cylinder base nut pulling out

[1960RIDER]

so a few months ago i noticed a base gasket leak from my front jug base gasket so i attempted to torque the nuts down to the 35-40 ft/lbs.
i immediately noticed the rear left nut was almost finger turn loose!
so i torqued it down and checked the others, seemed ok.
i tried to gauge the depth of the threads, but theyre all different and the loose nut seems roughly the same as the others, more than some, less than others.

down the road........

more leakage. more same nut comming loose. so i suspected the nut might be pulling the stud out of the cylinder. i gently torqued the nut only small wrench tight, no torquing. then i marked the nut with yellow to see how it turns.
it is turning, slowly but surely. i dont think the nut's just coming loose, i think its pulling the stud.
all the other bolts are fine.

well, i dont wanna pull the motor, the jug and have new steel inserts put in yet, so im just gently tightening the nut every so often, watching things close and keepin on riden.

any suggestions i havent thought of??

[john HD]

timesert?

an alternative to the helicoil. you may even be able to do it in place.

john

[Cotten]

so a few months ago i noticed a base gasket leak from my front
jug base gasket so i attempted to torque the nuts down to the
35-40 ft/lbs.

i immediately noticed the rear left nut was almost finger
turn loose!

so i torqued it down and checked the others, seemed ok.
i tried to gauge the depth of the threads, but theyre all different and
the loose nut seems roughly the same as the others,
more than some, less than others.

down the road........

more leakage. more same nut comming loose.
so i suspected the nut might be pulling the stud out of the cylinder.
i gently torqued the nut only small wrench tight, no torquing.
then i marked the nut with yellow to see how it turns.

it is turning, slowly but surely. i dont think the nut's just coming loose, i think its pulling the stud.
all the other bolts are fine.

well, i dont wanna pull the motor, the jug and have new steel inserts put in yet, so im just
gently tightening the nut every so often, watching things close and keepin on riden.

any suggestions i havent thought of??

1960RIDER!

Forgive me for a callous attitude,
but I would whip out my arsenal of torquewrench adapters and bring everything up to spec;
If a stud pulls, it is better in the shop than on the road.

("torquewrench adapter, extention", etc. in the Search function should explain further, I hope.)

A note of hope would be that it might be the nut's threads that are failing.

....Cotten

[steve_wood]

Assuming that you're using the stock nuts (which are kinda tall), try this:

- remove the nut
- remove the stud
- clean up the stud and the hole as best you can (try not to let anything get into the crankcase)
- put blue threadlock on the stud
- find a standard nut for the stud (it'll be "shorter")
- turn the stud in as far as you can go leaving just enough room for the standard nut
- put blue threadlock on the nut and torque it down

The key is to screw in the stud further than before in an attempt to find good threads. If that doesn't work, go with the timesert option suggested by John.

Another option is to build a longer stud. Make it long enough so you can drive it all the way in until it hits the flywheel while still giving you enough room to install the stock nut. Back it off one turn (to clear the flywheel) and then install the nut.