:x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x  :x

     
   


God that was stupid!

I had lost the two bolts that were attaching the gas tank to the bracket that also attaches to the frame. The bolts on the gas tank side of it. So today I do the right thing and go buy some... two of them from suzuki dealer = 8$    Ok, fine.

I put em on, and go home.. on the way home I think "you really should put some loctite on those screws before they vibrate off again" .... ok, so I stop at walmart, get some Loctite and go home. Once home I take off the tank, and the bolts... put some Loctite on them put em back on... the last one was feeling tight, I thought it was just the glue acting quickly so I tightened it up a bit more and SNAP! Broke the damn thing... now I got half my bolt in the groves in the tank...  :x

I just put it on and screwed it to the frame.. one bolt is better than none... but now im really  :x  because I'd have to drill it out, make some new groves and get a bigger bolt... and then the bracket would be too small...  :x

Have you tried slotting it with a Dremel and removing it with a Flaqthead screwdriver? That usually works for me when I snap bolts or strip screw heads or whatever else.
Good luck

didnt have a chance to try it... but I had put some loctite glue on it... so I dont know how strong it will bind it there..

I'm sure you'll eventually get the bolt out, but I gotta ask: why the Loc-Tite?  Did you lose the original bolts because they vibrated loose?

Maybe you've got a 2001+ model; I understand that you can get to the tank mounting bolts without removing the side plastics on those later models.  Is this true?

On the '89-'00 models, the side plastics would prevent the bolt from coming out far enough to fall off.  I would think that the same would be true of the seat on the '01+ models.

Anyway, I'm mostly wondering about the Loc-Tite because of the numerous times that I have needed to remove my gas tank from the frame.  And the fact that I have never found my mounting bolts to be loose at all, even without Loc-Tite....   :dunno:

zip-tie that Buddha Loves You

It is possible to lose them, Kerry.  The bolts screw in from the inside, from what I remember.  I never had mine get loose, much less vibrate out.  

Bolts should screw in by hand, for the most part.  If you have to put a lot of torque on them just to get them seated, maybe it was cross-threaded?  Loctite is not a "glue".  It takes a while for it to set up.  Certainly longer than it takes to screw them in and tighten down.  Red Loctite usually takes 15-20 minutes to fully get a grip on the threads.  If you used the red kind, heating it to 400 degrees will make it loosen up.  It will make it much easier to back the bolt out.  Blue Loctite doesn't hold as strongly as the red and lets the bolt be removed with little more torque than it would take normally.

Quote from: glenn9171It is possible to lose them, Kerry.  The bolts screw in from the inside, from what I remember.

The bolts on my '99 are definitely inserted from the outside.  Is this another difference on the '01+ frames?

PROPOSAL for EVERYONE: Consider noting in your "Location" or your signature block what year your bike is.  I certainly can't keep them all straight, but I realize that it's a pain to mention the model year every time you post a question or observation.

the frame is the same,  same mounting bolt locations and everything.

I have an '03... yeah they vibrated loose... they screw in from the bottom... so they fell and it was prettymuch straight down as its right between the airbox and the battery.

The bolt is broken and there is nothing sticking out from the thread... its broken in it, stuck in it.

It isnt the first bolts that had vibrated loose... I also had a tail light allmost fall out and the front fender bolts vibrated loose as well... all on this 2003 model.

think maybe the confusion is because there are bolts that attach the tank to the bracket and bolts that attach the bracket to the frame... correct? the frame to bracket ones are probably the same for all years no? and maybe the tank to bracket ones are different given the different tank and seat and plastics for the later years??? so which bolts vibrated loose? the ones from bracket to tank right?

To get the remnants of the screw out you can try buying a left handed drill bit and a screw extractor.  Sometimes the drill bit alone will get the screw out but I'm not sure if it will get it out with the blue loc tite.  Tell me you used blue and NOT red or green.  Anything but Blue will make it much harder to remove without heat.  If you have a Sears nearby you can try those screw extractor kits they sell.  I hear they work pretty well for home use.  It will be easier to drill if you can somehow manage to center punch the screw.  That way the drill point will stay where you want it to when you go to drill.

something like this

or something like this

I'm not sure if this is the same thing Cam Guy is talking about, but my dad and I had a bolt break in the block of our boat's motor.  We tried tons of things, but what finally worked was a reversed threaded drill and bolt.  Drilled the hole ran the screw in, and as we tightened the new screw the broken bolt just came right out.  We didn't have loc-tite on there, but if we'd needed to we could've put a lot of torque on the bolt to get it out.  Good luck by the way.

Quote from: BadBatzMaruthink maybe the confusion is because there are bolts that attach the tank to the bracket and bolts that attach the bracket to the frame... correct? the frame to bracket ones are probably the same for all years no? and maybe the tank to bracket ones are different given the different tank and seat and plastics for the later years??? so which bolts vibrated loose? the ones from bracket to tank right?

Bracket to tank....

The hard thing is as well, the fuel lines to the petcock are really tight... I havent removed it for a while now as it was so tight I just usualy hold the tank while removing air filter (yeah its complicated)... because the lines are so damn tight on the petcock. I will probably have to drop by my father's place as he has alot more tools than I do and an extra set of hands would be nice. Worse comes to worse, I might leave it as is and when I'd get my valve clearance checked and carbs synched I'd just let the shop deal with it (might be expensive though with clearance check and synch on same bill   )

Quote from: 70 Cam GuyTo get the remnants of the screw out you can try buying a left handed drill bit and a screw extractor.  Sometimes the drill bit alone will get the screw out but I'm not sure if it will get it out with the blue loc tite.  Tell me you used blue and NOT red or green.  Anything but Blue will make it much harder to remove without heat.  If you have a Sears nearby you can try those screw extractor kits they sell.  I hear they work pretty well for home use.  It will be easier to drill if you can somehow manage to center punch the screw.  That way the drill point will stay where you want it to when you go to drill.

something like this

or something like this

yeah... i'll see if my father has a kit like that before I go spend 20-40$ on one.

Quote from: gs500fromnbthe fuel lines to the petcock are really tight... I havent removed it for a while now as it was so tight I just usualy hold the tank while removing air filter (yeah its complicated)... because the lines are so damn tight on the petcock.

Sounds exactly like the first few times _I_ had to lift the tank.  Those tight hoses were frustrating!

Maybe this post will help.  If not, I can try to take a couple pictures....

If you've tried pulling on the hoses you've been working against yourself.  But after the hoses have been off a few times they get significantly easier to manage.