Replacement Bolts for Transmission Cover

[tomk1960]

I thought I read somewhere in the forum that a member sold a kit of stainless steel hex head bolts to replace the difficult-to-remove Phillips head transmission cover screws. Is this still the case and if yes, who is it?

Thanks!

[Whiskerfish]

Robin has them. Second post in the for sale fourm

[tomk1960]

Robin has them. Second post in the for sale fourm

Thanks for the quick response!

[Whiskerfish]

[Sidecar Bob]

1) The original screws are NOT Phillips head. No Japanese motorcycle manufacturer ever used Phillips, they all use Japan Industrial Standard. Phillips heads & drivers are designed so that the driver will cam out of the head when overdriven, damaging the head instead of breaking it off. JIS are designed not to cam out because the Japanese were clever enough to use drivers with clutches on their assembly lines.
It can be next to impossible to remove a JIS screw with a Phillips driver and if you need to apply any appreciable amount of torque you will damage the screw head BUT JIS screws generally come out easily if you use a JIS driver.

2) I know many people have done so but I never recommend stainless screws in aluminum engines (or anything else aluminum for that matter). Aside from the fact that galvanic corrosion usually results if you put stainless next to aluminum and add water, the commonly available grades of stainless are about the equivalent strength of SAE grade 2 so not really suitable for torquing to spec.

[pidjones]

I'm stripping down a '79 GL1000. The carbs are completely dismantled and I have taken the stator out of the rear cover. So far, not one screw has stripped. I bought #2 and #3 Motion Pro JIS bits through Amazon. The #2 bit is in a 1/4" drive holder on my 1/4" square drive screwdriver handle. I had to put the #3 on my impact tool to loosen the stator screws, then transfer it back to the T-handle that I normally use it on. Never pulled a Philips driver from my box. Oh, but the front cover comes off tomorrow. We will see...

[Sidecar Bob]

BTW: My preference is the M6 with 8mm flange head screws used on later models. They don't collect debris like allen heads do and apparently they aren't expensive if you order them through car parts places
https://www.acurapartswarehouse.com/oem ... 70-02.html

[robin1731]

Going against what some naysayers will tell you people have been using stainless steel bolts in aluminum engines for decades. I have used them in my race bikes since the 70's. Street bikes too. All brands of motorcycles. A little anti-seize and even after several years they come out without issue. Never had one break while torqueing it to the same spec as the stock fastener.

No need to be afraid to buy and use one of my bolt kits for the front trans cover.

.

[CYBORG]

Going against what some naysayers will tell you people have been using stainless steel bolts in aluminum engines for decades. I have used them in my race bikes since the 70's. Street bikes too. All brands of motorcycles. A little anti-seize and even after several years they come out without issue. Never had one break while torqueing it to the same spec as the stock fastener.

No need to be afraid to buy and use one of my bolt kits for the front trans cover.

.

I agree. I have a lot of them on my 78, installed in around 1980. Been in and out a few times since. No problems

[Sidecar Bob]

Its up to you what you do on your own machines. I wouldn't use stainless screws in aluminum and when I do use stainless I always go a size up (e.g. Eccles' fairing came with M6 fasteners but now has 5/16 ss).

[CYBORG]

Th, are are different grades, and composition of stainless. (Just like steel bolts} As always, you get what you pay for. I bought mine from a fastener company , which had a selection of grades,...and prices

[heraldhamster]

in the 8 or 9 GLs I've worked on or torn down I've only seen two individual cases of the internal threads of the Al (with the steel bolts) being so corroded & actually powdered that the bolt wouldn't hold if it had been reinserted.

I've also been using stainless for over ten tears with no issues.

I was told years ago by "an old guy mechanic" that to help prevent galvanic corrosion on stainless in aluminum apply Milk of Magnesia (MOM) to the threads of the stainless bolt. it did seem to help with the sea water adjacent aluminum cases with stainless bolts. I tried it on a 'Wing years ago, but I prefer the copper based anti-seize paste.

in regards to JIS heads, a good, handheld impact driver works wonders if you're not reinstalling the OEM JIS and replacing the bolts with new ones.

[Sidecar Bob]

Anti seize helps to make fasteners easy to remove next time in 2 ways: 1) lubricating to keep moisture out & prevent galling and 2) when there is a concern about galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals (e.g. stainless and aluminum) by placing particles of a metal that is less likely to participate in galvanic corrosion with either of the metals involved between them.

When you are deciding which type of anti seize you should use it is a good idea to consult the Galvanic Series table (below). Metals that are far apart in the series are more likely to be involved in galvanic corrosion than those closer together so if anti seize is going to help the metal it contains should be between the problem metals. In the case of aluminum and stainless, nickel is farther from aluminum than some of the grades of stainless so nickle bearing anti seize would, if anything, compound the problem. Copper is between all grades of stainless and aluminum so copper based anti seize would be recommended. In the case of steel and aluminum, nickle is likely to cause both to corrode so its use would not be recommended and copper, while still possibly problematic in some conditions (e.g. where salt water can catalyze the process) would be somewhat less likely to cause problems.

FWIW, The stuff I have is Permatex "silver grade", which is a blend of aluminum, copper and graphite.

galvanic-series.gif (161.5 KiB) Viewed 190 times

Just remember that, while the anti seize is between the threads, it is usually removed from the exposed surfaces so if water sits on the outside of something aluminum with a stainless screw in it so that the water touched bare aluminum and stainless it can cause corrosion. And it will be more likely if salt is present (like if you go out after the first snow or in the spring before the salt is washed away or if you are near an ocean or on dirt/gravel roads that are treated with salts for dust control).

But stainless or not, I do not like allen head screws in engines. I think they look unsophisticated when compared to the M6 with 8mm head screws and the recesses in the heads definitely make keeping them clean a lot harder.

[SnoBrdr]

I thought I read somewhere in the forum that a member sold a kit of stainless steel hex head bolts to replace the difficult-to-remove Phillips head transmission cover screws. Is this still the case and if yes, who is it?

Thanks!

Very easy to get locally.

[CYBORG]

that would be Robin 1731