how to get a stripped oil filter bolt out?

[FUBAR]

im midway into tearing the case apart and the donor cases oil filter bolt is stripped by the po and on there good ideas?

i dont have access to a welder to weld a bar to the bolt

 

[bcware]

Is it a big bolt exposed on all sides? If it is rounded off you can grind the edges flat on parallel sides and use an adjustable wrench or vice grips to take it off. A large pair of vice grips may also work without any grinding.

Other ideas:

Use penetrating oil. Hit it with a propane torch (might want a fire extinguisher on hand). Cut a slit through the head down the middle and use a huge screw driver like a chisel; smack it from an angle with a hammer.

Getting bolts off with exposed heads is usually pretty easy without special tools. Recessed bolts are a major pain!

 

[FUBAR]

yeah its exposed its the one down low on the front that holds the oil filter cover on, with all the fins..

its rounded good the 12m held for a bit but now its just round. hmm ill keep trying

 

[bcware]

Yeah, I would try filing or grinding the sides flat again and use some massive vice grips. If you don't have giant vice grips go get some; they are very useful

As an absolute last resort you can probably cut the head right off. I believe that bolt should have no threads below the head and simply slides through the cover. I would double check this however. You shouldn't need to do this.

 

[FUBAR]

hammered a 15/32 on there and used travis' hard tail kit tube as a snipe!

thanks for the quick response bc . this site is rad

 

[bcware]

Good job. Now hopefully nothing else gives you too much trouble.

 

[FUBAR]

i have a gasket set do you know of anywhere in the haynes lists where each gasket is, and is there any specific problem areas anyone knows of in the crankcase on the 400s? i have it open now and would like to make sure everythings tip top.

 

[drewpy]

i'd renew the oil seals in the crank eg clutch and output shaft.

I use wellseal for the halves

check the "dogs" on the gears for rounding off as they will slip out of gear under power.

Chipped teeth on gears.

clean the gear bearings with cleaner and spin them, if they make a "shhh" noise they are fubared (sic!) (usually ok as they are in oil)

check the needle bearings for wear.

have a look at the selector drum and for bent/worn selector forks

check scoring on mains if you have them off, rubbing marks are ok

check con rod movement as per manual

get the cases vapour blasted if its all out as this would be the last time you will hopefully do this.

 

[rambojohnj15]

hey i had the same thing happen to mine i read some people would weld a new nut to the stripped on and i tried it tho it didn't work so i ended up welding on an old adjustable wrench to it and sure enough it worked. in the mean time i ordered a new bolt to replace the stripped one.

 

[drewpy]

weld a decent tool on? thats dedication, I would have used a flat bar

 

[xschris]

What ever works

 

[rambojohnj15]

I was getting that bolt out one way or another haha

 

[levdir]

I've got the exact same problem on mine, waiting for new parts to show up. It seems like the design of the bolt sort of precludes using penetrating lube effectively, with the o-ring right by the head and the threads deep down in the crankcase.

 

[rambojohnj15]

Yeah I couldn't seem to get any type of penatrting oil to do anything. it seems like a lot of people have trouble with that bolt getting rusty and stripping.

 

[willem]

yup that one's made of butter or something. But still, better to have a buttery bolt which doesn't want to come out, than to have a buttery oil filter cover and a rock solid bolt

 

[bcware]

I don't think it's rust (it's sitting in a pool of oil generally. Most amateur mechanics just seem to follow the philosophy that tighter is better. If nothing else people are going to attempt their own oil changes to save money and I think this is why this particular bolt tends to always be screwed up.

 

[xschris]

Also that area gets a lot of road crap sprayed on it from the front tire. If the filter is changed regular it should unscrew easy but if the bolt has been sitting for years and years

 

[bcware]

Maybe that is a good mod. Some kind of shield for the bolt!

 

[drewpy]

if your that particular, you can get plastic bolt covers in all sorts of sizes.

OEM bolts have small heads whilst aftermarket have a much larger and better head

 

[levdir]

I don't know if this is consistent across all the years, but my bike has the torque spec for the filter bolt stamped right on the cover. No excuse for overtightening there, and yet.