So just how long HAS it been?

[RagnarD]

As the proud new owner of a 93 that has been garaged for the past couple years, I wanted to get an oil change knocked out ASAP. God only knows how long it's been. Put some Gunk Motor Flush in, ran it for about 5 minutes, drained it. So far so good.

Went to take off the filter. Nah ah ah. Not budging. Put some muscle into it, felt it start to move, then realized it was just rounding off the bolt. $#@! Got a better fitting, 6 sided socket, used a mallet to hammer it on the now-deformed bolt. Got it seated real well and.... nope. Just how damn long has this thing been on here? I'm starting to think they put actual dinosaurs in the case and just let time and pressure do their thing! WD-40, Liquid Wrench. Nada. My buddy got a pipe to put over the end of the socket wrench for some real leverage so we gave it our all and successfully rounded off the bolt some more. @#%*&$!! :bang head:

So, while I'm open to other suggestions (heat, lube, etc), my thought is this: does anyone know if the filter cover itself (or any internal parts) are threaded? Because if not, my plan is to drill off the head of the bolt, at which point I can remove the filter with the rest of the bolt still stuck in the engine, and then use other methods to persuade the rest of the bolt to come out. Replace it with a new one and we're off to the races.

Any ideas if that will work? Any less painful suggestions? I don't have any welding skills or equipment and REALLY don't want to trailer it to the ship just so they can weld a bit onto the bolt head to get it off. But if anyone has anything better, I'm all ears.

Thanks!

 

[Buster Hymen]

Welcome to the extra soft bolts that Yamaha uses. The bolts on the carbs like to strip easy also, so make sure you have the proper size screwdriver when you work on them. You can cut the bolt but the cover and bolt are sold as one part. Make sure you can get a replacement before you do this.

 

[one2dmax]

Try tightening it first and even wacking the head with a hammer to shock the threads and loosen it. When you do get it off you can remove the bolt (which is a special hollow bypass bolt) and have an old socket welded to it. That way you can just take your ratched out and use it anytime without worrying about it not coming off.

Sean

 

[robsplatf4]

COO also sell the adapter to convert it to a newer external type filter. But, you will have to modify the brace or get a later model one.

http://www.cycleoneoff.com/vmaxpag2.html

 

[RagnarD]

I like the idea of welding the ratchet to it, but I still have to get it off first.

I would assume the bolt (and cover if they're sold together) aren't that expensive, so as soon as I can line one up I think that's the route I'll take. Thanks all for the suggestions.

 

[RagnarD]

...and while I'm at it, does anyone have any online suggestions for small parts like that? Or am I better off at my local dealer?

Thanks!

 

[RagnarD]

SUCCESS! After exhausting all other options, I broke out the drill. 2 drill batteries and 14 different size bits later CLINK, the filter cover popped off and the rest of the bolt came out easy after that. No damage to the cover, but the bolt is toast.

I would NOT recommend it though, it was a pain in the arse, there's potential to damage the filter cover in addition to the bolt, obviously you have to replace the whole bolt, all your bits get covered in oil, you have to clean everything carefully before you pull the final bolt/bits off unless you want to risk metal shavings in the engine (I didn't know which was the intake), etc etc. Still, it was kind of fun to watch the thing vanish. :clapping: