Replace cam bolts?

[Guest]

Finished with replacing the head gasket, valve seals, base gasket, etc. looking to start buttoning it up. Noticed on past threads the potential of the camshaft holding bolts breaking.

What about replacing all 16? Will this help prevent the braking?

[chef1366]

If the threads are good reuse them. Just remember to tighten the four bolt cam caps first evenly till snug. Do not overtighten.

[loungeguy69]

If someone has been in the head before then pay very close attention to elongation of the bolts. Over tightening of the cam bolts is common. If you see signs of elongation get new bolts. Stretching the bolts will make them brittle and subject to snap.

[psyguy]

those bolts, if they do snap, usually they snap close to the bolt head - so you can always take the caps off and take the broken bolt out with a pair of pliers
however, those bolts are under a lot of stress and on a high mileage bike that one intends to keep it pays to replace them

[Steve]

Also, be sure to pay attention to the locating dowels in the cam caps.

A member of this board (we won't mention mriddle's name) got a very good deal on an 1100E because it came with a 3/4 cam.

No, I'm not talking about a race cam, I'm talking about three fourths of a cam. One of the locating dowels had fallen out of the cam cap when it was being installed, and dropped down, under the cam. When the engine was started, it got caught by the rotation of the cam, then wedged between the back of the cam and the head, breaking the cam at the inside edge of the cam bearing. Surprisingly, we have found no other apparent damage that can be attributed to this mishap, but when I get home next week, the engine will be coming apart (again) so that we can measure it for new rings to cure its smoking habit. Even though it's 25 years old, it too young to smoke.

.

[psyguy]

A member of this board (we won't mention mriddle's name) got a very good deal on an 1100E because it came with a 3/4 cam.

tripple

[SqDancerLynn1]

If you are conserned - Easy just change them for piece of mind

[Suzuki_Don]

Also check the thread in the aluminium head. On my exhaust cam side I had 4 of the 8 thrads in the head buggered. In the end had to fit another head as these holes had been helecoiled before and they had pulled out and there was no more room to do a repair. So make sure you check this area carefully and I would replace the cam bearing bolts considering their low cost and torque to specs. When a camshaft comes adrift at speed it's not a pretty sight.

[Riding Again]

If someone has been in the head before then pay very close attention to elongation of the bolts. Over tightening of the cam bolts is common. If you see signs of elongation get new bolts. Stretching the bolts will make them brittle and subject to snap.

I had suspected that that is what happend on the posts I read about. Not wanting to be a member of the "Broken Bolt Club"---yet, I was weighing in on the small investment. I've joined the "Stripped Pilot Jet" club already and narrowly avoided the Stripped Screw Chapter on this project.

On a car project, I already have dealt with a broken head bolt (I didn't do it, it broke during use, honest. I tore it down to drill out and replace.

I don't care for any of them. I ordered new bolts. Steve, thanks for the insight on the dowel pins. Tonight I'll reinventory them and place them in the head before placing the blocks on.

[loungeguy69]

The cam shaft cap bolts only need 6-8.5 ft/lb of torque. Very easy to drastically overdo if you don't use a torque wrench. A lot of inexprerienced people think you have to crank the **** off these bolts because they're holding the cams in. Hence it's fairly common to see damaged bolts.

A couple of bucks for new bolts is cheap insurance.