Crush washer repalcement substitute

T_C

T_C

Joined
Mar 8, 2012
Messages
4,336
Location
St. Louis, MO
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2005 St1300
STOC #
8568
In doing my 88k valve check I found 3 of the 4 exhaust on the right side below spec. Following Marks wonderful pictorial I opted to release the tension on the chain by not pulling the throttle bodies. A much more friendly and less time consuming alternative I thought. If only I was so talented.

Instead of getting the crush washer on the chain tension cover off nice and neatly trapped on the end of my screw.. it disappeared into the abyss.

The local shops are not stocking them... a generic 6mmm crush washer.
NAPA may or may not have one.

So will any 6mm aluminum washer work? Say like a backing plate for an aluminum pop-rivet?
 
nhdiesel

nhdiesel

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Feb 27, 2011
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Rindge, NH
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2006 ST1300
Try an industrial supply warehouse or McMaster Carr. You may have luck at part's stores though- if Napa doesn't have them, try others.
 
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T_C

T_C

Joined
Mar 8, 2012
Messages
4,336
Location
St. Louis, MO
Bike
2005 St1300
STOC #
8568
I tried Advanced Auto, Car Quest, Napa, Don's Hardware and Rural King. At least at Napa they knew what a crush washer was, the rest were clueless. Quest and Advanced had the larger sizes for oil drain plugs.

This morning I called two Honda motorsports dealerships, a HD place and an independent shop, no joy. They all would not try to cross it over with anything. OEM part number only. The Harley guys had to call me back and get more information when the senior parts guy came in later that day.

I spent lunch hour at a local independent shop digging through his bucket of misc. washers. Never found an aluminum one. He dug through some parts stuff and muttering that Yamaha uses them frequently also. He found a copper one and I called it sold.

I'll swap the remaining aluminum one I have from the left side to the right. Put the copper on the left for easier access in case it doesn't work. But I can't really think of a reason it shouldn't be okay.
 
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T_C

T_C

Joined
Mar 8, 2012
Messages
4,336
Location
St. Louis, MO
Bike
2005 St1300
STOC #
8568
Just to make a full fun time and a complete monkey football combination.

I pulled the aluminum crush I had off the left bank and was going to use it on the right bank, then put the copper on the left. Bent a piece of aluminum wire to hold the washer and bolt on the end of the socket. Fed the socket down and in and started turning... felt it tighten a bit... pulled back the socket to remove the wire hook... and there is nothing there. The bolt never went in the hole. So the second OEM aluminum washer disappeared into the black hole and took the bolt with it.

CRUD!

I figured a quick trip to Ace hardware for a replacement 6mm flange bolt. Nope... too late and Ace was closed. Okay off to a big box store. They have metric flange bolts, but not in 6mm size. I purchase a regular bolt and a washer to make a flange bolt stand-in.

Heading home I figure I'll stop by Auto-Shack (as it was) and check if they have crush washers. Firsat the kid doesn't know, do you have flange bolts, nope they say, just regular bolts. I check the wall of regular bolts... here is a pack of 6mm flange bolts. A little pricey, but beggars ain't choosy.

I now have bolts and only one crush washer... back to my thought. Grab a 3/16 aluminum pop-rivet backer. Ream it out a little with a uni-bit.

Buttoned up and stable.
Should of done that to begin with... or just never lost the original. But what fun would that be?
 
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