Clutch Cover bolt stripped , Leaking Oil

[zach_507]

Hi. I have a 2009 KTM 150sx. I do a lot of enduro riding, and today I was going up a hill and didn't make it, so I leaned the bike over to the uphill side. No big deal, just turn the wheel and hop on and ride down. When I went to get back on the bike, I noticed a very large pool of oil on the ground. I couldn't diagnose the problem in the woods, but when I got home I noticed that one of the water pump cover bolts had oil on it. It was loose, so I got a socket without the ratchet and tried to finger tighten it first. It was stripped. Then I tugged on it a little bit, and the whole bolt came right out with the case threads still on it! Really shocked me. I don't think I did that while I was in the woods, but who knows I just got the bike, but I don't think that it was like that because I've had it for about a month now with no problems. So now what to do. I don't think there's a way to rethread it, so I'm guessing I need a new clutch cover. Really bummed. If there's any way to do it without a new case, let me know. Also, do u think water got in there and there's a risk of rusting in my gearbox?

[YZPaGuy]

Just take the bolt to a hardware store and get a heilicoil for that size bolt. Easy fix

[zach_507]

Ok thanks for the info!

[S.O.A.N.Z]

any pics ?

[zach_507]

How do I upload the picture, all my phone does is put up a link to click on

[zach_507]

 

the first picture is where the bolt came out from the water pump cover. The second picture is the threads that were still in the threads on the bolt when I pulled it out.

 

[Madmike84]

could helicoil or find the next size up thread size and drill and tap the hole. you can get packs of drills and taps pretty cheap.

[zach_507]

What exactly is helicoil? I know how to drill and tap but didn't know if that would be ok to do to the cover.

[S.O.A.N.Z]

Looks like that is the old Helicoil

[Shhhh]

Midge is correct, that is a failed helicoil.

[zach_507]

Midge is correct, that is a failed helicoil.

What is a helicoil?

[Madmike84]

http://www.repairengineering.com/helicoil.html

 

Instead of tapping, with a helicoil you just drill a hole and insert the coil that has threads already in it. They are actually really strong. I had to helicoil my spark plug hole. Previous owner stripped the hole.

 

And it's not going to hurt the case is you tap.

[Shhhh]

5 minutes ago, Madmike84 said:

http://www.repairengineering.com/helicoil.html

 

Instead of tapping, with a helicoil you just drill a hole and insert the coil that has threads already in it. They are actually really strong. I had to helicoil my spark plug hole. Previous owner stripped the hole.

 

And it's not going to hurt the case is you tap.

You still have to run the tap and thread the helicoil in.  The problem here is you drill an oversize hole for the helicoil, so the only option right now is to oversize the hole, and go with the next size up.

[Shhhh]

53 minutes ago, zach_507 said:

What is a helicoil?

A thread insert, they aren't that difficult to do, however where your issue is it might be best to have someone who has done it before help you if it's your first time.  I'm pretty sure that bolt goes all the way to the center cases, which is where the threads are.  You will need to remove the water pump cover, and likely the inner clutch cover to get to it.

Edited June 8, 2017 by poldies4

[zach_507]

Ok that's what I'll do. Thanks for the advice

[91kdx25088]

use a time sert, a helicoil already failed once.

[150_oldtimer]

Basically, someone stripped it before you got it, installed a helicoil, which has now failed. If people would actually look up the torque values for the bolts and use a torque wrench, less stuff would get stripped out. The torque values on fasteners for aluminum motors are shockingly low.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[subxero]

like others have said, looks like it was already Helicoiled which sucks for you.  Sometimes with the 6mm threads that are so common on these bikes you can just tap the old stripped hole out to 1/4"   1/4" is just the slightest bit larger than 6mm so it is easy to try and doesn't really mess anything up any more as you don't have to drill any bigger like with a helicoil.  But since a helicoil had already been done you can't tap the hole to 1/4" 

[Ndrorder]

Excuse going against the crowd, but I think those threads are just threads. If it were a helicoil, the wire cross-section is diamond shaped. The cross-section on that would be triangular. A helicoil, being a spring steel is difficult to unwind. I'll bet that piece would break fairly easy if you tried to unwind it.

The choice to helicoil or drill and tap for next bolt size should be based on the size of drill that will be needed to get a good set of threads. Choose the method that uses the smallest drill and thus the least impact to the parent material. The next bolt size may not necessarily be metric.

[Shhhh]

1 hour ago, Ndrorder said:

Excuse going against the crowd, but I think those threads are just threads. If it were a helicoil, the wire cross-section is diamond shaped. The cross-section on that would be triangular. A helicoil, being a spring steel is difficult to unwind. I'll bet that piece would break fairly easy if you tried to unwind it.

The choice to helicoil or drill and tap for next bolt size should be based on the size of drill that will be needed to get a good set of threads. Choose the method that uses the smallest drill and thus the least impact to the parent material. The next bolt size may not necessarily be metric.

Good advice, but man, that sure looks like a trashed helicoil to me.  

 

OP, does it just fall apart when you twist it, or does it maintain it's shape?