LHS Engine Casing Bolt Snapped Advice

[soofsayer]

Yep, nightmare. Set the wrench to 10nm and the damn bolt snapped without much resistance, aluminium rubbish. Would it be because they are supposed to be single use?

Anyways, I am going to try and extract it as is. However, I can see that the bit left in would be proud of the casing if I took the cover off so that might be the way forward if extracting as is does not work. Is there a pandoras box of horrors if I take the casing off, or would it be ok?

And has anyone replaced these alu bolts with something better, I am considering ti from pro bolt?

Any advice on this most annoying issue much appreciated.

 

[Niven770]

3NM + 90 deg is the torque spec. They are stretch bolts. 10NM - That's why it broke.
Aluminium to save weight - price you pay for a light bike - it all adds up.
Take the cover off and you will probably be able to turn it out by hand, or with pliers or mole grips.

You can use any bolts you like providing they are the correct size - I think the longer ones that come with GB engine casing protectors are stainless steel.

They are only supposed to be single use but I've used more than once, just need to be careful.

 

[soofsayer]

Ok, thanks Niven, 3nm is hardly anything.., so yes I have done a very bad thing . Stupidly I was looking at the torque settings for the gb cover bolts when I put the oe ones back in, damn.

So taking the case off wont unearth any gremlins? I noticed that at the top of the cover there is something attached... you can probably guess I'm not a mechanic.

 

[Niven770]

Which cover is it...you say left hand...is this when you are sitting on the bike ?....if so at the top you have the clutch actuator thing (not sure what it's called) and inside there will be a rod.
It should be easy enough once you disconnect the clutch cable but I've never had that casing off. I would just disconnect the cable and remove the cover, take your time and watch what you are doing so you can put it back together again.

 

[soofsayer]

Hi Niven,

firstly, thanks for the posts, helps a lot, particularly when I don't pay attention to torque values, what a muppet.

I have managed to avoid removing the cover you rightly identified above. I noticed the snapped bolt had a jagged break, so with some light pressure applied to it in the hole, it got enough purchase on the remaining piece to gradually coax it out, took about an hour, but I'm a lucky boy.

thanks again.

 

[Niven770]

Nice one...

 

[Burtzeek]

I know this is an old thread but I have just done the same thing, I removed the wrong original bolt and tried to refit it using GB cover instructions of 10nm, of course it snapped. I might have to remove the casing (same side as in this thread) to remove the snapped bolt, but Ive already bolted on the GB cover, accepting I need to buy new BMW casing bolts, does anybody know if the GB bolts are single use?

 

[soofsayer]

The gb bolts are not stretch bolts so they can be reused.

 

[Burtzeek]

Thanks.

 

[Andijoe]

Hi all, having looked into this when changing my clutch plates and then snapping one myself, they're designed to snap easily in case of an off, the thought being that it's cheaper to replace a set of bolts (?13+vat from Lind Motorrad) than it is to replace the engine block if steel ones were used. Personally on this occasion, I'd stick to using the OEM aluminium bolts and use a bit of lock tight on the threads for extra peace of mind, but that's just me. On another note, I've quite enjoyed taking her bits when I've needed to and it's not as daunting as I 1st thought. (Gen 1 2010 S1KRR Sport)

 

[Burtzeek]

It looks like Im going to have to remove the casing to get at the snapped bolt, is there anything I need to watch out for when I do?

 

[Andijoe]

Hi Burtzeek, I've personally not actually removed the LHS casing so I don't honestly know what's behind it but all I would say is that if you're going to do it, take pics along the way so that you can refer back to them if needs be, and sorry for stating the obvious.

 

[soofsayer]

It looks like Im going to have to remove the casing to get at the snapped bolt, is there anything I need to watch out for when I do?

Have you searched the service DVD, maybe the procedure is listed, maybe some help?

 

[Burtzeek]

Hi Gents, thanks for your help, I called in at Allan Jefferies this morning and bought some new bolts, the parts man who sold me them used to be a mechanic, he said there were no surprises when removing the casing so i should be ok.

 

[fast_ryan]

LHS Engine Casing

Removal is easy but make sure that you torque the OEM bolts exactly to specification when refitting it.

 

[Burtzeek]

Update. I managed to remove the broken bolt and get the casing back on and torqued down but now I have a slight oil weep from the joint, does anybody know if BMW use some sort of joint compound? Any other suggestions?
Thanks

 

[soofsayer]

Yes it's a sealant around the edges of the casing when they are assembled. Don't know exactly what compound.

 

[Flyingscotsman]

Not sure what BMW use, but I used Granville instant gasket on a weeping bolt on the RH casing when fitting sliders.

 

[Burtzeek]

Thanks Guys, I've booked it in at Allan Jefferies for them to sort.