I just went out to change the timing cover on my 03 Ultra and in the process I broke off two of the bolt heads with very little effort. Now I have two screws broken off flush and wondering what to do next. Has anyone else had this happen? I wonder what this will cost me to fix. I have the new cover on minus two screws --- any advise on how to fix this?

 

Snap-on sells an extractor set that has acentering device for drilling, I don't think you have a chance with the extractor, but if you can drill out the broken fastener and re tap the hole !! I hope you put it all back together with never seez!!!

 

I had this happen to me on my 03 Deuce and since the cover does nothing but cover up an empty hole and does not need to seal tight to pervent oil leakage I just glued the broken bolt or screw heads into the new cover and let the other 3 hold it on tight. :You can't tell which 2 of the 5 bolts are glued. That was 4 years ago and they are still on their. I put the broken bolts through the cover and glued them in from the back side then mounted it with the other 3 bolts.

 

Do it right and use an easy-out.

 

I agree that it should be done right and all the bolts should be doing their jobs. Easy outs are fairly simple to use but make sure you have a really good drill bit of the right size and take your time.

If this makes you nervous and are really worried about FUBARing the whole mess, check a good indie shop and see what they charge. It really isn't that hard to do.

 

Dremel and small bit, then easy out.

 

The drilling worries me around the chrome and the screws are so small.

 

What MRSR17 said is the way to go. Take the cover off. Use a center punch in the center of the snapped off bolt before trying to drill it so the drill bit doesn't walk around. Drill the hole, insert easyout, tap with a hammer, use a crescent wrench on the easyout to remove bolt. The tapping on the center punch and the easyout with the hammer is usually enough to loosen the bolt and break it free and then they often come out pretty easy. Hence the name easyout. You can also try spraying with WD-40 or another lubricant if you want. It sometimes helps. Drilling out and retapping would be my last resort.

 

Yes...remove the bolts and go the easy out route but be careful that you don't break the easy out in the drilled out bolt. They are a pain to redrill with the harder steel easy out inside the fastener. Use the largest easy out you possibly can to minimize the risk of breaking the easy out.

 

Thanks for the input

Sean