[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 03-Sep-01 AT 04:22 AM (EST)[/font][p]short version: knew nothing about how to install helicoil and all the guy at the store handed me was the coils themselves - no taps, no kit, no specs

sooo - valve covers - 5/16ths, i now have a 3/8 hole in the cylinder head and it is not tapped.

(i will pause for the laughter to die down) - i thought they slipped into the bored hole - didn't realize the hole needed to be tapped (more laughter)

can i still tap this hole to get a 5/16 helicoil and bolt in there, or is it too big?

is there another option? something to fill it in and retap?

or should i try to helicoil it for 3/8?

does any one know the tap size for either the 5/16 or the 3/8 helicoil? i couldn't even find it on the helicoil web site - they just want you to order the kit.

mike
(why me?)

 

If it's the valve cover bolts that your having trouble with, they only need about 12~15# torque so I'd just use some JB Weld or QuickSteel or A/B Epoxy. Then tap it to the correct size.

I thought Helicoil was sold in kits that had the thing to screw them in with. Most tap & die kits have a thread guage but you can buy one cheap.

Don't forget to measure the depth so that you don't bottom out the bolt and strip it again.

 

thanks! i was hoping i could do that.

after finding some more info, i realized they come with kits that have the tap and the insert tool, but i have yet to find a kit at my Napa or hardware store...will look around some more.

 

One more thing we all need to laugh at; how were you able to strip out valve cover threads in the first place with such low torque specification?

The taps used in the thread repair kits are essentially only good for the threaded inserets. For example, a repair kit for 3/8-24 thread uses a tap that measures a little smaller than 7/16. But there is no such bolt that uses a 7/16-24 thread (only 7/16-14 and 7/16-20 exist). A kit should come with inserts, tap, instillation tool, and instructions on which drill to use for the tap. Some larger kits have drill included.

 

actually, i would have been too shamefaced to even mention it if i hadn't read a couple of posts where the same thing happened to people torquing old valve cover bolts with less than 10 lbs., and i'm sure the cinch is to not have the socket exactly square on the bolt...

after going back to Napa i remembered what happened...they had the complete kits, but not for 5/16, just a bag of inserts.

so since i had never used them before, only heard the phrase "stick in a helicoil" i didn't even look at the other kits to see what you explained above, but just took the inserts

now i know.

so for your entertainment, here's the long story...

it was the bolt underneath the master brake cylinder...
which means the drill couldn't fit in there.

first i invested in a $5.00 thread extractor and the $12.00 tap wrench. no go.

so i inversted in a better $5.00 extractor and a $15.00 tap wrench because the other one was too small for the shank. no go.

since i 'don't do brakes' i didn't even want to mess with detaching the lines, so i invested in a 1/4 12" steel bit at $15.00 to clean out the old threads from above the cylinder...

and then another 5/16 12" bit at $15.00 because the threads were still stuck...

then another 3/8 12" bit at $15.00 because the helicoil didn't "slip" in. (SOMEBODY SHOOT ME)

plus the gaskets at $6.00.

that was two weeks ago.

having to redo the intake seals over the weekend, the helicoil came out (duh!), so i started over, and figured out (duh!) that this couldn't be right. (SOMEBODY SHOOT ME QUICK)

so i found some info about helicoils: drill, re-tap, insert with threading tool.

finally found a 'PermaCoil' kit at $24.00.

and the 21/64 bit at $6.00,

plus the gaskets.

and dismounted the brake cylinder without messing with the lines(duh!).

as suggested above, did the JB Weld thing, let it dry, drilled, and all but a sliver of the JB Weld came out. Cut just a tad of threads for the insert, but the torque stripped them.

that's a $124 5/16 bolt, and i still can't pour the oil into the valve cover...

well, i can now because i used weatherstripping adhesive on the weak end of the gasket.

and then the answer came to me, at 1:00am in the shower, after i wasted the whole three-day weekend...:

JBWeld in the stud and just tighten the cover with a nut.

(i have the JB weld and the nut - should be able to do it without spending a dime- unless i break the windshield or something)

(now i'm really embarassed - better change my logon name)
mike