BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Ok - so I'll start off by offering up some humor. All four of my right side cylinder head cover bolts are completely stripped. Had a small problem with the torque wrench - it was around midnight and I was rushing to finish up the valve adjustements before leaving for my annual road trip back at the end of May. Had everything snugged up, should have just left it, but the perfectionist in me wouldn't stop nagging that I needed to check the torque specs and set the bolts properly. So I grabbed the old Clymer, flipped through quickly, and found the cylinder head bolt torque spec of 40 Nm. Didn't even think twice when the small torque wrench didn't even go that high, just grabbed the big one and away I went. You can guess what happened next
Lesson of the day: cylinder head bolt torque != cylinder head cover bolt torque

Ok, so hopefully that gave everybody a little comic relief courtesy of my late night wrenching. After the laughter stops, I'd really appreciate some help on how to fix this up (haven't been in too big a hurry, since the vise grips have been doing a great job of holding the cover on...it's tempting to just call it a quick-release cylinder head cover and keep rolling with it Anyway, my plan is to pull off the cylinder head, take it to the bench, and drop in some timeserts. So my first question is whether or not I have any hope of getting inserts in there, and if so, is it necessary (or at least advisable) to pull the head off?

Assuming the head needs to come off (which it will obviously for replacement if the timeserts don't have enough metal to fit), I'd love to hear any advice on the procedure that's not in the Clymer book. Call me crazy, but that book seems to omit things from time to time.

Thanks in advance everyone,
Terry

Forgot to mention - this is an '04 r1150r.

Try CycleRob. He is the only Yoda I know.

shizzledizzbilly,

OK. So you stripped the threads on ALL FOUR (!!!!) valve cover bolt's threads in the cylinder head's aluminum. Don't panic. The fix can be performed by you . . . or someone with patience, good judgment, wrenching experience and a patient mechanical awareness. You'll also need a M6 x 1.0 Time-Sert set and about an hour's time. Go here for more info:

http://www.timesert.com/
http://www.timesert.com/html/mtrcsert.html

The different kits are for the length of the inserts. You'll have to measure your blind holes and allow for some room, that is get the shortest lenght one that will be strong enough. The 2nd link above has videos showing the install operation. A drill press is desirable for the drilling, counterboring and threading but aren't necessary if you have good judgment and are instinctively guided by the tactile feedback. I have installed several Time-Serts using the freehand method with professional results. The stripped out hole does a good job of guiding you. The drill, with the freehand method, is turned SLOWLY by a hand tap handle, doesn't remove much material and goes straight in. The next sequence of tools also seem to just do their jobs.

It is almost unbelievable, but the Time-Sert repaired threads will be stronger than the original and will not wear out from repeated removal, or strip easily with minimal overtorque like Aluminum threads will. That's because the Aluminum threaded part is effectively now a larger, very tight fitting, staked in "bolt".

Most serious M/C service dept's will have Time-Sert kits and the ability to fix your head, on the bike . . . . . unless they don't feel like sticking their necks out and/or want to do the job by the book with the expensive cylinderhead teardown.

I would not consider anything but a Time-Sert repair. The quality, strength and longevity is very high. When the job is completed, it looks professional and like an OEM factory job.

In my next life I want to come back as Cyclerob's son

No shoot. How about adoption?

"or someone with patience, good judgment, wrenching experience and a patient mechanical awareness"

I have the patience and good judgment, from experience, and patient awareness, to call my dealer!

CycleRob is right on.

Let me just expand on a couple of issues regarding thread lockers. There is a significant variety out there....Heli-Coil, Timesert, EZ-Lok.....the thing to keep in mind is the intended use.

Heli-coil, one of the early players is not as good a design as the Timesert, in this case the valve cover is not a critical application. What I'm leading to is that if you have difficulty obtaining the Timeserts, the Heli-coil product is just as good for this app.

If I was to do a block/head application, like the magnesium cases of the Porsche pancake engines, I would defenitely use the Timesert.

BTW, the bolting on the valve covers has a built in stop, the intent is place the right amount of compression on the gasket to preventy oil leaks. All youi have to do is tighten the bolt gently until it bottoms out (this is not the case with new gaskets which have far more resiliency than used gaskets)

You can also get an older gasket already with a set and place it on boiling water for 5 - 7 minutes and it will regain the original form.

Good luck and keep all that brute strength for the Gym to impress the ladies......