[LTFan]

i tried to open the camshaft head to check the valves and found that the camshaft head had a sealent and was secured on the engine even when i had removed all the screws. it was late in the night so i decided to leave it on without the screws.

today morning i found the head was open and there is oil on the floor. is it normal to have as much oil here? is this from the engine oil and will be repaced with the engine oil automatically or i need to add some oil back?

 

[tombstone]

Hi,

I will admit I have not had the cam cover off mine yet but have worked on many bikes over the years. That is probably less than an egg cup full of oil. It goes further than you think.
You do not need to worry about this and you will not need to add oil to the head. Just check the engine oil level when you have finished.

What you do need to inspect very carefully is the state of the camcover as I presume you mean it fell off overnight. Make sure the mating surfaces are perfect before it goes back together again.

Regards

Tony

 

[jzeiler]

The gasket has sealant near the half moon cutouts and at the cylinder head/timing cover joint on the head side of the gasket only. The cover has no sealant and if you loosen the bolts and come back in an hour it will have popped free of the gasket. Next time leave a couple of the bolts loosely installed. No sealant is required for reinstallation unless you remove the gasket from the head (like when removing the cams to change buckets).

It is normal for some trapped oil to drain out on removal but it is not enough to require preplacement once you are done. Most of the trapped oil collects at the front of the cover, place a small pan to catch it next time.

 

[LTFan]

thanks for the confirmation and assurance. good news - the valve clearence is good and i dont need to swap any buckets.

but i have created another issue for myself. i over tightened the screw while reassembling the camshaft head. one of them broke and is stuck half way inside. and the threads on few other screws have metal fron the engine block on them. i am surprised how fragile and delicate these screws are. anyone reading this thread and working on the camshaft head might want to make a note of this.

 

[jzeiler]

The torque on them in only 9 Nm which means turn until it stops and go no further. 10 of them go into the cam bearing halves so you don't want to strip those out.

 

[dshealey]

thanks for the confirmation and assurance. good news - the valve clearence is good and i dont need to swap any buckets.

but i have created another issue for myself. i over tightened the screw while reassembling the camshaft head. one of them broke and is stuck half way inside. and the threads on few other screws have metal fron the engine block on them. i am surprised how fragile and delicate these screws are. anyone reading this thread and working on the camshaft head might want to make a note of this.

One should never tighten these without a decent torque wrench. It is VERY easy to overtighten them, as so many have discovered. Heli-coil sales have gone up since these engines went on the market.

Same with the oil filter cover on the bottom of the engine. Awfully easy to break the heads off those screws. Happened so often I started selling higher strength screws a few years ago. Seems some of these would snap even when the correct 9 Nm torque was used.

 

[LTFan]

Its been a while since I faced this issue. Last weekend I decided to replace all the screws on the head with new ones. But the second screw on the lower set is leaking oil while riding. Its a lot of oil, there is oil on the legs while riding.

You mentioned heli-coil as a possible solution. How can I measure the size required and where do I get heli-coil's? Is it easy to install Heli-Coils and can I use the existing new screws?

Any alternate good way to fix loose screws?

 

[gary45]

the seal is created by the big rubber "washers" putting pressure on the cylinder head cover gasket - once the screws touch/stop turning when screwing into the head tightening more does nothing - if threads are OK new rubber parts are needed since the old ones are not putting pressure on the cover - that is why the tiny amount of torque required, snug is all that is needed

 

[andres]

To insert the helicoil you'll need to drill the existing hole to the correct size and then tap the hole to accept the helicoil. The helicoil restores the thread to the same it was prior to installing the helicoil. Select the correct size helicoil to match the existing thread and buy a kit that includes the correct drill bit, helicoils and the installation tool. These are available on eBay and from most automotive parts stores. You have to get the installation tool though, without which it is easy to make a mess of the installation process:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Helicoil-Th...160?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c26c496d0

 

[deputy5211]

One should never tighten these without a decent torque wrench. It is VERY easy to overtighten them, as so many have discovered. Heli-coil sales have gone up since these engines went on the market.

Same with the oil filter cover on the bottom of the engine. Awfully easy to break the heads off those screws. Happened so often I started selling higher strength screws a few years ago. Seems some of these would snap even when the correct 9 Nm torque was used.

Still have any, David? Have not broken any but would prefer a preemptive replacement.

 

[dshealey]

Still have any, David? Have not broken any but would prefer a preemptive replacement.

Yes, still have quite a few. I have been selling them for $5 per set shipped, (three screws, four washers), $3 each additional set shipped at the same time.

PayPal preferred, to: [email protected]