Hey guys,

I picked up a 1994 project and one of the previous owners over torqued the camshaft bearing bolts. http://www.ronayers.com/Fiche/TypeID/26/Type/CYLINDER_HEAD/MakeID/2/Make/Suzuki/YearID/35/Year/1994/ModelID/6446/Model/GS500E/GroupID/268554/Group/CYLINDER_HEAD part #4. I managed to get it out, but the aluminum threads of the head came out with it. Anyone know if it will be alright to re tap it with a larger size, or is the head toast?

Thanks!

I think retapping would be OK. However there is a guide sleeve in there. Might be better to go with a heli-coil so you can stick with the same side bolt.

Others can chime in here with their experience with this.

Go for it! You nothing to lose and everything to gain, right? Do it carefully and use good quality materials. Have an experienced mechanic do it for you if you're shy about doing it yourself. A good heli-coil kit is only a few bucks, and will be as strong as new if done right.

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Go with a helicoil.  Going a size bigger will cause issues with the dowel pin as adidas mentioned.

Great, thanks everyone for your replies. I was worrying that the larger hole might compromise the head strength, but the dowel pin would probably be the bigger issue here.

Also, after this project is done I'll have an extra engine lying around. Would people here be interested in buying parts off it? The crank bearing is shot but the rest of the engine seems to be ok. Otherwise, I'll be dropping it off at the local salvage yard.

Helicoil and a pull-out test. Go for the specified torque figure + 10%

http://www.ehow.com/how_12108827_calculate-helicoil-pull-out-strength.html

My answer has been sufficiently covered in the above posts