Removing the Cam Ladder

[Ugarte]

After measuring the the valve clearances I found the number 3 exhaust valves slightly too tight i.e. .12 and .14, they should be at least .15 mm. In order to replace the shims with the correct thickness the cam ladder and cams have to be removed. The manual says the cam ladder bolts are torqued to 10 nm, which is not much torque. The first two were very tight and but I managed to loosen them. The next one was so tight it sheered off the end of the torx bit. So I bought a new torx bit and tried a different bolt and the same thing happened. WTF? And yes I am turning it counterclockwise. Yes, they are cheap torx bits but they should be able to handle 10 nm.

This does not make any sense. Any suggestions?

 

[warp9.9]

Are you following the correct bolt sequence I remember the manual stating this so the ladder does not warp. Same with tightening it. Sorry this has nothing to do with your stubborn bolts you might havevto shock them and then try loosening them.

 

[EasTexRIII]

I had mine done last year at a Triumph dealership & they told me that it took 2 hours to get one of those bolts out. they said the last shop that did it over torqued them. I know they weren't fibbing because they showed me the bolt & didn't even charge me extra & they sure could have
Correct torque & sequence is important on those

 

[Ugarte]

Are you following the correct bolt sequence I remember the manualvstating this so the ladder does not warp. Same with tightening it. Sorry this has nothing to do with your stubborn bolts you might havevto shock them and then try loosening them.

Yes, I am being very careful to follow the correct sequence. I will try the shock treatment, maybe heating them up a bit with a heat gun might help too. It is cold outside....well california cold anyway....

 

[Ugarte]

I had mine done last year at a Triumph dealership & they told me that it took 2 hours to get one of those bolts out. they said the last shop that did it over torqued them. I know they weren't fibbing because they showed me the bolt & didn't even charge me extra & they sure could have
Correct torque & sequence is important on those

Thanks for that info Tex, it is good to know that I am not the only one with this problem. This is the first time the cam ladder has been removed since new so it must have been the apes at the factory overtightening.

 

[R-III-R Turbo]

They can be a bit sticky with age alright. an impact driver to crack the bind is a great investment.
Same goes for decent torx bits!
The bolt head torx splines should give way before a bit shears..

 

[Neville Lush]

The bolts have probably not been overtightened. They get frozen into the alloy after a while. BEFORE you try and undo them, place a good fitting torx bit into the bolt head and tap ( not bash, TAP ) it down into the bolt. A few sharp taps will break the grip of the alloy onto the bolt. It will then come undone. Sort of like a manual impact driver in reverse.. Hope that all makes sense.

 

[Neville Lush]

Oh sorry R3R Turbo posted while I was on the phone .

 

[TURBO200R4]

shock helps, heat helps( i use a small bottle propane like camping and a torch on it but do not heat red hot)
might get u a good set of bolt extractors that work on the outside of the head of the bolt.

 

[Tripps]

Same thing happened on the cam ladder on my Sprint, sheared the torx bit off.