| Author | Message | ||
     Natexlh1000 |
I have a bit of an issue with my uly's bottom headlight mounting screw. It's stuck in the brass nut that's supposed to be cast into the plastic housing. I didn't catch on to this fun fact and turned the screw anyways, causing the brass nut to turn within the plastic. Anyone have ideas for getting this issue resolved without buying a new headlight housing? | ||
| Britchri10 |
Use some WD40 or whatever to free the bolt from the nut & then epoxy the nut back into the plastic housing. Once dried/cured, whatever, reinstall the bolt. Worth a try..... Chris C | ||
| Teeps |
If the screw is not cross threaded. Heat the head of the screw with a soldering iron. Then try to turn. | ||
| Buewulf |
Did you cross the threads? | ||
| Johndb |
Same thing happened to me with one of the brass inserts in the airbox lid for securing the muffler actuator. I ended up pulling it out still attached to the actuator, then removing it from the bolt and epoxying it back in place. | ||
| Ratbuell |
You have a galled screw, not crossthreaded. Steel screw, brass nut...corrosion. Heat the screw head, then let it COOL. This will also help re-set the nut in the plastic before you spin it again. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
My main issues with those methods are the heat would kill my plastic fender. I was hoping to avoid the lube so that perhaps I would be able to glue it back in but it seems to be the best way. I knew it was buggered this summer but it is officially time to try to get it resolved before spring happens. Thanks guys. | ||
| Rwcfrank |
Always add anti seize when fastening disimilar metals. Worth its weight in gold in the long run. | ||
| Thesmaz |
I have the same problem, tried several "fixes"as mentioned about, nothing worked... I need to replace the headlight assy. | ||
| Ourdee |
I would dremel the head off. Remove the brass. Then epoxy in a nut. Just me? | ||
| Djohnk |
+1 on the anti seize ... I use it all over on my Uly. | ||
| Arry |
My bike is real low miles. thought I'd put never sieze on now so it wouldn't be a problem later, but mine didn't want to come out either. Maybe it was assembled with locktite. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Just out of curiosity...why are folks removing the screw? If it's headlight aim, there's not really a way around it and I understand. But if you just need to replace a bulb...remove the pivot screws from the sides of the headlight housing, and remove the screws that hold the beak to the tree, and just leave the beak attached to the headlight housing. (if an XT, do the same but with the bracket that goes from the lights to the tree). Or just rubik's cube the new bulb in without removing anything. At least, that's what I do...  | ||
| Tootal |
Dissimilar metals are better than similar metals. Stainless against stainless is really bad without anti-sieze. Brass corrodes on it's own and will cause problems. As the Rat said, take the fender off with the headlight assy. Put it on the bench so it's easy to work on. Try Kroil or other product. WD is great but will dry. Use something that will work overnight. Put some pressure between the fender and the headlight assy to try and keep the nut from spinning. If it does come out then clean with alcohol. Brake cleaner might work but it might attack the plastic too so use sparingly. Epoxy the nut back if it's still in good shape and use anti-sieze as mentioned. Good luck! | ||
| Ourdee |
Amen the Rat, I can replace the bulbs on my XT without any tools. | ||
| Arry |
definately would be nice to be able to aim/adjust the headlight. Mine felt like it would strip before it loosened. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
In answer to Rat's question: I wanted to upgrade my light bar with some thicker stuff and will need to adjust my headlight's aim after doing so. Cutting off the head and gluing in a new nut sounds like the way this is going down | ||
| Ourdee |
Wear safety glasses. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I'll wear a cup too.  | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I faaaaailed. I carefully ground down the screw head so that it would fit through the beak's slot. Then, I drilled the screw shaft. I thought it would loosen up but it was pretty much WELDED in there. Even after the screw was cut to the bottom, I couldn't get it worked loose. I can't remove the nut from the plastic without destroying the thing beyond use pretty much. Things I learned from this adventure: That embedded nut is steel(not brass as I thought it was) and it is softer than the stainless screw. The embedded nut goes all the way into the hollow part of the plastic housing. I drilled a pilot hole to explore how deep it went. I am most likely able to save it but at this point, I think I will just buy one. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I suspect yours was crossed. I just removed my headlight assembly for an HID install. Nearly 30k miles, 2006 Uly, rarely washed and have never had this screw out. Came right out with a torx screwdriver. The good news for you, though - I've heard the 09-up lights have "better" reflectors and give a better beam spread. Good excuse to upgrade | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Ahh... good to know. Thanks. I don't think it was cross threaded since I never actually took it out when I was installing the light bar. I just loosened it up and slid it forward in the slot. I did notice a fair amount of corrosion on the nut though. Road salt can get right up there I guess. Next time around I'm going to grease that sucker up! | ||
| Xbimmer |
Why not remove the whole nut, then JB Weld in a bolt with the shank facing down through the slot in the beak? Fasten it with a stainless nylon locking nut so you won't need much torque. May work? I'm working in an auto parts distribution warehouse currently and I've discovered this stuff on the shelves, sounds like it may help also. I've always used JBW for similar situations but QB-2 looks more specific: http://www.66autocolor.com/Q_Bond_Super_Adhesive_and_Filler_Small_Kit_p/qb-2.htm We're not affiliated with the above company, just a random search. I might pick up a kit from work for myself... (Message edited by xbimmer on January 22, 2012) |
