Is this possible or is it BS?

[yellow400ex05]

Ok today after a few month I noticed a problem with my quad, I had a Hotcam stage 1 installed on my quad back near christmas, and today I noticed a little oil on my case near the valve cover, so
I checked the bolts with my finger and all of them were tight except for one and when I turned the one bolt it just kept on turning, and it was STRIPPED! I figured well damn how could I not have noticed this until now, I figured the person who stripped it knew about it and didn't tell me about it and I looked back on the back side of the case and there was quite a bit of oil back there, but it was gritty from the dust and dirt so it must have been there for a while, Well I didn't hesitate to run it down to the shop, and the guy said he wont cover it because it was too long, and he said they have the tendency to strip themselves out is this possible??

Also I probably had a leaking head gasket so i told him that it may need to be replaced also, could there have been any major damage to my engine from this, I never really noticed any lack of power, but could it have been decreased?

[honda300EXtreme]

the only way your engine could of really been damaged is if you lost a significant amount of oil at once....

the only way i figure it could of stripped its self out it if it vibrated loose and just trashed the threads which is possible....


and with the head gasket if it was blown you could of experienced a slight lack of power due to decreased compression...

[yellow400ex05]

Ok how much is a significant amount of oil? like quarter of a quart?

[honda300EXtreme]

yea well a quarter quart at once is a lot... but i dont know even if that much would cause any actual damage... i would figure maybe a half quart or more would probably cause some damage...

i mean do you think your quad shows any signs of damage to the motor... if not i wouldnt worry to much

[yellow400ex05]

Nope i may just have a loss of a little power due to the head gasket and the the summer heat, but nope and the oil that gets burned is probably normal since i still use pre-choke even on 90 degree summer days:ermm:. But no smoke, only white smoke after oil changes and carbon at start up. I do notice while I ride I see heat waves rising when I look just above the hood of my quad lol, I notice that my quad has more power and picks up easier when its 65 degrees compared to the boiling 80..

[honda300EXtreme]

heres a little tip,, use a 42 pilot jet... it will make starting alot easier,,

and is your jetting correct because if its lean it will cause for excess heat??

[yellow400ex05]

Nope, It only pops occasionally on deceleration. Sometime a little more if I've been riding at a slower pace or at a higher RPM.

[400exrider707]

So what is leaking? You described two different areas... is the valve cover gasket leaking, or is the head gasket leaking?:confused:

[dariusld]

His post said both;)

[400exrider707]

Ok yeah I see, but why do you think your headgasket is leaking? You didn't say why you came to that conclusion.

[yellow400ex05]

well i meant to say there could be a possible leak due to the leak from the case due to the loose bolt. If the gasket isn't leaking I'm sure he wont change it but I just want to be on the safe side.

[GPracer2500]

Originally posted by yellow400ex05
....and he said they have the tendency to strip themselves....

Nonsense. If the bolt was properly tightened it won't "strip itself". Those bolts are frequently overtightened by mistake.

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by GPracer2500
Nonsense. If the bolt was properly tightened it won't "strip itself". Those bolts are frequently overtightened by mistake.

Agreed, I know I did a few myself when I had my 400ex.

[yellow400ex05]

thats what i figured, i know theres is a lot of vibration from and engine but I doubted that it could strip itself out..

[bwamos]

Originally posted by yellow400ex05
well i meant to say there could be a possible leak due to the leak from the case due to the loose bolt. If the gasket isn't leaking I'm sure he wont change it but I just want to be on the safe side.

Different bolts. The head bolts and head cover bolts are seperate. Shouldn't have an issue.

[yellow400ex05]

heres an example pic of where the loose bolt was and where i saw the oil.

[yellow400ex05]

nvm guys! my quad was fixed already lol it hasn't been there for even a day, head gasket wasn't blown :macho talk about quick service done right.

thanks for your help i appreciate it!