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CCT Bolt snapped

1K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  Youreacapo 
#1 ·
Hey folks, currently at a bit of an impasse; or at least my gumption is ?

A little backstory: I picked a 1971 CL175 up about 2 weeks ago for $1,000. It appears to be all factory with only 5,100 miles on it. It ran and drove - a little rough at first but it did it - for around 30 minutes, then died (loose spark plug cable, dirty/leaky fuel tank and dirty carbs). Long story short, I hauled her home and started stripping her down.

Currently I have some parts on order (carb rebuild kit, spark plug wire & NGK splicers, new SS Allen bolt set (LOTS of seized, rounded bolts)) and have been going through and adjusting everything to spec (cleaned carbs & peacock, set tappet adjustment, new sparkplugs, set points). There's still a good bit to Do, but I'm making progress!

Today, after adjusting the tappet clearance, I moved into the cam chain adjustment. The bolt was a bit hard to get off, but I didn't think much of it - I didn't put a lot of force behind it - and got it to break loose. Apparently, It broke in half instead, turning this simple adjustment into an ordeal.
I BELIEVE I have found a replacement bolt in Holland - hoping someone can reference me to where to purchase one a little closer to home? Will any CB/CL year model CCT bolt work? How exact of a match does this have to be?
Also, curious how much work I have ahead of me as far as removal & and replacement of this bolt is concerned. Will I need more than just the bolt - all other parts are still intact as far as I am aware.

Any ideas, suggestions, or knowledge is much appreciated!

Josh
 
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#3 ·
I did the same thing on my CL160 and ended up having a friend grind back the face, weld a nut to the sniped bolt and twist out.
You can't really notice that a couple of mm has been removed from the fins.
Auto part Cylinder Metal Steel


I plan on just using a normal bolt to replace with a copper washer to seal.
 
#4 ·
It's been a bit, but here's a update.

First off, thank you Steve for talking with me and helping me figure out a plan of action. Your wisdom is very much appreciated!
I went about attempting to drill it out and it wouldn't budge. In the end, I did more damage than good and it seems the hole is now a bit shorn and uneven. Going to cut my losses and take it up to a machine shop on Monday - I seem to lack the skill to wrangle it out of there. Hoping it can be removed and the hole tapped out and rethreaded - that's best case.
Worst case is a new cylinder head, which honestly isn't a huge deal. Middle of the road seems like it would be having to break the tensioner and replace those parts along with the bolt.

Aaah broken bolts ?
 
#5 ·
Matthuds it looks like your friend did you a solid! Sadly I don't think mine is near enough to the face of the head for that to work; the end of the bolt is a good inch or more in the hole. Almost to the tensioner itself.
I was going to drill all the way through, but I wound up getting a little crooked, so that messed up that idea Lol
 
#6 ·
What makes that bolt so easy to break is the diameter has been turned down in the center for an o-ring, just about guarantees disaster when it's over torqued. I wouldn't pay out big bucks for a new one, a conventional straight metric bolt will work just fine with a dab of sealer on the threads to keep the oil in.
 
#9 ·
Update!

I wound up Drilling out the hole as well as straight through the tensioner bar and spring. Since my original hole was a touch off center, I drilled it out at little bit bigger than it was before.
I'm guessing my best option at this juncture would be to just replace the head and the tensioner bar/spring as a set... Basically just crack the whole thing open.

Since im going to have it all tge way apart, I'm thinking I'll start a new thread on a rebuild. Hoping to get some suggestions on what I should do while I'm in here.

Also curious as to why I can't just slide the top end off of the studs? Do I have to disassemble the valves and tappets before I'm able to remove the entirety of the cylinder head? Or am I missing something?

Josh

I'll have to post some pics soon too I suppose! ?
 
#10 ·
Just undo the cam chain master link remove the 6mm nuts under the spark plugs and lift the head off, it comes off in one piece. Put a piece of wire in each end of the cam chain so it doesn't fall inside the motor. How big is the hole? you could maybe run a i/4X20 SAE tap in there and use a 1/4 inch allen head bolt(all that bolt does is keep the tensioner slider from moving).
 
#13 ·
Omg...all that's keeping this on there are 2 small nuts under the spark plugs?! I feel ridiculous ?
I need to get out and work on it again soon. Between a new job and a strained MCL, I've taken some time off. My thoughts on repairing the hole (which isn't crazy big) are to use a helicoil to bring it back down to size. Do you think a 1/4in bolt will fit in the slot of the tensioner rod? If so, that's probably an easier fix. As for the cam chain, it's already off (took me a moment to find that sneaky link it had in it). I went ahead and got myself a set of new gaskets so I can replace the entirety of the motors gaskets, because it seems to me that they are all factory original gaskets, which makes too old for me to trust lol.

As soon as I get back out there I'll be uploading some pictures.

Thank you so much Mike for that piece of vital info on the hidden spark plug nuts!
 
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