Phil Patterson writes: Go ahead and heli-coil it, this is the kind of job they
are designed for. Any decent local parts store should carry them. Just take a
bolt along with you to make sure you are getting the right kit. The kit will
come with a drill bit, tap, helicoils and inset tool. Seeing that the bolt has
already been drilled out oversize, you may be able to start with the helicoil
tap and not worry about drilling it. But if the tap binds at all going in, stop
and drill it, then start over.Use a little lube like a drop of oil or wd40 while
cuttin the threads for the helicoil. Then clean out the hole with a shot of carb
cleaner.Wear goggles when you do this so you don't accidently blow drill chips
back up into your eyes. Use loctite if you are worried about the helicoil coming
loose. After the helicoil is in place, take a small flat end punch and knock off
the little tab at the end, this is what locks the helicoil into place. Just be
real careful when redrilling the hole that you don't change the original center
line of the hole or you may end up with a bolt that goes in at a slight angle
compared to original. That can be real critical with some bolt attachments, but
for a thermostat housing, it won't be quite as important. You got a little room
to be off. It is real easy to use, just take proper care with aligment of the
drill and there should be no problem.
dirt rider wrote:
> Hello again all, here is where I stand with the 56 Savoy 6 cyl. One bolt
> broke for the thermostat housing. I drilled a hole all the way through the
> bolt, put in an easy out and guess what, the easy out broke in the bolt. I
> think they pretty much suck since I didn't really put much pressure on it
> before it snapped. I snapped it with one hand on the little t-handle wrench.
> Eventually after drilling and pounding, I got the broken piece of the easy
> out through the bottom of the bolt. I then drilled the hole bigger. I now
> have a hole drilled the size of the original bolt, but there are no
> salvageable threads. I tried to start a tap, but couldn't. Should I be able
> to tapp this type of metal, or should I drill the hole bigger and try and
> put in some kind of heli coil. The only thing I've ever heli coiled was a
> spark plug hole in an aluminum head. At this point, I'm unsure what to do
> and I'm stuck with a hole in the head. At last resort if I can't tap a hole
> could be to epoxy some kind of stud into the the hole and then put the
> housing over the stud and secure it with a nut. But I'd rather do it the
> right way. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Nick
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