Broken bolt timingbeltcover

[Dutch_Hans]

Hello Wingers,
A few weeks ago a deer ran into me when I was driving 70mph.. a lot of plastic is broken but I managed to keep myself and my gl1500 upright..
I found a lot of plastic which is now being sprayed. But the timingbeltcover had some cracks too.. I've loosend all bolts but one of them broke..
It sticks about 3 mm out... What can I do...
Every help is appreciated.
Greetings from Holland

[Solo So Long]

First, SOAK it in an appropriate lubricant for at least a day.

Then, carefully try to remove it.

If worst comes to worst, you can drill it and rethread.

Depending on which of the bolts it was, you may not even need it -- the timing cover is not a critical component, it just keeps dirt and water off of the belts and pulleys. Just use gasket goo when you reinstall.

[Dutch_Hans]

Thank you very much for your quick reply.. it is the lower middle bolt from the left(big) cover.. I am soaking it with wd40 every half hour, the best I have at the moment. I thought the cover was pretty critical because when a belt brakes...its over... I will spray it in for a few days before trying anything else and hope for the best.

Greetings from Holland (the Netherlands)

[Solo So Long]

The timing cover is just a cover. It isn't load-bearing, doesn't hold pressure or fluids. Consider that dragsters don't even HAVE covers over their timing belts.

[Dutch_Hans]

Hi Solosolong,
I decided to leave the bolt as is.. tried to losen it after spraying it in with wd40 every hour. Nothing moved.. i am building the lady up again. Thank you for your replies..
Stay healthy..
Hans

[Solo So Long]

Yeah, I figured that the bolt was a permanent part of the engine now -- they're not all that easy to break. My guess is that it got corroded into place.

If this were a load-bearing bolt, or critical in any other way, I would have advised drilling it out (carefully!) and either re-tapping to a larger size or putting in an insert.