So today I decided it's time to dump the oil of my brand new KLX250s because I rolled 100 miles on it and about 80 of them were on dirt. So I dropped the plug and dumped the oil. That was all easy as pie. Then I removed the filter. Once again, easy as pie. Then I noticed this spring sitting loose in the hole. Ok? Where the hell does that go. So I look in the trusty manual on page #84. And I quote;
Yeah, thanks for the tip, Chachi. I then figured out that the spring fits nicely against the recess on the back of the filter. So then I couldn't get the spring to stay held up between the 4 little bosses in the casting and I couldn't figure out how in the hell to get the spring in the right place behind the filter. I ended up laying the bike against a picnic table at 45 degrees so the spring would stand in place long enough for me to put the filter in and get the cap back on.

Someone, please tell me I'm doing something stupid and we don't actually have to lay the bike on its side to change the damn oil filter.

 

What manual are you looking in? If it's a shop manual, there will be a picture in the oil pump area of the schematic that shows the spring going in first behind the filter. If it's just the owner's manual, then yeah...not much help. One other thing that helps is to look at an online source like Bike Bandit that has parts schematics.

 

put a little grease on the end of the spring to hold it in place

 

So a big booger of grease will do it? Is that going to do anything to contaminate the oil?

 

just lay the bike over, mines on it side about every other day anyways.

 

Following the advise from someone on here at one point, I used a pair of needle nose pliars and widened out the end of the spring. It now has enough girth to sit in the hole all by itself without leaning the bike over.

 

Winner!

Just tease the end of the spring to make it a little larger so it will wedge itself ino its seat without falling out.

 

What?...JB Weld isn't the right solution?

 

then the answer by defalt is wd40 right.

 

I had the same problem, I used a little black rtv silicone after the spring was cleaned and sealed it on the new oil filter,had a beer then slid it right in,Wait a minute, Maybe thats why my wife is pregnant!!