Heli-Coil drain bolt?

[Xylicon]

Anyone ever had this done? I'm not sure if the machinist can do it with the motor still together or will I have to split the cases and bring him the half?

[dannygraves]

I did, I split the cases because the shift drum is right above it and didn't want to get any shavings in there. used it as an excuse to do a full rebuild 1 1/2 years ago.
it was a M12, don't remember the pitch, but it was standard like 1.0 or 1.5 or something.

[AlisoBob]

http://www.timesert.com/html/mtrcsert.html

I like timeserts WAY better than heli-coils.

You could do it easily with the motor together. Just flush it out good. Take off the clutch cover if need be and hose it all out.

[britincali]

+1 on the timeserts, I used one to replace a blown plug on my truck and its still going strong after 2 plug swaps and 12,000 miles.


You can do it without pulling the bottom end apart, I dint pull the head to do mine.

Heres a How-to I posted before I got banned

http://www.nhtoc.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=31137

[bigpower]

You paid $150 for that kit?

I'm in the wrong racket

Shit

[britincali]

You paid $150 for that kit?

I'm in the wrong racket

Shit

Was WELL worth the money for a long term fix, ford wanted $1000 to swap the head, my warranty company said HELL NO and I was looking at $200 for a head + $100 for the gasket + the PITA to pull and replace it.

The kit I got was a specific one for fixing ford heads, the regular one is probably less.


Edit :- And I have another 3 inserts for when the other plugs decide to eject

[dannygraves]

I paid the machine shop down the street $20 to put in a helicoil and that included the helicoil itself. I would have done it myself, but would have paid twice as much just for the helicoil kit.
I get nervous about shavings, but I am sure you could do it without splitting the cases. I would flush the cases before installing the insert though. because it might go in a little deeper and create a ridge to keep the shavings in there. also there is a small side hole coming from the other case half which you would have to get to from the clutch side to clear out shavings.

[sabreguy]

A helicoil would be fine for a drain plug because there is no stress on it!

[AlisoBob]

A helicoil would be fine for a drain plug because there is no stress on it!

Then how did it strip in th first place?

[sabreguy]

A helicoil would be fine for a drain plug because there is no stress on it!

Then how did it strip in th first place?

Overtighting but if the bolt is screwed in correctly there is no other stress like what a head bolt would see.

[bigpower]

I get nervous about shavings, but I am sure you could do it without splitting the cases. I would flush the cases before installing the insert though. because it might go in a little deeper and create a ridge to keep the shavings in there. also there is a small side hole coming from the other case half which you would have to get to from the clutch side to clear out shavings.

You can minimize the worry of shavings by using sharp tooling, and a good amount of patience. As in, take your time.

Anytime you cut thru metal, no matter how sharp the tool is, you're gonna get a burr on the backside where the cutter has pushed thru. You can minimize this by, again, being patient and using a bit a size smaller than finish than go thru with your finish. What causes the burr is when you break thru, the edges catch and pull the bit . So by coming thru with a bit about .010-.015in smaller, less material for the finish size to grab at the end, and the burr you did kick up on the first pass will come sliding down the flutes. The bits gotta be sharp, though.
Less material, less pull, less burr.

But nothing in this world beats havin it apart and finishing it off with a Dotco and a wheel