advice needed, pan cover holes stripped

Top End (cylinders pushrods etc.)
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Roadhome
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advice needed, pan cover holes stripped

#1

Post by Roadhome »

SO I'm buttoning up my motor the other day and the heads that I acquired had been freshly built before I got them. I never thought to check the pan cover bolt holes. Suffice it to say that the motor is not buttoned up yet. A lot of them looked like they had thread but there wasn't enough to grab. I've done A LOT of helicoils on all kinds of stuff but these are my irreplaceable pan heads and I've already mounted them on the cylinders and adjusted the pushrods etc. I really don't want to pull them and helicoiling the things is a little scary too. Any good advice is appreciated.
beets
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Re: advice needed, pan cover holes stripped

#2

Post by beets »

I had some stripped on my 56. I had a machine shop put helicoils in and they turned out good. You don't need to put a lot of torque on them, so they should hold.
58flh
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Re: advice needed, pan cover holes stripped

#3

Post by 58flh »

You have 3-choices!--The least expensive & good FIX that works is HELI-COILS!--(ive fixed quite a few using these!.#2-pull the Heads & get your TIG-MIESTER to weld-up the holes then machine & drill them to spec.!--or THIS is even embarrassing BUT I have seen it plenty of times!--Use a bolt & nut to sandwich the cover!--Crude but effective!---I would go HELICOIL!--Its not every hole & you can have her back together The same day!---Respectfully----RICHIE
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Re: advice needed, pan cover holes stripped

#4

Post by Larry »

Helicoils work just fine in this application. Those threads near the exhaust are often the worst because of overtightening. Gravity causes oil to run in that direction and leaks are more likely. However, I typically install coils in all the threads as a preventative measure.
Roadhome
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Re: advice needed, pan cover holes stripped

#5

Post by Roadhome »

Thanks. Heli coils it is. Now say a prayer over a Harley manual that I don't break some metal that's older than me in the process!
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Re: advice needed, pan cover holes stripped

#6

Post by Gotnoclass »

Or you can use option 3 - oversized screws
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem ... 0191786558" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: advice needed, pan cover holes stripped

#7

Post by kitabel »

The autopsy:
1. rings are gone, producing blowby = high crankcase pressure
2. pressure purges oil from every gasket
3. so, I'll just reef down on these tiny screws with my Crescent wrench
4. what happened to the threads?
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Re: advice needed, pan cover holes stripped

#8

Post by UPSROD »

I have actually Heli-Coiled them on the pushrod side from the bottom with the bike all together, with great success.
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Re: advice needed, pan cover holes stripped

#9

Post by Bosheff »

When you finally convince yerself that heli-coils are the ticket, do em ALL. You'll be glad you did....bosheff
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Re: advice needed, pan cover holes stripped

#10

Post by Raggs60 »

Had same problem, instead of helicoils, i used sockethead 10-24 stainless steel bolts with washers and small nylock nuts on all bolts, make shore they
are 1" long, I buy all stainless steel bolts from The Bolt Depot on line, good luck
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