...and then the second bolt extractor broke; 'The Horror, The Horror!!'

[Jerry_75_Guy]

Clearly I need to avoid buying lottery tickets for a while. In a continuation of the sad story begun in my previous post concerning broken bolt extactors, a friend (ex BMW dealer maint. manager) came over to see if he could help.

 

I didn't expect us to get very far, but he managed to drill out enough of the 1st broken/imbedded bolt extractor tip to give it a second try. I'd purchased a set of the more robust, square extractors and he tapped the appropriate sized tool into the hole after he used a heat gun to warm things up.

 

Lo, and behold, as he slowly started applying torque to the extractor, it stubbornly began to rotate! However, just as our hearts began to brighten at the good news, after approx. 1/4 rotation..."Tink" and the second extractor snapped.....

 

From the looks of it he was (and he confirmed this afterward) only using a light to moderate amount of force on the tool. We were both shocked. It wasn't even a matter of the statistical chances of doing this twice in the same hole, it just didn't seem physically possible to break metal like this with such light forces.

 

We are dumbfounded.

 

The silver lining is that I have a friend who is a machinist with an Indy car team here in town who said he'd be glad to bore it out for me once I get the head off.

 

So...

 

1. how big a job is head removal?

 

2. I understand there is a special little tool I'll need to hold the cam in place???? Is this expensive?

 

3. besides torx heads (gotta buy those) and torque wrenches (gottum), and a new head gasket, what will I need? (I already have the correct sized 'Timesert')

 

Anything, parts or procedure, that I'm missing?

 

This eliminates several shorter 2 to 3 day rides I was planning, but this really sucks as I was looking forward to the MOA rally in VT; my wife even offered to go without me having to ask! I doubt I'll be able to get it fixed in time to open it up again and retorque the head bolts after 600mi, and put on new tires

 

Thank God for the VFR or I'd really be starting to 'tweak' about now

[Firefight911]

Word of caution! Stay away from me! Do not rub up your bad joojoo on me!

 

That absaolutely bites! Sorry for the trials and tribulations you are going through!

 

Hope to hear soon that you are back up and running. Maybe your Indy car friend can rub a little black magic on the motor when he works on it and you can turn 17,000 rpm and, say, 8-900 hp after he is done! That would make it worthwhile!

 

Keep us posted . . . FROM A DISTANCE, PLEASE!

[Slartidbartfast]

Bad luck with the extractor. Another reason why I will never use those little buggers.

 

RE head removal:-- No special tools required. There is a little plastic wedge with teeth on it that can be used to lock the flywheel at TDC. I don't know how much this teeny widget costs but it is not essential. You can simply put the transmission in top gear and hold the back brake. TDC can be estimated closely enough by looking at the marks on the cam sprockets.

 

I stalled part way through a web page write up of the process. Don't know when I might finish it. However, I would be happy to send you photos and a quick summary if you have any questions.

 

Regards,

Philip

[DEF]

Head removal is a routine operation. I would have on hand the BMW CD to help with some of the operations but, you can do it.

 

Also, you can reuse the BMW head gasket. They are a multi-layer metal design that tolerates reuse if there is no damage or evidence of a leak.

[Jerry_75_Guy]

Phil, given the intensity of the 'JooJoo', I'm tempted to recommend you take your family and flee the country as 1500 mi (as the crow flys) doesn't seem nearly enough of a safety buffer, but then again, I've seen plenty of bikes going by in recent days who, by all rights, should have died right where they were given their proximity to 'yours truly', so "it" must not be contagious

 

Philip, I've yet to dig into my 'Clymers', but any instructions/photos/help(prayers!) you can send would be greatly appreciated, however I don't want to inconvenience you: that sounds like a lot of typing (I hate typing) etc.

[Jerry_75_Guy]

Thanks Dennis; it would be great not to have to wait on a new gasket from A&S.

 

If you think of anything else let me know

[photomd]

 

RE head removal:-- No special tools required. There is a little plastic wedge with teeth on it that can be used to lock the flywheel at TDC.

 

When I replaced my head gaskets, I used a 1/4 socket extension: slid right in and held it. Pulling the head is very straight forward and easy with a manual.

[David]

I had to say this right now, but you do know about the righty-tighty, lefty loosey thing, right?

[DEF]

Thanks Dennis; it would be great not to have to wait on a new gasket from A&S.

 

If you think of anything else let me know

 

Cold MGD is about all that's missing.......really, head removal is rather routine. When you reassemble, remember to minimize the rocker arm shaft end clearance for a quieter motor.

[Jerry_75_Guy]

I had to say this right now, but you do know about the righty-tighty, lefty loosey thing, right?

 

All things considered, I can't blame you for wanting to check

[jviss]

A useful emergency technique for this situation is to use an electric arc stick welder; set it up and just touch the end of the broken extractor with the rod, and switch the welder off immediately, holding the rod in place. The idea is to weld the electrode to the end of the piece. Then grab the rod with a vice grip and twist it out.

 

Warning: electric welding on the RT can ruin the electronics if you are not careful! Best to disconnect the battery adn isolate the electronics from the welder current.

 

Another thing I do in this situation is to first drill the broken bolt with a left hand drill bit - it often just turns out while sdrilling, before getting to the extractor step.

 

 

 

Clearly I need to avoid buying lottery tickets for a while. In a continuation of the sad story begun in my previous post concerning broken bolt extactors, a friend (ex BMW dealer maint. manager) came over to see if he could help.

 

I didn't expect us to get very far, but he managed to drill out enough of the 1st broken/imbedded bolt extractor tip to give it a second try. I'd purchased a set of the more robust, square extractors and he tapped the appropriate sized tool into the hole after he used a heat gun to warm things up.

 

Lo, and behold, as he slowly started applying torque to the extractor, it stubbornly began to rotate! However, just as our hearts began to brighten at the good news, after approx. 1/4 rotation..."Tink" and the second extractor snapped.....

 

From the looks of it he was (and he confirmed this afterward) only using a light to moderate amount of force on the tool. We were both shocked. It wasn't even a matter of the statistical chances of doing this twice in the same hole, it just didn't seem physically possible to break metal like this with such light forces.

 

We are dumbfounded.

 

The silver lining is that I have a friend who is a machinist with an Indy car team here in town who said he'd be glad to bore it out for me once I get the head off.

 

So...

 

1. how big a job is head removal?

 

2. I understand there is a special little tool I'll need to hold the cam in place???? Is this expensive?

 

3. besides torx heads (gotta buy those) and torque wrenches (gottum), and a new head gasket, what will I need? (I already have the correct sized 'Timesert')

 

Anything, parts or procedure, that I'm missing?

 

This eliminates several shorter 2 to 3 day rides I was planning, but this really sucks as I was looking forward to the MOA rally in VT; my wife even offered to go without me having to ask! I doubt I'll be able to get it fixed in time to open it up again and retorque the head bolts after 600mi, and put on new tires

 

Thank God for the VFR or I'd really be starting to 'tweak' about now