Cylinder head cover

[davidh8462]

I have snap one of the cylinder head cover bolts. I don't see any oil leak as the other 3 bolts are secure. I am thinking to just removing the remaining 3 cylinder bolts go to the dealer and get a new bolt and put it back together. I am hoping that it is just that simple. Am I missing something or am I on the right path? Thanks in advance for thoughs or ideas.

[towerworker]

I would suggest removing the other three and examining the broken bolt. Is there enough shaft exposed to where you can get hold of it with something like vise-grips and removing it? If it's snapped off flush with the head you have a bit more effort required to drill it out and use something like an easyout to remove it. After that the repair would be easy.

[davidh8462]

the two bottom bolts are broken off just below the surface. I have never used an easyout to remove a broken bolt. How difficult of a job is this??

[Dr. Strangelove]

and it will weep oil

[davidh8462]

this sounds bad

[Dr. Strangelove]

and +1 on Towerworker

It's not a life changing experience, but needs attention.

Maybe a torque wrench should be on your to-buy list?

[Dr. Strangelove]

and an aside...
tightening those bolts is a bit of an art. You will feel like you should tighten further. But don't...Your could break one off...but you know that
A MUCH worse case would be to strip the threads on the receiving end--that can happen, too.

Also, that hard plastic gasket needs to be dry and free of any oil as well as the contact surfaces, otherwise it will weep oil. And be VERY careful that the grommet surrounding the sparkplug is fitted properly, otherwise big oil leak will happen.
Let us know how this plays out, ok? and good luck.

Is your dealer far away?

[davidh8462]

I know a certified BMW tech who does free lance work on the side. Gonna give him a call and have hin take a look at the situation before going to the dealer. As for the torque wrench (craftsmen microtech) got it. I check the final drive and tighten it to the specs in the manual no problem. Did the same with transmission no problem. Then got the bright idea to check cylinder cover bolts. And that is were all of this started with the bolt being snapped as I tried to adjust. I believe now that I didn"t feel/or hear the torque wrench "click" and then "snap". !!! awwwwwwwwww

[johngellis]

I personally would not use an easy out. If it breaks in situ you will be in real trouble.

I have had good success using left hand drill bits. Broken bolt has come straight out every time I used them. Make sure you provide a center. I ordered some on line, but last time I was in Harbor Freight I seem to remember seeing some there.

John

[Dr. Strangelove]

Oh man, How's this for irony?

Doing my 60k service today and the valve cover bolt upper right on left side will not tighten down to 8nm. Not spinning really, but continues to turn. Inspected threads on bolt and receiver. Bolt looks fine, receiver end minimal amount ot VERY fine looking metallic something, prob threads
After a recent trip to Ark I did see a little, very little weeping (a little oily dust, not out of the receptical) in that area and just tightened it down a smidge.

I don't see any leak at this point.

I know I have seen discussed how to handle this, but any pointers in that direction would be helpful

tia

John

[Dr. Strangelove]

OK, It's called a Time-sert

anyone do this recently? any pointers?

Seems like I could do it myself with the right kit?

[Sunbeemer]

The video at the following Time-Sert website makes it look easier than installing a heli-coil:
http://www.timesert.com/html/faq.html
It's important to drill the hole straight, which is easy since the bit will follow the existing hole.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Hey, Rich,

Have you used it?

I ordered one last night from Amazon, should come by the end of the week. My threads are not totally shot yet, at all, so I think the existing hole will guide things straight.

I have been really pretty careful i9n not overtightening those bolts. Go figure...I must've though
The other 7 are fine though.

[Sunbeemer]

Sorry, John. I missed your post. Yes, I installed four Stainless inserts for 1/2" bolts in the deck of our aluminum boat last year and they are still holding great. Got my kit from McMaster-Carr with amazingly fast shipping!

[davidh8462]

Update on cylinder head cover bolts--

--both lower bolts came out after being drilled and using an easy out. decided to replace all of the bolts as they were showing signs of wear. The only problem was the cost of the bolts from my local dealer. $15 bucks each what a rippoff!!! Thanks to all for ideas and comments.

[InvisibleOrdinary]

Going to revive this thread… 

Because, well, It looks like I may have overtightened my head cover bolts on one side - I'm gonna go ahead and blame it on Climber, as the quick-ref said 40Nm - though looking again it's in ref to the 10mm Torx.

Sooooooo anyway. All but one spin fairly easily and won't get up to 8Nm (which is what is indicated when you get into the page on Climber, I see 9Nm above. Not sure which is *right*). One bolt is now tightened to 8Nm and seems snug, so gonna leave it there. So far oil isn't weeping, but I still have some other things to take care of (with the tank) before I'm ready to roll

So, couple questions - If I read the thread right, I can correct this with and Time-sert. Looks straight-forward enough. How did that go, @Strangelove, is this still working? Which kit did you purchase? I'd like to avoid the universal kit cause it's $500, but can swallow the cost of a single kit. Can't find a spec for the bolt either on MaxBMW's microfiche or in Climber, so a bit lost here…

Also, just out of curiosity, @davidh8462, how do you get new bolts through the holes in the cover? I didn't inspect my bolts as closely as I probably should have, but they looked fine, but wondering just in case I need to do that. Same question for just replacing the gaskets around them. Is the gasket split?

And, because I don't post often, I want to say what a serious resource this forum is. Makes me happy to remain a member, even if I only post when I have a problem -)

Thanks

Dave

[Mrclubike]

I think the original posters are long gone
But anyway
The thread repair kits work very well if done correctly
The real trick is drilling the hole straight
Even though there is a pilot hole it can still be drilled crocked and if you do. It will cause alignment issues real quick.

[InvisibleOrdinary]

Ahh, thanks.
I will do some researching then. (and I spoke too soon, there is weeping oil from that side. bummer)

Cheers

Dave

[InvisibleOrdinary]

Gonna post it in here in case anyone else needs this info:

The bolts are M6 X 1.0 course thread. I measured the threaded portion of the bold at 16mm

So the time-sert kit you wantto get is M6 x 1.0 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001JK802K/re ... EWWITZXTMB)
I also felt it worth ordering the tap tool to hep make sure I tap the holes straight - may or may not use it but at $8 felt it worth not having to wait if I felt it was useful. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003W ... UTF8&psc=1)

And then ordered enough 12mm and 15mm inserts (carbon seems fine) to cover me, assuming that the 15mm will work - ordered these from BelMetric since amazon didn't have the 15mm insert for whatever reason.

I haven't done the work yet, so will measure the holes when I open it back up, and fill in the rest when I have more info. And anything else I figure out.