I am changing out my leaking rocker box gaskets and have run into an issue. I loosened all the bolts and the lower rocker box did not lift off the head nor did it lift at all. On a car I would take a rubber mallet and give a valve or transmission pan a few hits but I don't want to damage anything on the bike. Is this normal and can I pry up hard with my hands to loosen it or give it a few taps with the rubber mallet or my hands? It's an 07 Sportster 1200. BTW the top "felt" washers were frozen onto the rocker cover as well because of the heat. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

And yes I followed the manual on rotating the engine in 5th to the correct position too.

 

Hope I get you in time. DO NOT FORCE OR PRY OFF THE COVER! But 1st off I'm not sure what you mean by LOWER rocker box. There are only two and they are both on top of the cylinder heads. Right? Okay, if we're talking about the same thing, there could be pressure from the valve spring holding it on and prying them off could damage the valve or spring. Jack the rear tire off the ground and turn it until there is no pressure on the cylinder you're working on. (You may have to pop the push rod covers to see when the valves are at their lowest level.)

 

Correct I already did that. I took the top cover off, rotated the bike by hand till the push rods were at their lowest point, both valves closed. This is the rear cylinder and I have not yet done the front. I will note that in my nervousness that something was wrong I put it back together and fired the bike and it ran without any issues so nothing is wrong. But obviously I need to fix the leak. I thought about trying the front to see if it will lift off without any issues. If not I will take it somewhere and let it be someone elses problem.

 

I just pulled mine a month or so ago, they were "stuck" also. I made sure there was no pressure on the valve springs, then VERY Lightly tapped it with a rubber mallet and it came loose.

 

You won't be the first one to have to tap them to break the gaskets free.

 

are you sure you got all the bolts out...it seems to me there is a smaller allen bolt in one or 2 of the corners and a larger bolt near the center...

 

Double check what he said. There are two Allen bolts, 4 main rocker bolts and 3 smaller bolts. If they are all out, you can tap with a rubber mallet.

 

He's talking about the rocker support box shown here. As mentioned there a couple of bolts that are not obvious. The rocker support box gasket is coated on both sides with Ultra Copper and sticks pretty good. My manual does not say to do this to the new one so I didn't.

 

Yes all the screws were removed and I will give it a few taps to break it loose. That seems normal especially since the gasket is bad and the metal surfaces have mated. Like I said I run into this all the time on cars so it was what I thought I had to do just wanted to be sure