need do drill out header bolts.. any help?

[makaveli2502]

ok so one of the bolts that hold the exhaust to the headers   broke off on each side.  i cant fit a drill inside there to drill out the broken off bolts so i can thread them and put new botls in.    i thought about taking off the front end so it would be much easier to get to, seems like too much work. can anyone tell me and suggestions on how to drill those broken off bolts out? thanks

[ohgood]

take a couple pictures and post em please. if there is enough of the bolt left in the head, i'd say pbblaster it, and start trying with a punch and hammer. you -can- work the bolt out most likely, after the penetrant has worked enough. might need some heat / cold cycles too. propane torch, map, whatever.

if i broke one , i'd start with the punch first.

pictures will help.

[coll0412]

Left hand drill bit might be your best bet, or you could do the EZ-out method which you drill down the middle of the bolt and then pull it out with an ez-out(similar to a left hand drill bit).

[makaveli2502]

lol i've never heard of a left hand drill bit. i'll try that out. and maybe the ez-out too.  but the biggest problem i have is gettin a drill in there, which i cant cause the forks get in the way and all that

[ben2go]

Worst case,you'll have to remove the head and take it to a machine shop.

[sledge]

Worst case,you'll have to remove the head and take it to a machine shop.

Correct, I couldnt agree more. Bike forums are full of guys asking how to remove broken bolts and studs and are equaly full of helpful comments advising how to do it but its nowhere near as easy as it looks/sounds and unless you know exactly what you are doing and have the correct size drills used at the correct speeds along with a correct size taps to clear out the threads afterwards you will end up removing too much metal and ruining the head....... Bite the bullet, take the head off, take it to an engine recon` co and let them do it. They will have the facility to bore it out accurately along the length of the bolt axis and then fit a helicoil......In this instance easy-outs are a waste of time.....with respect and if you think about it..... if a bolt is that tight it has sheared off using a spanner/socket/hex-key on its head it will be in there more than tight enough to shear an easy-out and it certainly wont move by trying to twist it with a punch.

[werase643]

if it's the lower bolts....take the front end off(pull the fork tubes)
if the upper bolts...pull the engine


i broke one today while working on Diaz's bike...lower one
we pulled one of the fork tubes and drilled it.....a bit off center but then tapped it and anti-seized all the bolts
total pain in the ass...took about hour and a half to fix it

[makaveli2502]

how much do you think it would cost me to take it to a machine shop??

[makaveli2502]

wow i was wondering how to take off the front end, but didnt know how, how do you pull the fork tubes off?  and how far am i supposed to drill in? thanks for the info man

[werase643]

measure how deep the other bolts are and go that far in


easy when you have a work bench..... car jack under the engine and pull the front wheel then slide a fork leg out

[makaveli2502]

alright so do i need to pull off the front fender?  or is the whole front end gonna come off? 

[werase643]

if you seriously asked the previous question.....you seriously need to take the bike to a shop
otherwise you will be looking for a head or an engine in about a week
or parting down a GS in the near future.

i switch to agreeing to what Sledge said....

[makaveli2502]

what i'm tryin to say is do i just pull off the fork tubes and thats it?  i can do it myself  i just need to be told how

[ben2go]

I would suggest buying a Clymer or Haynes service manual.Us trying to guide you without pics is difficult at best.

[pjm204]

I'm going to say, if just looking at the front end doesn't tell you how it should come off, then I agree with above statements, take it somewhere to be done. Taking the front end off will be easier than removing the broken bolt. You don't want to make the situation worse....correction...more expensive. Removing broken bolts in any situation generally requires some ingenuity, some patients, and a few McGyver type skills.

[ohgood]

Worst case,you'll have to remove the head and take it to a machine shop.

Correct, I couldnt agree more. Bike forums are full of guys asking how to remove broken bolts and studs and are equaly full of helpful comments advising how to do it but its nowhere near as easy as it looks/sounds and unless you know exactly what you are doing and have the correct size drills used at the correct speeds along with a correct size taps to clear out the threads afterwards you will end up removing too much metal and ruining the head....... Bite the bullet, take the head off, take it to an engine recon` co and let them do it. They will have the facility to bore it out accurately along the length of the bolt axis and then fit a helicoil......In this instance easy-outs are a waste of time.....with respect and if you think about it..... if a bolt is that tight it has sheared off using a spanner/socket/hex-key on its head it will be in there more than tight enough to shear an easy-out and it certainly wont move by trying to twist it with a punch.

very good point. the abilities and experience of the thread starter isn't always what the replies expect it to be.

and then we're talking about removing the head, or removing the forks, and your point is good again.

maybe the thread starter should RIDE or trailer it to the machine shop, and let them see it, and decide the procedure themselves. mmm, hope you don't go super cheap on the shop

[The Buddha]

Werase is absolutely correct, However you dont always have to yank the motor, the right cyl as you're sitting on the bike - you can get the frame rail off and get it if its newer than 90.
On the left cyl - yea you're F*(ked.
Yes removing fork legs and wheel is a must to get under there etc etc, and you cannot quite put a helicoil in it. On  headers is best to put a timesert or key-insert in. I tapped mine to a slightly larger standard size.
And yes its just about the hardest job I have done on a GS.
Cool.
Srinath.

[cd]

why not get some welded on? seems cheaper and easier.

[The Buddha]

K lets see, headers are steel, the head is aluminum, and its some shitty impure aluminum at that, and you weld it, you never can take off the exhausts ... so I'm gonna guess ... um .... OK ...  ...
The headers are bolted the way they are for a reason ... OK fine, there is prolly a better way to bolt them on ... or atleast use better bolts ... like maybe SS bolts like I did ... but OK else its got a reason.
Cool.
Srinath.

[ohgood]

why not get some welded on? seems cheaper and easier.

did you omit 'nuts', as in "Why not get some nuts welded on" meaning to the old broken studs ?

Might work, if you had a talented welder that wouldn't destroy the head in the process.

I've done it a few times, the heat helps break up the rust/crud that's holding the broken bolt tight in the bore usually. Sometimes, it just breaks off deeper in the bore, and that really sucks, because whatever part of the machine it's in now HAS to come off.

Ah well, it's all fun and games. Use lotsa anti-seize next time.