I have 71/16 X 16 heli coils in a kit it’s stupid expensive to buy a kit time sert does not have the 16 thread forgot

 

Heli coil it will be then.

The bolt pulled out of the cylinder and then I am guessing never torqued down properly, allowing oil to get around the copper gasket and to the bolt. After that, with 1/4" of threads missing, the oil easily followed the bolt up and out making a mess. Pics for everyone's entertainment:

Clearly the oil was coming up through the head bolt/upper motor mount.

With the spacer removed, oil everywhere.

And witness marks on the head.

 

OK I see the Harley 7/16-16 kits on line. Question from a non-machinist, the Heli Coil is going to be 1.5D, so lets say 7/8" long. The bolt hole in the cylinder measures approximately 1-3/8" deep. Per the instructions the coil is 1/2 turn from the top surface.

1. When drilling for the heli tap, do I drill the full 1-3/8" or just deep enough for the coil?
2. Will the bolt engage with the remaining threads in the cylinder below the coil if I do not drill them out?

Trying to work the process out in my head, thanks.

 

When in doubt cut a couple coil off before you install

remember this 5 threads is a normal nut thread count you will have maybe 8 with the measurement your using

Harley 7 1/6 X 16 - standard USA 7 1/6 X 14 - 7 1/6 x 20

 

Well after looking at it again, my measurement was incorrect. The bolt hole for the motor mount has no bottom, it opens up above the manifold. When I measured I was measuring to the manifold, not the threaded section of the cylinder. I had to put a flashlight below to confirm. Any way, back to approximately a 1" hole, perfect for the helicoil. Ordered a kit from Summit Racing, 45 Restoration not answering the phone.

Moving forward, slowly.

 

Helicoil kit arrived yesterday from Summit, did not come with the drill bit. Will go today to buy a brand new bit for this operation. Copper gasket sprayed with Hylomar and hanging out of the way to cure.

My plan is to do this without removing the cylinder. Bill Harley was nice enough not to put the bolt directly under the frame back bone. Fingers crossed. If I need more room, I think I will try loosening motor mounts and leaning the motor to the right. Really do not want to remove the cylinder, just lots of other work involved that I would rather not get started. Tomorrow we see if my Plan A or Plan B work, trying to avoid Plan C.

 

Angle drill and cut the bit so it fits

make a block and drill with it then drill it to the tap size so your straight doing both to the deck

 

I will start with, DONE!!!! Thanks to John as always for providing advise and encouragement to move forward.

After cleaning everything up Saturday morning, it was clear that the drill body was not going to give me enough room to drill straight. I brought home a chunk of aluminum from work and as John suggested. I had drilled it out to keep me perpendicular to the cylinder, that worked great. But just not enough room. Executive decision, remove motor mounts and lean the motor. Of course I also had to remove the foot boards/straps and exhaust. Biggest fight was the damn cotter pins holding the castle nuts on the motor mount bolts, I hate f-in cotter pins. But after that was all removed, motor leaned over about 5-8 degrees and the drill fit just fine. Quite the site with a ratchet strap holding the motor over on her side, attached to the lift.

Side note: After removing the motor mounts I realized that had I removed the cylinder (as I am sure a pro would have done) my drill press was not big/tall enough. I still would have been going to a machine shop to get it done, so my Executive decision turned out to be the right one for my basement shop.

Well with some learning curve and sweating keep everything straight, we got it done. Brand new drill bit made quick work of the hole, having most of the threads already pulled out helped. Tapped, installed Helicoil and punched out the tang.

Then release the strap and started putting everything I just took apart back together. I wanted to do upper and lower motor mounts at the same time, so I got the motor back in position, put the head on loose, got the lower bolts snug, then the upper bolts snug, then tightened lower bolts, cotter pins etc. Then back up top and torqued head bolts to 55 ft/lbs in a back and forth pattern. Oh boy putting the torque wrench on that helicoil had lots of thoughts going through my head, but then the wrench popped and we were all good!!!!!

Ran out of gas at that point, had a beer and had to get ready to go out for dinner. Yesterday was Mother's Day, so nothing got done. Nothing hard to do now, just get things bolted back on that I have taken on and off dozens of times. So really no stress, just need some time. Exhaust is the biggest nuisance, the rest is just bolts and nuts. Hoping to have her back together for the weekend.

 

Back on the ground Saturday, I did some shake down rides Sunday, no more than 2 miles. Bike running really nice and no oil spraying out!!! Hoping later this week I will have time for a real ride, but I think we are in business. Thanks to JZ for the support. Should have taken a picture outside.

 

I rode the bike to work today, all seems well with the motor.

Glamour shot: