Stripped Bolt threds what to do....

[Mario7820]

Alright everyone I have another question.... So when i took my car to a shop they changed some parts for me and said that my valve cover bolts were stripped did i do it no.... But what the hell I know they did it but whatever.. so heres the deal... My valve cover bolts are ALL stripped.. How should i fix them HELICOIL..? Try to tap it...? And also my header bolts are stripped those get really hot so what should i use to fix those.... pros and cons...

Thanks for everything!!

 

[Paul]

Heli-coil is fine. I just did this last weekend on all the valve cover bolt holes on my notch. It's not that hard, just take your time and drill straight.

 

[Mario7820]

Heli-coil is fine. I just did this last weekend on all the valve cover bolt holes on my notch. It's not that hard, just take your time and drill straight.

So what do you recommend... to drill them i know a drill but i mean to keep it straight i haven't done hellicoil for a car Ive done it for small engines but i didn't drill anything i just put the threader in and let it get to the size it needed to go...

 

[Paul]

You can drill a hole in a block of metal or wood using a drill press so you know it's straight, then use that piece of wood/metal as a guide by placing it over the hole you need to drill.

If you didn't drill anything, then you haven't heli-coiled before. You need a matching drill bit and heli-coil specific tap that cuts threads that the inserts fit into.

Harbor Freight has a pretty nice "Master Thread Repair" kit for SAE and Metric threads (one each) that you could buy. I bought the SAE set and it worked like a champ. Your valve cover bolt holes (unless they're different than my TFS heads) are 1/4-20 thread.

Drill the hole, tap it, thread the heli-coil in with the supplied tool, then break off the tang and you're done.

Paul.