I have finally got around to replacing the rubber coupling in the alternator. Rick G suggested at our last meet that this was causing the noise at that part of the bike.
Well two out of three aint bad.....two of the three retaining bolts came out .....but the one underneath the alternator refuses to budge. Any suggestions? I have tried WD 40 etc and have nearly bent the allen key in the process.

an impact wrench with an allen socket end, possably a short 3/8 drive extension.

get the key fully seated & don't be afraid to hit it hard with the trigger. The bigger the initial "shock" the better.

Another way.....get some kind of lever, box end wrench or whatever around the shaft of the Allen key. Hold inward pressure on the key wrench and hold it dead straight have a helper hit the lever sharply with a hammer. You need "Snap" to pop the bolt loose.......show twist won't do it.

Another solution.......put a perfectly ended round flat drift against the head of the bolt and strike it a few times with a hammer, then try the Allen key......or a long tapered punch with a small round flat end that will fit inside the allen key recess in the head of the bolt & strike that sharply a couple of times before trying the Allen key again.

This is usually an "all or nothing" deal......you have to be un-afraid to "snap" it sharply (as in an impact twist).....that action pops the bolt loose where a slower more precise twisting action will usually just destroy the socket head in the bolt.

If the socket head is already rounded out you can drive an appropriate size "torx" driver on a 3/8 drive extension, straight into the recess in the head of the bolt, hence providing a new one time grip surface , then hold the extension dead firm & straight in the bold and have a helper give the ratchet handle a sharp pop with a hammer.

Update.....went into town and purchased a 6mm "thing" that fits onto a drive for a socket set handle. I tried that, thought I was getting places and found that the 6mm hex shape inside the bolt does not exist now......it is rounded off..bolt must be nasty. Will now go and try to "impact" it. Thanks for the info so far.

drive a torx bit into the recess..with a hammer & extension.....let it "squish" its own new path into the hole in the bolt.
Snap it hard & quick when you try again with the ratchet....better yet strike the rachet handle sharply with a hammer.


 

You don't mention trying heat and/or cold to break this free.  If you have a pencil torch, try heating the head of the bolt.  It will expand and this sometimes is enough to break the corrosion that is holding it in place.  Auto supply stores often sell spray cans of some stuff that freezes things it is sprayed on.  I've been successful using this on stubborn fasteners.  The very cold temperature shrinks the material and frees the fastener. 
Good luck.  I've been there and I know this can be very frustrating.

I have not got back to it as yet. I did buy a can of freeze stuff made by Loctite and plan to attack the issue in the next few weeks. To get a good angle at the bolt I wil need to remove the back wheel, mud guard as well as the ducktail. Of course there is the problem of securing the bike so that it does not go off the centre stand when I apply the hammer. Stay tuned.

Stan I had a similar problem and ended up getting my Dremel out and using a worn down cutting disk cut a large flat blade screwdriver slot across the top of the bolt. The heat generated also helped to break the seal and it turned immediately. Of course I could get flat access to my bolt.
Good luck
RT

I had one yesterday while Charlie and I were taking some heads of engines and the head had to be drilled off.
That bolt is a bit hard to get at with a normal length drill bit so my option there would be to use a tungsten burr and grind the head away by going in from the side.  A good tungsten burr is an expensive item but so is a replacement alternator.

If you do by chance break the housing PM me as I have one here you can have.

The thing to remember here is not to use force as that can cause problems with breakage just use a bigger hammer.

Just added a photo of a great tool for this job in my earlier post above.

Actually wrote out a new post but it evaporated into the ether when I hit send!

Gee, I hate that.

Regards, Ibjman

RT, where does one get more of those cutting wheels for a Dremel type tool?

ainsjac wrote:I have not got back to it as yet. I did buy a can of freeze stuff made by Loctite and plan to attack the issue in the next few weeks. To get a good angle at the bolt I wil need to remove the back wheel, mud guard as well as the ducktail. Of course there is the problem of securing the bike so that it does not go off the centre stand when I apply the hammer. Stay tuned.

Thing that I learned from people getting their bike on a ferry boat:
Get a nylon strap (or a rope) and tie your center stand to the front wheel.
This will prevent the center stand to fold up and the bike to crash.
Another KISS solution (Keep It Simple Stupid)


Don't forget that any heat/cold treatment will first affect the aluminum.
If you heat the bolt, the aluminum will expand quicker than the steel bolt.
If you freeze it, the aluminum will shrink first. It will put more pressure on the thread of the bolt and this is not what you try to achieve.

I get my Dremel stuff from Bunnings but buy their generic brand replacements (workx or exceed type brands).
Use the wheel on something to wear it down to small size.(eg mother in laws brake cable on mobility scooter) This worked for me mate but C F and everyone else's ideas are excellent. Mine was holding the rear brake cylinder onto the footpeg plate.

I discovered that one of the allen bolts holding the bottom of the airbox was stripped. Due to the placement it was not possible to use a dremel. I purchased a 5-pc BOLT-GRIP™ Base Set for about $25 CDN at my local tool store. Tapped it over the bolt as it grips the outside of the bolt and applied downward pressure while using a 3/8th socket wrench with a short extension. I was worried the bolt would snap but it turned out easily. Of course I had to replace the bolt but would have had to anyway. When I put the new bolts in I used copper anti-seize.

klamityboy wrote:I discovered that one of the allen bolts holding the bottom of the airbox was stripped. Due to the placement it was not possible to use a dremel. I purchased a 5-pc BOLT-GRIP™ Base Set for about $25 CDN at my local tool store. Tapped it over the bolt as it grips the outside of the bolt and applied downward pressure while using a 3/8th socket wrench with a short extension. I was worried the bolt would snap but it turned out easily. Of course I had to replace the bolt but would have had to anyway. When I put the new bolts in I used copper anti-seize.

Excellent bit of kit, highly recommend them. Will sort out everything from exhaust studs to locking wheel nut on your car



IB JMAN

Rather than using a tork key I find that a splined key seems to cut a better seat and is easier to hammer in to a hex bolt

Rather than using copper anti-seize I suggest you use the low strength Loctite a good part of the reason we see bolts seized in our bikes is corrosion in the threads and one of the functions of Loctite is keeping moisture at bay as well as stopping bolts getting loose. Ust the low strength stuff not the high strength because that needs heat to break it free.
Regards,
K-BIKE

How much Loctite will you need to coat the thread fully?

I'm not saying that it's not going to work as anti-seize but it's pricey and is usually sold in small quantities because only a small dab is normally required.

I've used these for years:



The high temperature stuff in the aerosol gets less use but works well on exhaust studs.

The bit of thread you coat is the bit that is engaged with the opposite thread so generally I find one drip is all you need.
Regards,
K-BIKE