[C1iffburton]

i installed a clutch kit over the weekend, when i was putting the cover back on i think i might have broken a bolt putting it back on, its one of the short bolts, it is also the bolt that sits just underneath where the front drive shaft comes out...the case doesnt seem to leak oil at all...you can move the bolt head with your fingers just a little bit, it has very minimal play in it, i have yet to ride the bike on a trail or in the mud yet so its still clean from when i intalled the kit, would it be wise to take the cover back off and drill the bolt out or get it out and put a new one in, or wait till it starts to leak then do it...and if i replaced it would i need to get a new gasket and replace the one i just put on it? also part number if anyone has access to the small bolt...im at work rite now and i cant log onto the website that shows all the parts and stuff

 

[BlackBarron]

i would fix it, because so you don't get water in your oil.

 

[C1iffburton]

yea i looked up the part number, probably gonna go by the honda shop on friday and get another bolt...hopefully it didnt break off completely to where i have to tear the bike completely back down and take the cover off to get it out


also when or if i have to take the cover off am i going to need to get another gasket or will this new one be okay since i havent really gone out riding it yet?

 

[eric]

I think those bolts are 12 ft/lbs.

 

[C1iffburton]

the long ones which there are only two and they go above and below where the oil filter goes into the motor are 5-6"s and all the other bolts are like 3-4" long

 

[eric]

Well now I know why the bolt broke. I am referring to a torque spec: 12ft/lbs not length of bolt.

i.e. -Don't over tighten bolt. Get a torque wrench. Every nut/bolt I take off is reinstalled per Honda torque specs; right down to the lugnuts. Might save you some headaches in the long run. I overtightened an axle nut on my Cat and it failed in the middle of N.Dakota, a.k.a. middle of nowhere. I learned my lesson the hard way.

 

[C1iffburton]

9 ft lbs is what it is suppose to get tightened down to, needless to say i didnt have a torque wrench and didnt want to go and get one, needless to say on friday ima go pick up another bolt and pick up a torque wrench

 

[eric]

good luck

 

[C1iffburton]

well i decided to try and get the bolt out of the hole, it ended up breaking off about 3 threads from where it goes to a smooth shaft on the bolt, unluck on that part but i guess it would have happened either way, i have still yet to really ride the bike in the mud yet so when i take it off would the gasket still be good or would i need to go and get another gasket before hand? also how do you get the front shaft to come out of the engine or some way of moving the shaft out of the way so that i can get a drill in there to back the bolt out? isnt there like a u-joint or something that can be taken off to allow the front drive shaft to be able to be pulled out of the way

 

[C1iffburton]

anyone know how to get the front shaft off the bike temporarily? the bolt that broke is the one rite underneith the front output shaft and i cant get a drill in there and hold it there long enough for it to catch, need to know how to get the shaft part off of it

 

[eric]

I don't know if propeller shaft will compress enough to get out without moving diff forward.

Diff is very simple to loosen. After taking the mounting bolts out, remove the front mount completely. Just a little black mount held in place by two small bolts; this will give you a little extra room to move diff forward.

Good luck

 

[C1iffburton]

and what is the propeller shaft that you speak of? i noticed that the lil boots that are on the shaft coming out the front, the one rite by the front diff can be pulled but dont think its enough to do anything with, was thinking maybe taking the 4 bolts off the front diff. where the shaft goes into the front diff. maybe thats rite but maybe its wrong, i dont have a service manual to know exactly what to move in order to get the shaft out of the way...so any help is very superly much appreciated

 

[dirty4man]

unbolt the diff itself and slide it forward as far as it will go. There are 3 mount points on it, one on top, one on the bottom and one in the front. slide the orings off the boots on the driveshalf, then you can push the shalf toward the motor to get it out. the casing bolt that you broke is made of stainless, so the usually break off smooth. sometimes you can use a sharp pick to twist them out. if that doesn't work use a small left handed drill bit, it drills in reverese and as you apply pressure it should grab the bolt and twist it out.

 

[C1iffburton]

yea i have some easy outs i was trying to use on it, but it had to be the hardest bolt to get to that breaks, it is the one that is just underneith the shaft, i can get a drill to it but cant hold it there cuz the shaft is in the way and just thought it would be easier to take the shaft off and to make alot more room, thanks for the info dirty, i was waiting for u or for hondamechanic to chime in hopefully, yall always seem to know how to take something apart and put it back together

 

[C1iffburton]

bad news dirty4man, those mounting bolts didnt even budge when i tried to loosen them up...im thinking about putting the cover back on without the bolt, i cant seem at all to get that thing out, ive drilled half of it out alrdy and cant see the end of it, but i think having the shaft in the way is pushing the drill/bit to the side so it is actually starting to chew into the side of the hole(not a good thing, i thought about just keep drilling it if i can till it wont go anymore then putting some jbweld in the hole and sand it off then put the cover back on and put some kind of sealant in the hole to keep mud and water out of it...or do you have any other suggestions to make this end up working in the long run

 

[dirty4man]

are you using a regular drill bit? if so when pressure is applied to drill it out you are also tightening up the bolt in the hole. Thats why I said to use a left handed drill bit, it drills in reverse and will usually unscrew the broke bolt without any other damage to the casing. Sears use to carry a small set in there stores, I not sure if Lowes or Home Depot carries them. If it was my I would try to fix it, the bike cost to much money to try and take shortcuts.

 

[homie189]

Learn something new everyday... never knew they made left handed drill bits. Does make since, would have never thought of the drill bit tightening the bolt more. Great advise!!

 

[C1iffburton]

yes i know about the left hand drill bits, just havent found any yet, i have tried easy outs on it and those didnt work, i tried this lil thing called a grabit, but that is more for striped screws but so far that has done the best cuz it has a left hand drill bit on one end of it to drill in

 

[dirty4man]

If hand tools want break the diff loose, you may have to use a impact to get them out.

 

[C1iffburton]

yea that is going to be the next thing i try, i just didnt wanna have to take the tires off and start tearing apart everything on the front end just to get to the 3 mounting bolts...but if that is gonna end up making it possible then i guess that is what i will do, i might try to use a breaker bar on it when i get another chance to work on it, rite now i have the cover sitting off of it while i figure out my next move...i think what is going to end up happening since i have kinda messed up the threads, is that ima just drill until the thing comes out then i will put jb-weld in the holes and retap and thread it, but in order for the threads to end up not being crooked and stuff i will still need to take off the shaft so that i can get it to thread straight in....i also have no idea how you would even get a impact wrench to the mounting bolts, i looked at it yesterday and i could barely get the wrench and socket to the bolts...im guessing i will have to take the tires off, the a arms off and all that just by looking at it but i could be wrong, i ordered a service manual saturday so i should get that in a day or two and can take a better look at what im getting into...but any other feedback from anyone is appreciated