Minor problem has surfaced, unrelated to the ongoing motor transplant.....
I've got basically nothing to do, except organize all my tools, until Grumpy arrives next week with his motor and we repeat the dreaded engine removal on HIS bike, so I thought I'd yank the cylinder head off to see what kind of damage had been done to the valves.
Let me tell you right now, as Ionbeam will testify, those cylinder head bolts are IN THERE FOR KEEPS!
It's amazing that it took a 22 inch piece of pipe over the end of a breaker bar to break those bolts loose. If you're unfamiliar with the torque sequence on head bolt installation, it's an interesting read.
For those who don't have a factory service manual, here's the sequence in a nutshell.....
First you oil up the bolts, slide them in their bolt holes and torque them all down tp 18 lb/ft of torque. Then, you loosen all the bolts up and RE-tighten to 18 lb/ft. With me so far?
Now, after all 10 bolts are tightened to 18 lb/ft a second time, you set aside your torque wrench and tighten each bolt one more time, 1/2 of a complete turn of the bolt, 180 degrees. This puts a serious stretch on the bolts, apparently, so if you accidentally overtighten, i.e., go over 180 degrees after the 2nd torqueing sequence, you dispose of the bolt and do it all over again with a new one. NEVER re-use the head bolts.
So how does this apply to tonight's adventure?
Let me assure you, after those *******s have heat cycled over 46,000 miles, they do NOT leave the block willingly.
And on top of everything, those damn bolts only have a 12mm head on 'em, so you have to remove them with one of the smaller sockets in your collection.
I managed to break 9 of the 10 bolts loose, by bracing a foot against the block, adding a 22 inch piece of pipe over my breaker bar handle for leverage, and damn near busting out 4 year old surgical repairs to hear them
CRACK like a shot from a Remington 22 rimfire. But on bolt #10, my f***ing socket split and rounded the piss outta the head of the last bolt!!!
****!!!
Trust me, as hard as it was breaking the other 9 bolts, an EZOut is NOT gonna break that bolt loose. And the bolts are all "sunk" into the head, so you can't get a dremel cutting wheel in there to slice the head of the bolt off.
Ionbeam mentioned the same problem with his head removal, and said something cryptic like "the bolt head was machined off" so the head could be removed. At least at that point, the remaining bolt should be easy to remove with a set of vice grips.
Fortunately, this little setback has NO effect on the motor replacement. It's just a warning that if you ever have to remove your cylinder head, you probably want to remove those head bolts with an impact socket, specially hardened for tough duty. My Stanley 12mm split like it was made of cardboard trying to get that last bolt out.
'Howie