The spindle for my left hand side exhaust rocker is not flush to the face of the head. It protrudes just enough so the cover plate gasket doesn't seal well. I could use a thicker paper gasket but would rather have the spindle in as it should be witch as I understand is just "below" the face of the head. My question is what is the safest way to do this on the bike. My head was said to have been rebuilt shortly befor I bought it. Can I get it hot by running the engine, using a laser thermometer to check it to around 100 degrees as per one of my books and somehow drive it in about 1/32 of a inch? Maybe a bit more. And would I thread a bolt into it & gently (realative term) tap on the end of the bolt? I have extra lock plates, I can drill a hole for the bolt to go through & bolt a lock plate in place to keep the slot alighned horizantaly. Is this safe or is there a better way? Thanks, Glenn

Glen, The spindles are best put in and out when the head has been heated with a torch or in an oven. you could always remove the plates and the rocker cover and heat it locally with a propane torch, but In your case I would be inclined to get the engine good and hot and simply tap the spindle in the required amount. There is a thread in the spindle so I would use a bolt to drift it in although I don't know the thread offhand - over to you Les.

gtsun wrote:My head was said to have been rebuilt shortly befor I bought it. Can I get it hot by running the engine, using a laser thermometer to check it to around 100 degrees as per one of my books and somehow drive it in about 1/32 of a inch?

Warming the head by running the engine for a few minutes should be enough (I doubt you will actually need a laser thermometer!) just run the engine until the head feels hot, remove the cover plates and give the spindle a few gentle taps with a soft drift, or insert a bolt (see below).
Remember to allow for the thickness of the inner plate gasket, don't knock it in so far that the tags on the inner plate no longer engage with the slots. In my opinion, the end of spindle should be either about flush with, or just proud of the head by the same amount as the inner gasket thickness!

dave M wrote:There is a thread in the spindle so I would use a bolt to drift it in although I don't know the thread offhand - over to you Les.

It's 5/16 - 26 Cycle thread.

Thanks for the advice guys. Ya the thermometer may be a bit of over kill but one of my books said not to get it over 100 degrees so I thought if needed I could check it. There was allways a very slight leak because the gasket couldn't quite fill the gap. Do you use sealant on the cover plate gaskets or put them on dry?

Running the engine would certainly get it hot enough. I used a propane torch and it didn't take much heat to loosen them. Have a wide blade screwdriver or some other flat tool handy to align the slots horizontally also.

Is there another bolt on the Norton that is a 5/16" X 26 CEI (cycle thread on the bike)? This seems like it would be a hard one to match and I've got a long wait before my sypplier gets a spindle extractor tool. Guess I'm getting impatient to get the head installed and move on. Thanks.

Just use a brass or aluminum drift and tap it in. You shouldn't need a bolt.

Thanks, but I'm trying to remove it .............Not install.

sorry, I miss understood.

I think the alternator studs or some of the bottom through bolts through the cradle at the rear engine are what you need. Hold a deep socket over and draw the spindle into the deep socket.

It's been a while for me but I think that's what I used to do till I got an extra.

Diamondjet wrote:Is there another bolt on the Norton that is a 5/16" X 26 CEI (cycle thread on the bike)?

The outer end of the 06-7693 inlet [edit]rocker cover retaining stud should be 5/16" x 26 (the thread on the other end is 5/16" x 22 BSF)

Thanks......I'll try those sources.

The bolts that hold the crankshaft together work well for pullers. I believe at some point Norton increased the size to 3/8.

I have a CNC lathe and can thus, make any sort of puller you could wish...

pbmw wrote:I have a CNC lathe and can thus, make any sort of puller you could wish...

Really... perhaps you like getting paid in beer?