[Pamiller450]

I broke a bolt off in my clutch cover. I decided I ha to drill it out so I was gonna tap it and put a new bolt in, or so I thought. When drilling the hole out before tapping it I went a little too deep and oil started pouring out of the hole.

I drained the oil then went ahead and tapped it. When I put the bolt in I put some pipe dope on it and I pray it holds the oil in.

What do y'all think will it hold or should I buy a new case half and tear into it?

 

[Mack450]

Oh man. Honestly I do not recommend buying a case half. Typically you cant buy just the half anyway. They are mated together and 2 different cases dont match together. Your probably going to need to do all new cases...or you could send the whole quad and buy a 700 LOL

 

[Butch450]

That blows! I would try it and see if it holds. Do you think you can somehow plug and weld the hole closed? I would think you can get away with 1 bolt missing from the cover if you had to, not sure for how long though.

 

[GRIZZLY77]

One bolt is nothing! I had two, lol.
Like Butch said -try to weld It. This would save You a lot of work.
If not then there're some epoxies that can seal it for good.

 

[Mack450]

Sketchy ^ lol

I honestly wouldn't be able to live with myself unless I knew it was fixed the right way. Just how I am though....real OCD about that stuff....

 

[Butch450]

Mack he just got done rebuilding the top end on that thing, so he had plenty of down time from riding already this year. Truthfully if it was me I would make it work any way possible till after the summer. In the mean time try and find a case cheap on cl or ebay. Then come winter tear it down and fix it. You (Mack) have access to the shop at work and might be able to knock it out in a few days during work hours with help, but for most guys that can turn into a month long project due to their jobs and family schedules.

 

[Pamiller450]

It would take a good day just for me to tear it down and no telling how long to put it back together. On the top end I was down from October to February due to school, work, family and military. this is my last semester but I have to do an internship.

I might try some epoxy but hopefully the bolt will hold it in.The only down side to this would be an oil change every time I took the cover off. If the halve can be welded I might get someone to just weld in a stud. I didn't have any oil to put back in it or I would already know if it works.

And no one bolt missing will not work for me I have already tried it. I ride a lot of mud and water that one bolt missing always lets stuff in my clutch area. That is why I decided to try tapping it, I'm tired of cleaning the clutch every time I go ride. Then when putting the cover on I broke another bolt off at the top. It's an easy fix though I'll just drill it out and put a bolt and nut on the backside of it.

 

[GRIZZLY77]

On a 700 I bust one at the top and one at the bottom and I used some red grease to seal it just in case. But later I got new inner and outer cl cover from eBay for $35.
Originally I wanted to get a fix-a-thread thing but the cost for the whole kit was like 40 so I have up and bought new cl cover. But that's the 700.

 

[Pamiller450]

I wish it was on the cover side both are in the engine. The cover is a brand new one bc my belt ate a hole in new old one.

Can someone please change title from messes to messed this dang iPhone types what it wants to sometimes. Thanks.

 

[GRIZZLY77]

I know how You feel!
Been there, sort of!

 

[El Dee]

The evel one

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When the welding gets tough they seek.....El Dee!!!!!!!!!

3 options and they have all been posted....New cases....weld that sukka...or epoxy...The epoxy will hold fine if properly applied....prep will be the same as welding so I'd probably weld it...Gonna be some painful tear down for sure...As I always say though.....The only ones who have no worries about effin' things up are the ones who never do a damn thing...Sooner rather than later things are ahh gonna get effed up...Fixin it...now that's where the experience comes from....Hoping the pipe dope gets you buy for a while....I've some Aviation Grade Permetex that may just seal it...Car Quest has it...The hole should be 100% clean and free of oil for best results....Good Luck thedevil1

 

[GRIZZLY77]

......Ditto!!!

 

[Pamiller450]

Hmmm permatex glad you mentioned that. I will get some from my unit (i work on helicopters in the guard i have drill thus weekend) this weekend and try it if the dope don't work.

I also thought about trying to find a plug that would fit in there. One that is same threads and about 1/8 in long with an allen head, put it in as far as I can and put bolt in on top of it.

 

[GRIZZLY77]

You might try that with the Teflon tape, just to be sure.

