Alright, let's get to it. This week for our Q&A post I’m going to cover the dreaded process of removing broken off bolts from their stuck fortresses. An outline of the process usually entails saying your favorite cursory phrase, repeating this phrase numerous times, then trying to use an extraction tool to get the broken off bolt out. The success of this endeavor varies widely depending on the situation, however I’ll attempt to share some helpful tips with you in case you find yourself in a jam.

Alright guys, it's time to let us know what you think. We are just a few weeks away from launching the Four Stroke Dirt Bike Engine Building print book and we need to decide on a cover. Which should it be?

This week in our Q & A series I’m going to spend some time discussing solutions for repairing damaged threaded holes that occur when rebuilding your dirt bike engine. Hopefully you never have to use any of my solutions, but if you’ve been around dirt bikes long enough repairing damaged bolt holes is an inconvenient truth. Whether you have bought a used bike from a ham fisted previous owner or you buggered up a threaded hole yourself, let’s take a look at how they can be fixed as well as how damaging threads can be avoided in the first place.

Why do Threads Strip or Get Damaged?
Over-tightening, cross-threading, installing bolts with dirty threads, and installing the wrong bolt in the intended hole are the primary reasons a threaded hole will become damaged or completely stripped. Most fasteners used on dirt bikes are comprised of a steel alloy and they thread into aluminum holes. This combination of hard and soft materials used to fasten joints leaves the threaded hole particularly susceptible to stripping if the bolt is over-tightened beyond the specified torque spec. Since the aluminum is the weaker of the two materials used in the joint, the aluminum will yield long before the steel bolt is affected, resulting in the stripping of the threads.