Posts Tagged ‘craftsman bolt extractor’

This article is a continuation in series of posts that start here.  The post preceeding this on is here.

Having competed the tasks in the previous posts we’re ready to get the what started all of this.  Removal of the cylinder heads.  Each head is secured by 9/16 bolts, 5 bolts per head, the overhead oil return line on the rear head, and a cross-over line line between the front and rear heads.  Loosen both sides of the cross-over line between the heads. and both ends of the read oil return line. 

It is usually not practical to get the head bolts with a ratchet.  You need a GOOD, TIGHT FITTING box end wrench.  For the rear head you will need either a 9/16 “brake” wrench (shaped like a U) or one bent enough to clear the starter housing area of the primary cover.  This tool is for the back left head bolt on the rear jug.    It’s a bitch both on and off. 

For the other bolts, If you have a six point box end, use it whenever possible.  It can’t hurt to loosen the bolts in a star pattern.  We’ll start on the front head.  Here all five bolts are pretty easy to get to and remove.  Once they are all out you can carefully lift the head from the cylinder and remove it from the bike.  Set the head aside for now.

The right rear head bolt cannot be removed from the cylinder without loosening the cylinder base bolts and lifting the cylinder enough to allow the bolt to drop out.  Remember that when re-assembling!  Take a deep breath and commence to remove the rear head.  In my case this involved a rounded bolt head.  I didn’t know how I was going to get the sucker out but thanks to Craftsman Bolt Extrator in 15mm and a universal joint I managed to twist things just right and got it loose!  These tools are amazing!  Must have.

When I got to the notorious back left head bolt I was pretty surprised to find it quite loose.  It came out pretty easy and revealed that it was likely the cause of the blown gasket.

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