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Bryan Irons
Thread Wizard
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Bryan Irons
Thread Wizard
1. We started using the Thread Wizard manually with a nut driver or a ratchet to clean up the threads.
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Bryan Irons
Thread Wizard
2. The finished results speak for themselves. Manufacturer bolts found on vehicles new and old are specifically designed for that particular application and is best to reuse them when you can.
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Bryan Irons
Thread Wizard
3. Since we are impatient, the Thread Wizard became a permanent fixture in the bench vice. Running old hardware through it made a mess of rust and debris, but the bolts came out in great shape and the Wizard’s wire bushes looked like new.
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Bryan Irons
Heli Coil
1. Right off the shelf from our local parts store. You can also purchase complete multi size kits if your wallet can take the hit. Refills are also available.
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Heli Coil
2. Best not to throw out the packaging as you want to keep all the spares and tools together. The tap is only good for these specific inserts; same goes for the install tool (the black steel piece on the left, not you)
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Bryan Irons
Heli Coil
3. Start by taking the properly sized drill bit and drilling out the damaged threads. If you are not certain of the depth available, don’t drill any deeper then you need to.
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Bryan Irons
Heli Coil
4. With assistance from some drilling and tapping lube, tap the hole as straight as possible, as deep as you can without causing damage. If you are wondering… these are specific “Tap Socket Set” designed to attach a ratchet to most common square drive taps. Get a set from Lisle tools and thank us later.
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Bryan Irons
Heli Coil
5. After cleaning any metal out of the hole and ensuring no oil has contaminated the new threads, it’s time to prep the Heli Coil insert. We like a little Loctite for added insurance.
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Heli Coil
6. Using the supplied tool, thread the insert until it is just below the finished surface.
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Bryan Irons
Heli Coil
7. Make sure to let the Loctite have some time to cure. On the bottom of the threaded insert is a “tab” that can either be broken off and retrieved, or left as is. On blind holes, we normally just leave the tab in place, as it can be a real PITA to break it off and retrieve it without causing more damage. On through holes like this one, a punch and hammer are the weapons of choice.
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Heli Coil
8. Here is our mangled bellhousing after the repair was made. In all likelihood, the repaired stainless steel thread will be stronger then the original aluminum ones ever were.
Story & photos by Bryan Irons
Thread Wizard and Heli-Coil save costly machining bills
Garage Gear editorials in the past have been based on equipment or tools that you may want to consider having in your own enclosed concrete paradise. This time, we’re going to cover a few tools that we had to grab for nut and bolt repairs after I started the install of the “Merican Metal Menace” 401 motor into my beloved trail stroller “Stinky Jeep”.
With my 304 ci lump dropping oil pressure and power numbers like a stripper drops underpants, time was of the essence. The old build-up of Stinky Jeep utilized quality hardware and plenty of anti-seize at the time, but that was a decade of abuse ago. Rusty, striped, scraped, sandblasted and weather fasteners were found from one end of the rig to the other during the teardown. Hardware isn’t cheap, but we are, so pitching it all in the scrap heap and delving into our better half’s “shoe fund” was a good way to eat through a straw for a week.
We scooped a cool widget we spied at SEMA 2015 to help clean up the threads of all the bolts we took out. The Thread Wizard was designed by Alaskan master mechanic Gary Taylor and works so well and is so simple, we can’t believe it hasn’t been tried before. We have all gone to the trusty manual wire brush and sawed away for eons cleaning fasteners and stripping finger flesh. Some of us have even mounted a wire wheel to a grinder to speed up the process… yours truly shot a 3/8-in bolt across the shop and into the side of his daily driver. Judging by the dent, I was lucky I wasn’t in its path.
The all-American sourced and made Wizard, comes in a Metric and SAE versions depending on your needs. For the dirt-cheap price, we ordered both, but to be dead honest, one will work in place of the other. Unless you’re a professional shop, order one that matches the style of fastener you use most. The durable handle encases a stainless wire wheel and two stainless guide plates sandwiched together. Rebuild kits are available if you do manage to wear one out. We’re still trying.
Taking a rusty or greasy bolt and threading it back into its home without cleaning it up makes about as much sense as Editor Stanley’s wardrobe (think “Carlton” in army boots). The rust and corrosion will just lead to galling and if Loctite is required, it will never grab with oil smothered all over the fastener. The thread wizard is easy to use; you thread the bolt in and out a few times either by hand or with a power tool. We give them a spray of brake cleaner for good measure and you have clean threads ready to go back into service.
We had a few other threaded fastener issues in our garage battles as well. One being a stripped bolt hole in our aluminum bellhousing, and the other being a pre-tapped hole in a cylinder head that was too big. We solved both cases using the same method, known simply by a brand name in the industry, Heli-Coil. For repairing damaged or stripped threads, this is an excellent and relatively inexpensive way to make a permanent fix. Even the OEM’s use threaded inserts like these to strengthen problem prone areas like spark plug and exhaust manifold threads in aluminum heads.
The premise of the exercise is to remove the damaged threads and insert a coil of stainless steel wire that is wound to the thread size and pitch you require. Kits are available in many metric and SAE sizes, so it’s good to know what you need right down to the thread pitch. Announcing “about this big” to the parts store counter guy may get your mug on a wall of shame in the back. Typical kits include a few inserts, a very special tap that is typically only good for using Heli-coils, and an insertion tool.
Installing one of the inserts is relatively simple and should be less painful than forking out the money for the Chinese made repair kit in the first place. Written on the included tap is the drill bit size required; If you’re an employee of an off-road magazine and don’t have a drill index, you threaten the Technical Editor with monetary instability until he gives up said drill bit. We don’t know how this works in the outside world, but it seems to be a 4WDrive common practice to get what you want. Use whatever legal methods you deem necessary to use, get a drill, tap handle, Loctite and some brake cleaner to get the job done. The sequence shown here using Heli-coils is not our preferred method of thread repair (we like machined billet inserts) but they are easy to find, and solve the problem. Follow along as we used the new widgets we scored to fix our “DOH”, “ARGH”, “Dammit”, “Dumbass” and “For ____ Sakes” hardware issues.
Thread Wizard – www.threadwizard.us
Heli Coil – http://www.stanleyengineeredfastening.com/brands/heli-coil