valve cover bolt leaking HELP!!

[71_400TRX]

after riding i noticed a bunch of oil on the motor, turns out its leakin out of the smaller of the three valve cover bolts (the three bolts on the very top of the motor) i tried to tighten it and it just turns but doesnt tighten so the threads must be trashed, how do i fix this? thanks

[Crusty450er]

did you pull the bolt out to see if you snapped it off? i did that to mine on the exact same bolt! boy did it make me mad. if you didnt snapp it you might be able to retap it . is your rubber seal on your bolt? i am not taking you as not being smart i am just covering all options.

[stumpleg]

Thats what I would look at. The rubber seal underneath the head of the bolt may have went bad, but if the bolt just keeps turning, the threads may be messed up.

[400exrapes]

Dont feel bad I did the excact same thing on my R too, those three bolts are three of the easiest bolts to snap on the quad, it takes 7 ft/lbs torque to snap them. Pull the bolt out, and you'll need to get the hole tapped and rethreaded.

[400exrider707]

I have to laugh every time I hear about someone snapping those bolts. They are designed to do that so you dont wreck your head. They dont need that much force to be tight, and the seal is the likely culprit if it's leaking, so I'd replace taht.

[pro-rider46]

yeah i snapped one too. found out they are torque to yield bolts.

[JAKE YATES]

if you had the bolt out make sure the seal is on right and the o-ring goes towards the bolt.

[Scro]

Originally posted by JAKE YATES
if you had the bolt out make sure the seal is on right and the o-ring goes towards the bolt.

Yep, "UP" should be one side of the seal.

thats strange. me nor my brother have ever snapped that bolt he has a 05 and i have a 04 and we have never snaped any bolt? you guys must be tigtning them down to much. i tighten them down till they are snug.(or not going anywhere)lol:D

I hate that I snapped 2 bolts on my quad 1 because it was said to be torqued down to 7ft lbs and I accidentally had it at 9 with the new torque wrench wasnt sure how everything worked because it was in inch pounds and the way it twisted to set it neatless to say I snapped it off had to take off the case luckily i greased the threads so i was able to just grab it with pliers and turn the bolt out. I know Honda put bolts that are too hard on the 400ex so they snap instead of strip which I rather have because there is atleast hope.