 

[El Dee]

The evel one

It's Permetex Thread Sealant w/Teflon....Little white bottle with a brush in the cap....So far it's not failed me and it just may stop that leak on its own....Lots of engines have holes tapped into water jackets and oil galleries often have tapped holes too allow cleaning brush access....I'd give the Permetex a go should the "dope" fail....The Perm likely will hold up better against the oil...Not like it's pressurized oil so....Again Good Luck!!!!!thedevil1thedevil1thedevil1

 

[DizGrizz]

Uuuugh! Man, I hate when I do stuff like that...and, as El Dee says, we all have...or will.

I'm having some difficulty seeing exactly where the hole is because of the sun glare. Can you point out the place you drilled in on one of these parts views?
OEM Parts Yamaha GRIZZLY 450 (YFM45FGW) 2007 CRANKCASE COVER 1 - Cheap Cycle Parts
OEM Parts Yamaha GRIZZLY 450 (YFM45FGW) 2007 CRANKCASE - Cheap Cycle Parts
I'm figuring its in the larger crankcase half (#1 in the second parts view).

I have a couple of ideas but really need to think about it with the proper position in mind.

One other thought:
Since you drilled through into the oil bath and then tapped the hole, you almost certainly have metal shavings in your case and they are not likely to move toward the drain hole with any great speed. I'd be tempted to pull the drain plug, pull the bolt back out, and run a bunch of diesel or similar low-flammability solvent through the hole in an effort to flush out as much of the shavings as possible. Maybe a bit through the usual oil filler hole also just to hit it from as many angles as possible.

 

[Pamiller450]

It is the bottom bolt that goes through the metal clutch housing and the clutch cover right next to the drain plug on the cover. It is where one of the two longer bolts go. Right were 32 is pointing on the second link into engine.

As soon as I punched through oil came pouring out. I went ahead and tapped it while the oil was still coming out so I don't think much went in the engine. And I am getting a magnetic drain plug too.

 

[WyoGrizz]

The permatex will hold just fine. Make sure you REALLY clean the hole good. Apply lots of permatex to the bolt and tighten. Then let it sit for about 2 days before you add the oil. I'm a Diesel Mechanic and we use it all the time when putting in trans temp sensors or oil temp sensors with no leaks.

I would pull the bolt back out and the oil drain plug and then pour about half a quart in through the fill and let it drain over night. That way you will get the shavings out.

 

[Grumpy]

:crying: Dang! Just plain dang!

 

[DizGrizz]

Well, the magnetic drain plug will likely help and maybe even the magnet on the oil filter mod that The Modfather did.
Of course, any case metal will be aluminum/magnesium and won't be attracted to a magnet. Hopefully the oil running out kept most of it out of the case.

So, here is my idea for a long-term fix (I'm hoping that the thread sealant will get you through the rest of the season). This also assumes that you threaded the hole all the way through (or can) but it requires no welding and could be done at home:
a. Pull the case apart (again...arrrrgh).
b. Clean the snot out of the hole with solvent to make sure it is 100% clean and dry. This will undoubtedly require cleaning the whole case half but it allows you to verify that there are no metal shavings left in the case.
c. Get a flange bolt of the proper size that will thread in to the hole. This bolt will be placed into the hole from the inside and should be as long as possible but not so long that it interferes with the cover bolt coming from the other side (outside).
d. Thread the bolt into the hole from the inside and verify that the bolt head does not interfere with anything in the engine...you might have tons of room or it might be really tight...or just flat impossible. If the inner face where the bolt goes in happens to be flat where the head of the bolt actually snugs up all the way around (yeah, like that'll happen), you could add a copper washer that will fit on this inner bolt to help seal things but be sure to check clearance with the internal workings with the washer on it.
e. If the bolt does not interfere with anything inside the case, mix up some epoxy (like JB Weld), cover the threads of the bolt with it, and then screw it in and snug it up. Between the bolt and the epoxy, you should have a seal that will last forever.

If you find that the bolt head does interfere with something or, you just don't want to take the chance, you could cut the head off of the bolt and, using a hack saw, die grinder, etc. cut a slot in the end of it to act as a screwdriver slot. You could then do the epoxy thing but screw the bolt/plug in with the screw driver until it is flush on the inside.
Either way (full bolt or just threaded part with screw driver slot), I'd do a dry fit on that to make sure the cover bolt still goes in far enough to snug down the cover before doing the epoxy thing.