New Owner 97 Sportster Need some Help *Pics*

[colo87]

Hey guys I'm new to the forums and I just bought a 1997 seadoo sportster yesterday for a steal. Anyway I haven't put it on the water yet but i was doing some tests today and when I hooked up the hose to the back of the boat, started the engine, and turned on the hose water came shooting out of one of the bolt holes on the top of the motor. It was a little stream straight up soaking everything. I shut the boat off and noticed that the bolt in that hole was stripped and the head was off. I have taken some pictures so please let me know my best approach to fixing this. I am very handy and can pretty much turn a wrench on anything. Thank you for your time and any suggestions are greatly appreciated.





Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[Dr Honda]

Yup... it's a busted head bolt.

Take the shell off (it will allow you to grab the stud)... remove the broken bolt... reassemble.

That head is mounted on O-rings... so unless if they are hard... you don't even need to buy a gasket.

 

[colo87]

wow thanks for the quick reply...my only concern is that all of the bolts are covered in paint and on there pretty good and I feel like if i tried taking off the others it would require so much force that I would be stripping the heads off of all the bolts and then I would have a real problem. What do you think about using some jbweld or something else to patch up the leak for a temporary fix until I really need to open up the engine for something major? Thanks again for the reply

 

[parrothd]

"so much force that I would be stripping the heads off of all the bolts" You need to get to the gym, they're not on very tight...

Remove all the bolts and remove the head, then remove the broken bolt, then use a Torque wrench to reinstall the head/bolts.. No other options...

 

[scooper77515]

Those bolts go right into the water passages that cool the head, so you really need to stick another bolt in there.

There is just an o-ring under there. You are looking at a 10 minute job, if you don't have a major hassle with freeing up that broken bolt. You should be able to reuse the o-ring, too.

If you are worried about the paint, then after you are done, clean the top and shoot a coat of glossy white rust-oleum over the top to repaint it.

But I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

 

[Jimimad]

I use this stuff at work , in a HIGHLY corrosive and wet environment . It busts thru rust and corrosion like Ive never seen. It may help with getting out those bolts if they have seized up a bit. Putting them back however, most folks use the blue threadlocker.

Kroil.

http://www.amazon.com/Kano-Kroil-Pe..._1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1274468773&sr=1-1

 

[colo87]

cool thanks guys...I got all of the bolts and covers off and now I am trying to figure out the best way to remove the bolt that's in there. Vice grips won't do it and I was thinking about dremeling a slot in the top for a flat head to turn it out. What do you guys recommend. Also should i worry about any little debris that goes into the cylinders while I am doing this or will it just get burned out when I start it up? Thanks

 

[voodoo]

Place oily rags in a couple layers over your workzone, use vice grips and rock it back and forth to work in some kind of kerosene/oil mixture that is commonly called wd40, tapping on the end sometimes shocks the thread root and crown to allow the penetrating oil to reach further into the depth - this is prolly stuck cause the water went into the threads for quite some time. The integrity of the water jacketing is much more important than the white paint on the outside.

 

[colo87]

FINALLY after about 6 hours using every possible method to get the bolt out it's finally out :hurray::hurray: Now when reinstalling everything I'm just going to put blue loctite on all the bolts and torque to 17 ftlbs correct? Thanks for the help with this I can't wait to get her on the water

 

[scooper77515]

I use antiseizing compound, and lots of it anywhere a stainless bolt comes into contact with aluminum. Even if it isn't part of the threaded part.

The stainless and aluminum create an oxide that literally welds the two parts together. Then you either start throwing parts away because you destroy them trying to take them apart, or you start breaking bolts and have to do what you described in this thread.

On my XP, first time I took the carbs off, the smooth part of the bolt that went through the carb base was also corroded and welded to the carb, so that is why I grease the entire length of the bolt.

 

[scooper77515]

And YES to the 17 ft/lbs.:cheers:

 

[colo87]

cool good to know. I definately don't want to have to do that ever again lol...im going to go out and get some right now and put it all back together thanks for all the help i really appreciate it

 

[scooper77515]

Do you have the torque sequence for tightening those heads? You don't want to just torque them starting on one side and working your way around.

 

[colo87]

yup got it all back together as per the manauls specs and it runs great. No more water shooting out of the stripped screw lol and i put that anti sieze on like you said so hopefully that will never happen again. Thanks for the help.

 

[scooper77515]

Cool! Glad you got it all fixed up!!