stripped valve cover bolt hole

[Zachariah Mully]

On Thu, 2008-01-24 at 16:37 +0000, Mike wrote:

> --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "steventbarnett" > wrote: > > > > OK, I did a successful valve adjustment (my second), but when I went > > to tighten the four fasteners attaching holding down the cover one > of > > the holes was stripped (mea culpa, but that's another story). It's > > the forward, right side hole. > > > > Questions is what to do now? I took it to two shops to see about > > putting in a helicoil, but was told by both that they couldn't get > the > > proper angle on it while the motor is still in the bike. Because I > > live in Panama (and don't have access in a short time to a new > > gasket), I don't really see removing the head as an option. There > > seems to be some thread left in the bottom (current fastener doesn't > > reach) so maybe having a new longer fastener made is an option. > > Any other ideas? I'm supposed to leave for a trip in two weeks and > > need to get it running. > >

Don't worry about it. The valve cover bolts are largely redundant, especially if you're only missing one. Plug the hole with a rubber bung, and use gasket sealer on both side of the valve cover gasket. The worst that can happen is that you'll leak a little oil from the valve cover. Z