{"id":460,"date":"2012-07-28T16:48:00","date_gmt":"2012-07-28T20:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kz750twins.com\/?p=460"},"modified":"2012-07-28T17:28:39","modified_gmt":"2012-07-28T21:28:39","slug":"stator-bolts-came-loose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kz750twins.com\/?p=460","title":{"rendered":"Stator Bolts Came Loose"},"content":{"rendered":"

No doubt, you’ve heard about my starter clutch bolts coming loose<\/a> on their own.\u00a0 It’s a popular post on this site, so it might even be why you are here in the first place.\u00a0 For that problem, I have always maintained that starter clutches like the ones installed on the 750 (just like countless UJMs) are just little disasters waiting to happen (pins\/boss wear, spring failure, etc.).<\/p>\n

But for this post…\u00a0 Nope, this was all my own fault.\u00a0 Let me explain…<\/p>\n

Back in 2003 when I bought this 750, the stator was no good.\u00a0 It looked good cosmetically, but must’ve been damaged internally; because it failed tests as described in the Kawasaki Service Manual.\u00a0 So, I had a replacement shipped from a reputable vendor, and I’m pleased to report that the stator *itself* is still going strong almost a decade after the replacement.<\/p>\n

But, *I’m the one* who bolted it in.\u00a0 And apparently (though I don’t remember), I must also be the one who didn’t bother with the LocTite that day.\u00a0 Because for the last month or so, I started hearing a rattling in the starter clutch area.\u00a0 Thinking it was loose starter clutch bolts again, I tore it apart and looked.\u00a0 To my pleasant surprise, the *red* (yes, red) LocTite I put in place on the starter clutch bolts (remember, there are no innards in my starter clutches any more) are still firmly in place.\u00a0 So I gleefully re-assembled, and assumed I misdiagnosed the noise (like it might be a cam chain slipper or something).<\/p>\n

I rode it for a couple more weeks until the noise got loud.\u00a0 By the time I got home, it was a scraping sound.\u00a0 Great, I figured a piston ring on the left side had gone belly up.\u00a0 But on a hunch, I went back in to the starter clutch cover…<\/p>\n

…and this is what I found.\u00a0 With the stator cover removed and in my right hand, I looked at the starter clutch again, and again, nothin’.\u00a0 This time though, I actually caught a glance inside the stator cover and…\u00a0 Whoa!\u00a0 The allen bolts were coming out!<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The most frustrating part is that I must’ve looked right past them a month ago.\u00a0 Upon closer inspection, one of the bolt tops was getting rounded off!\u00a0 The other two were loose, but otherwise fine.\u00a0 Note the metal “paste” that had resulted from the wear.\u00a0 Fortunately, it’s a magnet, so the metal paste elements didn’t go far.\u00a0 I was still going to have to change my oil and filter anyway…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You can see the wear and scrape marks where the bolt heads wore against the rotor inner wall (and the tips of the starter clutch bolts).\u00a0 But hey; you can see the starter clutch bolt tips still firmly in place…<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How pathetic is this…\u00a0 One of the bolts (the worn one) was completely loose and pulled right out.\u00a0 This could have been disasterous if it got caught against the rotor!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Oh well.\u00a0 Like I said, I re-assembled with Blue LocTite this time, changed the oil and filter; and after a test-ride all is well again.<\/p>\n

It could have been much, much worse…\u00a0 It could have been like my starter clutch failure…<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude0e<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No doubt, you’ve heard about my starter clutch bolts coming loose on their own.\u00a0 It’s a popular post on this site, so it might even be why you are here in the first place.\u00a0 For that problem, I have always…
Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ignition","category-stator"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t