found stripped cam holder bolts

I'm not sure if this is recommended but I used a Time Sert for one of my cam cap bolts last spring without removing the head. I left the cam cap on and used as a drill guide. I then took the cam cap off to tap it and clean up the shavings. From what I read, the Time Serts are stronger than helicoils and won't come out as helicoils sometimes do, although people on this forum report success with both. The Time Sert kit is expensive but some guys do all their cam cap bolts at once, so the price of the tool would be amortized over 16 bolts. $60 is still $60 though.

I got the basic 6mm Time Sert at Fastenal for $60.67. I see it on ebay now with a BIN of 59.99 with free shipping.

Just looked in my Clymer and it says...
79 and later 12 ft lbs
73 to 78 chrome bolts 9 ft lbs
Parkerizied (dark bolts) 7 ft lbs

my clymers manual on page 56 starts by saying check that all 16 camshaft cap bolts are properly tightened to 12ft lbs and also shows a illustration of where they are at.it also shows the 12ft lbs in torque specs on page 114?

by the way i have a 2001 kz1000p

My Kawasaki FSM for the KZ1100 Shaft dated 7/6/81 says 12.0 ft-lbs for the camshaft bearing cap bolts, but all the other 6 x 1.0 mm bolts that bolt into the cylinder head are 87 or 104 in-lbs. The general torque specifications for bolts not listed elsewhere in the manual is 52 to 78 in-lbs.

Patton wrote:

Am wondering exactly which manuals contain the bogus information?

Good Luck! [/quote]
My 81 KZ1000-1100 FSM says 12 foot pounds on the cam cap bolts, I striped a couple my self last winter.

yeah it really sucks since i was very careful with everything and the @#$% manual mislead me.this is my first valve clearance check and should have been easy!now i am drilling and taping on my head?dang!!!any way i will have to do it, but i would appreciate any info on kits i should order being heli or the other one

what category are they in on ebay?

I just searched in Google for "time sert metric m6." Amazon and other places have it for about the same price including shipping.

Easy method for cam cap bolts is this.

If the bolts are chrome, go with 8 ft/lbs of torque.

If the bols are black [parkerized]go with 11 ft/lbs.

They started with the blak bolts in 1979 and continued on through the remainder of the KZ and the J series with that type.

Helicoils suck. Time Certs or retap to 1/4-28 SAE.

Be careful. I've seen guys get taps in there and bulge out the tappet bores. Then the bucket won't go down it. It's not that common but IT CAN HAPPEN.

Patton wrote:

scubarod wrote:

thanks i will look into it. but really angers me now that i probably stripped out 1 myself because of 12ft lbs in my book....

As a matter of reference - - -

KHI FSM Mar. 12, 1979 [Part No. 99931-540-03] covering '77~'79 KZ1000 specifies
95~113 in-lbs.

KHI FSM KZ900 Mar. 28, 1977 [Part No. illegible ] covering '73Z1~'76KZ900 specifies
104 in-lbs.

Chilton's Kawasaki 900Z1 Repair and Tune-up Guide 1973-1974, 1974 First Edition covering '73-'74Z1, specifies
105 inch pounds.

12 ft-lbs is 144 in-lbs, and obviously too tight by almost 50% over-torqued, at least for the large Kawasaki fours through 1979 models.

Am wondering exactly which manuals contain the bogus information?

Good Luck!

Absolutely.

I say 95 inch/pounds MAX, and use a small bead of red threadlocker on just a couple of threads near the top.

Werks perfect

I'm not a mechanic and don't know what a parkerized bolt even means, but the bolt is not the problem, it's the aluminum in the head that strips, particularly the exhaust side. I don't know if it's the heat from the exhaust or just material is weaker on that side of the head, but they will strip at 7 ft/lb. Oops don't do ft/lb. They will strip at 84 in/lb the same exact way:) . It's not like the cam caps ever vibrate loose, so why in the world risk stripping? Torque to 60-65 in/lb.