Trying to remove fuel tank 1997 R1100rt

[Artie John]

Hello, due to having moved (from Illinois to South Carolina) my 97 RT1100rt was stored for  three years. I am trying to remove the fuel tank to replace the pump assembly. Of course Murphy has struck. I have not been able to remove the cap screw that holds the air intake and the radio box to the fuel tank. It is behaving like a stripped or cross-threaded screw. Turns hard, then releases and then turns hard again.My question is; what does that screw thread into? It doesn't penetrate through the tank, so I am guessing the tank plastic is threaded or there is a captive nut in the tank. I am quite stymied at this point, so I thought I'd seek assistance from the knowledge base of the members.

 

Thank you for your help.

Artie John

[Jim Moore]

Can you grab it with needlenose pliers and keep outward pressure on it while you turn it?

[dirtrider]

34 minutes ago, Artie John said:

Hello, due to having moved (from Illinois to South Carolina) my 97 RT1100rt was stored for  three years. I am trying to remove the fuel tank to replace the pump assembly. Of course Murphy has struck. I have not been able to remove the cap screw that holds the air intake and the radio box to the fuel tank. It is behaving like a stripped or cross-threaded screw. Turns hard, then releases and then turns hard again.My question is; what does that screw thread into? It doesn't penetrate through the tank, so I am guessing the tank plastic is threaded or there is a captive nut in the tank. I am quite stymied at this point, so I thought I'd seek assistance from the knowledge base of the members.

 

Thank you for your help.

Artie John

Evening Artie 

 

There is an insert molded into the tank. If you fool with it long enough & rough enough you can pull that insert out, or loosen it's bonding enough that it will just keep spinning & the fastener won't come out or go back in & tighten. 

 

I usually don't fool with them too much as once it starts feeling like it is spinning I just drill the head off the screw then once it's apart cut the remaining stud off then drill then center drill the stud (core it) then re-tap the threads. (caution: if you do this use a drill bit stop so you don't drill in too deep.

 

Also, allow the drill bit to cool off often when drilling the head off as you don't want to heat up the bolt then loosen the insert even farther.  

[man1nvan]

be careful with this one .  a previous owner had managed to puncture the tank doing this and had bunged the hole up with ptfe tape and some sort of sealant so i ended up replacing the tank.  if i remember rightly  you can bodge up the intake and radio box using cable (zip) ties and just give up on that bolt.  the tube is bolted at the front and the radio box has 1 other fixing if i remember rightly.  the second hand tank cost me around £40 off fleabay

[Lowndes]

On my '99RT there was a SS acorn nut set into the tank and the surrounding plastic collar heat-melted over it.  Mine was crossthreaded like yours but different location.

 

If you can't stop that screwhead from turning somehow, it might be hard to drill.   A tiny chisel into the side of the head beside the drill bit might do it, maybe dremel a notch into it.  

 

Once it's out/off you can get the acorn nut out of the tank cavity and replace it or clean up the threads and reuse it.  I heated the area with a heat gun, put the nut (on a screw) back into the cavity, and used a hotter screwdriver to push some plastic over the acorn nut.  This was April of '17 and it's still holding.  You could try adding a drop or two of epoxy around the nut to help hold it from turning in the hole, then push the hot poly on top of the nut to cool.

 

CAREFUL with sparks in the motors and that gas sitting there.

 

All the pics here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/bsdMYYaEPnjueJ3NA

 

 

A "good" nut embedded in the tank.  The tool marks look like the nut was placed and sealed in after the tank was molded.

 

 

There is a slightly raised boss on the poly and it can be pushed around and on top of the nut when the heat is right to hold it.