Augh! Snapped off a bolt for the oil filter cover!

Ok so everything was working fine, but, being an idiot, I went out and bought a new torque wrench that would cover the range for the oil filter cover bolts and the drain bolt. Went to tighten up to spec'd torque and... Snap on the top one. Nothing's fallen apart yet but what are my options here? How do I extract that bolt? I'm truck and trailer-less so getting to the dealership not really an option. I somehow suspect riding it down (20 miles for closest option) is unwise.

D'oh!

Yep.

I did this too. <-- clicky

Those bolts are very very soft.



I removed the oil cover and there was enough of the snapped bolt sticking out to get vice grips on it and I could spin it back out that way.

I'll try that. Was the consensus in the thread that M6x1.00 hex bolts would suffice as replacements/upgrades?

Sigh. That oil change only got me around the block, now I do it again.

Try a small left hand drill bit

Home Depot is open late and amazingly someone helped me find a handy dandy screw extractor and replacement bolts. I'm back in business and the torque wrench is put away never to bother me again for such delicate jobs.

Thanks for the tips.

How about trying a small-handed torque application.

although specified there are very few fasteners on a bike that actually require accurate torque applications.

They are usually limited to the cylinder, head and valve train components.

Most everything else can be subjectively torqued to a "hand feel" calibration. There should be a PM check on the remainder such as the sprocket and "active" components (e.g. spokes do not have torque requirements but can be checked as a simple function of a 'tuning fork' assessment whereby you spin the wheels and 'ping' the spoke. If it does not 'resonate' and sounds 'dead' / 'dull' and resonate sounding all the same> it is loose)

You won't have a torque wrench all the time. Get the feel and use that as your gauge.

I love torque wrenches, but they can get you into trouble. You have to make sure that you keep your inch/lbs and ft/lbs seperate and make sure that you have the right torque rating for that bolt. I have three torque wrenches and not one of them will work for the 50 inch/lbs (I am guessing here) for the small cover bolts and the 7.2 ft/lbs for the oil drain bolt. Their ranges are too different to work properly.

oil filter cover bolts: 7.2 ft•lb

And just because your wrench says 5-80 ft/lbs, does not mean you should assume it is at all accurate down low. I had mine set to 5, but clearly the wrong tool for the job.

Aside from a moment of panic, not too bad though - new hex bolts $.60 and the screw removers was $2.50 or so. I wasted one set of cheap Wal Mart oil and about an hour of high heart rate. Cheap lesson, all told.

motokid wrote:

oil filter cover bolts: 7.2 ft•lb

The spec is that low? I will change my post to reflect this value. With a long wrench it won't feel like you have tightened it at that spec.

That spec. is typical for the 6mm bolts.

I quit using a torque wrench for stuff like this many moons ago when I had my own episode to deal with as a teenager.
Now, I rarely use one, and when I do, it's for things like a cylinder head.

You'd need a tiny torque wrench that's specially intended to handle only the itty-bitty stuff if you insisted on using one. :)

My small torque wrench is 20-250 inch/pounds. That's 1.7-20.8 foot/pounds. (0.083333 conversion)
My big torque wrench is 50-250 foot/pounds.

Currently I'm looking for a 10-80 foot/pounds torque wrench.
Torque wrenches are usually +- 4 %

It's definitely better to use the right size, not at the very end of the range.
Years ago I snapped a clutch bolt on a GS1100E using the lowest setting of a too-big torque wrench.

I did the same thing and snapped bolt off. drove it with 2 bolts to the shop and they got it out but it cast me $50. Shit happens but they really make those bolts soft. lesson learned.

Thanks for posting, everybody. I'm going to be EASY on those bolts.

Sarah

I just did an oil change and all I do is take the ratchet and snug them up a little, no more. So far, no broken bolts.

I just snapped one of mine with a torque wrench - I wish I saw this thread earlier. That's the last time I use it on any small bolts.

No torque wrench. Just used a mini rachet set. Tightened them snug. Then gave them about 1/8th of a turn more. That is it. No issues.

Mike

deerHater wrote:

My small torque wrench is 20-250 inch/pounds. That's 1.7-20.8 foot/pounds. (0.083333 conversion)
My big torque wrench is 50-250 foot/pounds.

Currently I'm looking for a 10-80 foot/pounds torque wrench.
Torque wrenches are usually +- 4 %

It's definitely better to use the right size, not at the very end of the range.
Years ago I snapped a clutch bolt on a GS1100E using the lowest setting of a too-big torque wrench.

I just read the fine print on a torque wrench: accurate to about 3 %, ONLY in the 20-100 % range of the torque wrench.
Definitely do NOT use the lowest end of torque wrenches.

is the amount of torque I can apply with my wrist on an allen wrench held completely in the hand. Probably with a little more grunt I can get to 7. Any application that has an O ring in it is dependent on the O ring, not too tight bolts.

db

Torque wrenches need to be calibrated and there can be quite a difference in readings between two identical wrenches.
They also can lose calibration.

I just did exactly the same thing... doh! I need to spend more time on the forum!