I recently had a low speed, low side topple (cold tires, cold asphalt, lots of yellow striping). I damaged the alternator cover in the process. I received the new cover and gasket, bolted them on, and off I went. NOTE that the original bolts came off easily, with very little effort (they seemed more loose than I expected). I also found that the new gasket was pretty thin, but that seems typical for this application. Rode off with the new parts, and my boot is now covered in motor oil, leaking from the alternator cover! I removed the faring (again), cleaned up the mess and torqued the bolts a little more "energetically". Does anyone know the torque spec for the alternator cover bolts? Given the new parts (BTW, slightly different part number vs the one I removed, but it seemed to fit just fine), should I expect to put enough force snug two surfaces that might not be exactly flat? (the gasket is pretty hard, so it will not fill any gaps) Any wisdom that you have would be welcome before I reassemble the faring, and risk another leak! Thanks!
I just found a Torque settings chart for the Sprint ST (probably the same), which includes the Alternator cover. 80 in-lbs is specified (=6.7 ft-lbs). I'll have to see if my inexpensive torque wrench is capable of measuring that low!
The Alternator cover bolts should be torqued to 9nm, start at 12 o clock hand tight then 6 o clock and 3 o clock then 9 o clock and so on (all hand tight then repeat to the 9nm torque setting on all bolts, did you use a genuine Triumph gasket as some pattern parts are thinner and sub standard, the original gaskets are green in colour, this may sound obvious but make sure both the cover and engine case are thoroughly clean of all traces of old material, very lightly grease the gasket before fitting, this will make it easier if you ever have to remove it at any future point, don't use any gasket sealant whatsoever, vastly overtightening the cover bolts can warp the cover causing leaks.
Thanks Iceman! I believe that 9nm = 6.7 ft-lbs (the vernacular measure and what my torque wrench uses). I did buy the Triumph gasket (light green). When I removed the old cover, a lot of the original gasket stuck to the engine surface. I am pretty sure that I cleaned it off, but now that you've planted the seed of doubt, I will remove the new cover and confirm. It's a lot easier to do that now than after I replace the faring! Thanks for the good suggestions!
Well, I removed the cover and found that the new gasket had a wrinkle in it! Certainly my fault, so another gasket is enroute now. I took the opportunity to re-clean the alternator mounting surface, although it was probably not a problem. Round #2, coming up! Thanks again for suggesting a check!
Aluminium, so don't torque it too much. Usually contact + 1/2 turn. I first check the plan of the pieces, in case something wrapped. But don't over torque, you will destroy the thread.
Thanks. I'm aware that this is "soft" metal, hence my reason for looking for the torque spec. It seems that the issue was the wrinkly in the gasket. With the new one enroute, I'll be careful when re-attaching the cover. Thanks again.
It sure was a good job you checked the gasket. I'm sure you would have been mighty peed off if you put the fairing back on and it still leaked. Well done.
