Snapped bolt on front engine cover Help needed

[colin Lane]

When installing new stainless steel bolts to front engine cover,I,ve somehow managed to snap one of them!....not sure how as i set the torque wrench to 17NM as a starter,....less than the 20NM suggested in the manual.
My question is can I still ride the bike or will oil piss out .
How do i get the snapped bolt out!

All suggestions gratefully recieved......Bike is GS1150 by the way.

Colin.

 

[iletts]

you should get away with a small or even no oil leak.

at some point you are going to have to drill and use an easy out, unless you're lucky and manage to turn it with a small screwdriver/cold chisel, or can remove cover and grab hold of it with mole grips. top tip when drilling stainless - use a cobalt tip bit if possible, drill dead slow with lots of pressure and use cutting compound or oil. if you use hss bits, be prepared to overheat and blunt them.

Good Luck!!

 

[Gas'd Off]

i set the torque wrench to 17NM

are you completely certain that your wrench is calibrated correctly? If it has ever been left in the box when torqued up the reading will be way off. Happened to me, I ended up squashing a gasket and stripping a thread
Also, stainless bolts are more brittle than plain steel and will shear at more easily. Can you post a photo of the sheared bolt?
As for riding your bike, don`t, unless you are certain there is no oil leakage, oil and tyres do not mix well

 

[graham]

YOU CAN DRILL A SMALL HOLE IN THE CENTRE OF THE BOLT AND USE A STUD EXTRACTOR ON IT,BUT TRY TO SOAK IT IN WD4O FIRST AND ALL THE TIME YOU ARE GETTING IT OUT.

GRAHAM

 

[colin Lane]

Thanks for the replys

The good news is there is no oil leak,..went for carefull test run, stopping and checking....ended up doing 60miles.

there is about 18mm of the bolt in the casing, so iletts idea of removing the cover and removing it with molegrips sounds best.
I gave the bolt a liberal coating of copperslip before i installed it,maybe to much if thats possible? so it shouldn't be to difficult to remove....famous last words.

Lukate... I carefully checked the torque wrench aginst the other existing bolts in the cover and it seemed to work ok ie it 'clicked' before tightening any of them.

I sure don't fancy trying to drill out a stainless bolt.

 

[(RIP) Yosi]

I'm asuming you refer to the alternator belt cover. The same happened to me awhile ago and nothing happens. Thre is no oil behind that cover. o|nly the alternator belt. Hope is usefull...

 

[boxer]

Colin.

You should've reduced the torque when you coperslipped the bolt. May be this and a doddgy bolt caused the problem.

I don't think drilling the bolt will be necessary. Assuming the bolt hasn't bottomed out and it's just the head that's sheared off once the cover is removed it should unscrew easily. With the head gone there should be no 'weight' on the bolt.

Russ

 

[sjwb]

If you are refering to the M6 cover screws, then 20Nm is way too high; 10 would be nearer the mark.
Secondly, unless specifically required to do so, do not lubricate threads prior to assembly.

 

[carbold]

Secondly, unless specifically required to do so, do not lubricate threads prior to assembly.

Guru Steptoe says to copper grease any SS bolt to avoid seizing....