Helicoil...

[geechie]

O.K. If you've been tuned in to my crash (Damn! Bugger and Blast!!) thread, you know that I've got stripped threads to deal with.

I'm assuming that a Helicoil insert is the answer. My research so far has turned up that there are Metric and ANS (is that ANSI?), Coarse and Fine, and Free Running and Screw Lock. Goodness.

I'm sure you know the bolt in question; it's the valve/rocker box cover bolt from the front lower left side. I think it's a 6mm bolt, but 6mm by what? I also think the threads are coarse. And I'm further guessing that Free Running is the way to go.

I'm reasonably confident that I have the skills to do this job, but I sure wouldn't look askance at some advice and/or reccomendations.

George

Edited a bit later on to say:

Well, there's been a change of plan...

My good friend Gordon Friedman at Autometrics Motorsports will not let me do the job myself. He insists that I bring the bike to him (he'll borrow a trailer for me too) and let him install a "Timesert". "That's the right way to fix it.", he says. So who am I to argue? He's going to VIR this weekend and won't be back 'till Monday. I think in this case I'll just be patient.

G

[Dallara]

IMHO, Geechie...

Gordon is exactly right. Timeserts are infinitely superior to Helicoils, particularly in an application like that. Many race teams drill out and retap threaded bosses, etc. in aluminum cases and put Timeserts in from the get-go as a reliability measure... The threads in them are that much stronger than the normal aluminum threads.

Good luck!

Cheers!

Allan (the unmighty duster Dallara - NACD)

[Wild Will]

George, the thread on my '96 GS, which is probably just like yours, is
6mm X 1.0. The handy dandy and EASY to use kit costs $20 from your local NAPA store. I wonder how the threads are damaged? Has a bending force elongated the aluminum threads? Have you removed the broken bolt yet (excuse me if I have missed that if already given out)? You can center punch it, drill it and use a small Easy Out, and it should come right out.
Hope you're not too sore, Bro.

[Wild Will]

the boy from the edge is a day late and a dollar short. Timeserts sound like a science fiction movie, but I'd definitely go with the better method as advised. I've not had any trouble with the heliocoil's I've used for valve cover threads on my BMW's, but the valve covers are held on with just the tiny little 6mm threads. Heliocoils allow you to do an emergency repair pretty well, even on the road. I wonder if Timeserts require any special tools/techniques?

[geechie]

Will,

The bolt, it turns out was not broken. When the bike hit the pavement, it hit squarely enough on the bolt head to squash the rubber bushing and bugger up the threads in the cylinder head. The Timeserts appear to be something of an improvement over Helicoil inserts. Here's a link: http://www.timesert.com/index.html

The big deciding factor for me is that I'm getting it installed by a certified pro at no cost to me for anything. Gordon's really a good guy. He's the owner of Autometrics here in Charleston and is the team owner of Autometrics Motorsports. I worked for him as the tire manager last year when we campaigned a Porshe 996 GT3 in the Rolex Series.

George

[BobFV1]

+1 for timeserts - used them to repair the threads on my RT and they worked great...

[jamming]

I have to vote the Timesert as well. I've used them on aircraft for years and they do require a few special tools.
Will, you have brought up a good point. Helicoils are the tits for onroad repairs. every autoparts store will have them and you can always buy a cheap drill to install it if you can't borrow one. Timeserts are a lot harded to find.
I have not had a timesert fail, but have had helicoils fail to heavy handed mechs. Most of the time we use thread repair kits it is on spark plug holes.
Knuckleheads don't use a torque wrench and reef em down.
Roger

[Bake]

My old Honda FT500 Ascot used to leak at the cam cover, and the threads would pull out at the valve adjustment access cap, even the exhaust pipe mounting studs came loose. They just used the wrong alloy of aluminum in 1983 to keep that shaker together. I installed 6 mm Helicoils at every single location, over a dozen. A little black hi temp RTV at the cam cover gasket, and it never leaked a drop again. I rode it to almost 30,000 miles. Steel threads are good. Sometimes, aluminum threads are good also, but they can also be bad.