I cracked the oil filter bolt

[honda400exrider]

Alright, I was taking out the oil filter bolts to change my oil. The bolts where a little bit tight I guess, and my shed was cold (I dont know if that has anything to do with it). The bolt snapped out pretty clean, leaving one small row of threads, but it can't be screwed back on. Would it work if I re-threaded it a little bit bigger, and put in a shorter screw? If not, what else would work? Thanks in advance.

[nojoke4stroke]

if youre any good with a drill and an easy out you can extract the rest of it,thats what i did.before this i was considering tapping it bigger and using a shorter bolt.its really up to you but i would try an easy out.

[honda400exrider]

I've never done much drilling, but my dad is good with that stuff. Where can you get an ez out and what is it? Thanks

[Sportrax10]

Also you can take your case off. It would make work with the easy out a lot easier. If the bolt is still long enough you can un screw it with some plyers.

[nojoke4stroke]

you can get them at any auto parts store.they are basically a reverse thread drill bit.make sure you get ones that are long enough or with a handle thats small enough to fit in the hole.use a drill thats a little smaller than the size of the bolt and drill a hole 1/4 inch deep into the CENTER of the bolt,then take your easy out turn it into the hole you drilled,once it hits the end of the hole you drilled it will extract the bolt.

[EXDUNER127]

Dude I just did that last week, what I did was take the side case off and the end of the bolt was right there in the motor and I pulled it out with my fingers dont go waste ur money on an easy out and save some time it was easy... a half hour max

[honda400exrider]

Alright thank you everybody for your input. By the way, I decided that I am going to take the side cover off. Do I have to worry about anything springing out, or pouring out? Thanks

[nojoke4stroke]

Originally posted by EXDUNER127
Dude I just did that last week, what I did was take the side case off and the end of the bolt was right there in the motor and I pulled it out with my fingers dont go waste ur money on an easy out and save some time it was easy... a half hour max

easy to me is drilling a small hole and sticking an extractor in there not removing 12 or 13 bolts and then worrying about messing up the gasket.if it takes more than 5 minutes then you need to brush up on your drilling skills.easy-outs pay for themselves 10 fold in the long run anyway.they call em easy outs for a reason,they dont call the other way easy case cover removal and gasket replacement.

[ny300exrider]

you have to drain the oil and the gasket will most likely rip so be careful with the gasket and oil will come out if not drained:D

[SUPERFLY 400]

go buy yourself some left handed drill bits or try a small chisel and hammer and tap the edge of the broken bolt with chisel counter clockwise. Trust me it works!;)

[E400X]

I am glad I found this thread. I just snapped the longer bolt on the oil filter case cover yesterday. I guess I am going to try to pull the case off first and if the bolt cannot be taken out by hand then i will try the easy out. My question is, is the Side Case Gasket reuseable or do I have to put a new gasket on when i reattach the Side Case? Also anything else I should know about or look out for when pulling the side case? Thanks for the help.

[UglyMotha™]

Originally posted by E400X
I am glad I found this thread. I just snapped the longer bolt on the oil filter case cover yesterday. I guess I am going to try to pull the case off first and if the bolt cannot be taken out by hand then i will try the easy out. My question is, is the Side Case Gasket reuseable or do I have to put a new gasket on when i reattach the Side Case? Also anything else I should know about or look out for when pulling the side case? Thanks for the help.


99.9% of the time the gasket rips during removal so plan on replacing it

[MNTNMAN]

Just go buy a new gasket and pull the case apart. It will make it 10 times easier. I did the same thing a year ago. I found a grade 8 bolt to replace the broken one with. Now all I have to worry about is stripping out the case, instead of breking the POS bolts that are in it.

[UglyMotha™]

Originally posted by MNTNMAN
instead of breking the POS bolts that are in it.



you know if you guys wouldn't tighten those bolts down with your gorilla strength they would never break, most of you guys here probably take a 3/8" rachet and a 8mm socket and you don't realize just how much you overtighten the bolts the bolts are more than enough quality for there purpose

[White_Knuckles]

Ouch, I can see guys leaning on their wrench pulling those filter bolts down to 90 ft. lbs. I use a drop of anti-seize compound on known tricky bolts, they never give me a problem even on the tail pipe insert bolts. One brand is Champion ( the plug guys) "thread lubricant anti-seize compound". In a small gray bottle around three bucks for a lifetime supply.

Choke up to the head of your ratchet to tighten most bolts never pull down with the handle's leverage.

Never seez is a plus on those bolts you dont want to have break off. Just coat the threads a little and your done and shouldnt have any problems.

Like was said b4 the stuff is cheap and it works

[daiglea]

One of my bolts is striped in the case. Would it be easy to retread it. Would i have to worry about metal from the tapping to get into the oil?

Thanks

[400EXPILOT]

I snaped the same long bolt on the filter when changing the oil also. That was 8 mo ago not even so much as a drop of oil from the cover or the case. I'll get around to it some day.

Its not leaking like a fountain cause the oring seals the cover and the bolts just keep it firmly in place, and thats why you dont have to crank the torque when you tighten it.