So what do you do when......

BARNEYHYPHEN wrote:

OS73, Just a stab in the dark, and it doesn't answer the gear change problem but when you said it was steel (magnetic) and had black plastic on it...Could it be a broken off part of the cam chain tensioner?

I agree with Barney. That looks like part of a chewed up front tensioner part. They do break frequently. on these old bikes. One good thing is that it is not really a "tensioner" part to the camchain but only keeps a loose camchain from slapping aluminum when you back off the gas and the chain slack goes to the front. You have to pull the head and cylinder to replace this part...mod

Yeah and the part wouldn't actually be called a tensioner, but rather a cam chain guide.

Here is a picture...

So ladies and gentlemen,

After two months of heartache, I scored the proverbial "huge one" and found a 1974 Z1-A 900 that a guy hadnt ridden in 15 years. His wife was going to scrap it and I got it for $200 bucks. It seems that the engine is still in great shape and it turns over freely. After tearing down my 73, I still couldnt diagnose the chunk of metal issue without cracking the cases but two of my pistons have chunks out of the skirts from hitting the crank gears....bad stuff. This past weekend I swapped the motors out and now have a 74 Z1 in what looks like to be awesome shape. The only problem I encountered now, and its a doozy, is the fact that 5 of my 8 studs for the carb holders on the back side of the jugs are broke off. Found that out tonight. Damnit. Anyone got any magical elixir that will help me get those broken studs out?? Any help would be awesome.

Thanks,
OLDSKOOL73(74)

OldSkool73 wrote:

....5 of my 8 studs for the carb holders on the back side of the jugs are broke off. Found that out tonight. Damnit...

Yep, I just bought a 400 engine with one broken off in it too.

What I did was tap a dent into the center of the broken screw, get a tiny drill and drill a hole down the center, then progressively get a little bigger with each drill.

At this point, some people would try a reverse thread remover, but I just said forget it and ordered a tap and "Recoil" kit from mdmetric.com/recoil.htm ...I figured it'll happen again someday...

if they stick out at all heat them with a torch and apply wax. it will usually freethem up for vice grips

Apply wax? Like candle wax? It will follow the threads and lube them down inside?

pumps wrote:

Apply wax? Like candle wax? It will follow the threads and lube them down inside?

Yup works like a charm!

donthekawguy wrote:

pumps wrote:

Apply wax? Like candle wax? It will follow the threads and lube them down inside?

Yup works like a charm!

I tried that some time back and got nowhere except a wax fire. In the end PB Blaster did the trick.

- Nate >>