makes good point, heli-coil must be put in straight with the hole, plus if I remember the rancher drain hole sits at an angle already, so it might be tricky, or may not work on ranchers. I guess a closer look is in order. Probably worth a try as the alternative is expensive. Of course the proper way would be to replace the case half. Glad H fixed your stripped threads, coyote, sounds pretty legit to me. From a dealership perspective, I have had this happen to me a couple times when I was 90% sure I was being lied to by the customer and confirmed it upon inspection ie. drain plug washer clearly compressed more than once, fresh oil in engine, greasy fingerprints, etc... everybody's a mechanic you know. So what do you do? Well you can't go calling your customers a liar so you have to fix it for them. It's a bad deal all the way around the table when that happens. Gotta respect somebody that stands behind their own screw ups tho.

 

M y washer is gone, but I am not home to try it with a new washer until the weekend. Hopefully its not that bad and the washer will work, but I know for a fact that i turned it the wrong way until it was loose, I was laying on my back and for some dumb reason I had everything bass ackwards. Man I was P'OD. I dont know y they would make the plug not straight in, but they might, because you have to go through the hole thats flat in the skidplate to get to it. Also I noticed when I was changing the oil, that the oil smelled like Gasoline a little, why could that be, from a rollover or something, I dont think I rolled it but maybe it was on its side, could that have done it?

thnx again

Jay

 

The Ranchers use a pretty big, but shallow oil plug. When tightening mine, I usually use a 3/8 ratchet with a deep socket and, holding the ratchet close to the head, snug it down pretty much as tight as I can using only one hand on the ratchet. This lets you get it good and snug with alot less chance of stripping it.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

jboz,
It doesn't sound good for the drain hole. Hope you can come up with something less costly to fix it. Like a correctly installed coil. To replace part of the case is very costly but it might be necesary to ensure that it won't drip. Good luck.

 

Any ideas on the oil smelling like gasoline?