Well I've tried to drill and tap some holes in my aluminium petrol tank to mount my sender unit . And I've bodged it up !! I've never
attempted tapping holes before and thought it would be easy !The holes were too large a diameter for the tap so couldn't get enough thread. I
think the holes were not drilled precise enough because the drill must of slipped and made the holes not 100% round ! Bit of a disaster really ! Can
anybody recommend somebody in or very near to York who could fit the sender for me ? Once that's done the tank can be fitted . Im not after a
freebie . Don't mind paying.im sure its not going to cost a fortune ! Cheers !
[Edited on 25/10/13 by nick-york] hi ! The aluminium is a 10 mm thick ring welded on the tank specially for the sender unit.I think the drill size was
5 mm for a 5.5 mm bolt ! I did start to drill one of the holes out to use a larger bolt but stopped because i didn't want to mess up again. I
don't think rivnuts would work this time.but they do have their uses . I might have to look in the good old yellow pages and ring round some
local engineers. But recommended people always come first if anybody knows anybody. Cheers.
[Edited on 25/10/13 by nick-york]
Could you put a series of rivnuts in it with a dab of sealer?
[Edited on 25/10/13 by Neb]
Tap them out bigger and use larger fixings?
What size drill did you use for the size of tap? For drill size it normal to take thread pitch away from the drill size, eg 6x1mm bolt drill a 5mm hole but as you say needs to be a round hole not shape of an egg, a step drill in thin metal can give a better shaped hole than a cheap drill bit
http://www.kasthurimmc.com/tap-drill-chart.html
How thick is the aluminium? Could be too thin to tap.
[Edited on 25-10-13 by designer]
Sorry can't recommend somebody in York. But could get round it by making a "C" ring that fits inside the tank. I don't think the tank would have enough thickness to take a decent thread anyway.
Seconded on the rivnuts / internal ring - my tank is certainly too thin to tap successfully....
If going down the rivnut route, need a suitable thick gasket to seal around the rivnut flanges...
Mine is fitted with rivnuts.
You can uses rivnut with a 5mm thread hole would be bigger around 8mm.
Have you got a rivnut tool.
I the material is 10mm thick you could always helicoil
quote:
Originally posted by Tinks1
I the material is 10mm thick you could always helicoil
quote:
Originally posted by nick-york
Well I've tried to drill and tap some holes in my aluminium petrol tank to mount my sender unit . And I've bodged it up !! I've never attempted tapping holes before and thought it would be easy !The holes were too large a diameter for the tap so couldn't get enough thread. I think the holes were not drilled precise enough because the drill must of slipped and made the holes not 100% round ! Bit of a disaster really ! Can anybody recommend somebody in or very near to York who could fit the sender for me ? Once that's done the tank can be fitted . Im not after a freebie . Don't mind paying.im sure its not going to cost a fortune ! Cheers !
[Edited on 25/10/13 by nick-york] hi ! The aluminium is a 10 mm thick ring welded on the tank specially for the sender unit.I think the drill size was 5 mm for a 5.5 mm bolt ! I did start to drill one of the holes out to use a larger bolt but stopped because i didn't want to mess up again. I don't think rivnuts would work this time.but they do have their uses . I might have to look in the good old yellow pages and ring round some local engineers. But recommended people always come first if anybody knows anybody. Cheers.
[Edited on 25/10/13 by nick-york]
If the material is 10mm thick, just turn it around a bit & drill & tap
a new set of holes , does not matter about the old holes as
the gasket will take care of it.
Simplest solutions are always best.
good luck
quote:
Originally posted by renetom
If the material is 10mm thick, just turn it around a bit & drill & tap
a new set of holes , does not matter about the old holes as
the gasket will take care of it.
Simplest solutions are always best.
good luck
quote:sorry for been thick but I've never heard of helicoil before ! What is it please ?
Originally posted by Tinks1
I the material is 10mm thick you could always helicoil
Not thick at all.
But you've obviously not owned any old british bikes!
http://www.helicoil.com.sg/HeliCoil-Installation-Instructions.shtml
Nick
You can take it to my brothers engineering business on James Street if you like.
http://www.lowtonengineering.co.uk/
It won't be that expensive to do.
Let me know if you're going to take it and I'll try to get you mates rates.
Rob
quote:Hi Rob ! That's fantastic ! I can take it on Monday morning .cheers mate.
Originally posted by Wheels244
Nick
You can take it to my brothers engineering business on James Street if you like.
http://www.lowtonengineering.co.uk/
It won't be that expensive to do.
Let me know if you're going to take it and I'll try to get you mates rates.
Rob
Well they say you learn something new everyday ! I thought everybody bolted their sender units to their tanks in tapped holes .I didn't think there was an alternative .but it seems some of you use rivets or helicoil !I am always amazed at the amount of help and ideas i get from everybody when im a bit stuck . Just hope i haven't overlooked any of the help . So much to look through! Thanks for all the help everybody!
Happy to help Nick.
I'll ring him and tell him to expect you - his workshop is on the Raylor Centre.
I'm in York fairly often (home town) if I can help with anything just let me know.
Rob
quote:excellent ! Much appreciated Rob ! My brother has his office on the Raylor Centre as well .
Originally posted by Wheels244
Happy to help Nick.
I'll ring him and tell him to expect you - his workshop is on the Raylor Centre.
I'm in York fairly often (home town) if I can help with anything just let me know.
Rob
He's expecting you Nick.
My brother's name is Chris, his partner (business !) is Phil.
He'll sort it for you.
Cheers
Rob
Excellent ! Thanks a lot for that !
quote:Tank dropped off yesterday morning as arranged and will be ready on Friday. Chris was very helpful. Because my original holes weren't lined up very accurately it would of been hard to helicoil them. So Chris recommended rotating the sender unit slightly and drilling and tapping some new holes .
Originally posted by Wheels244
He's expecting you Nick.
My brother's name is Chris, his partner (business !) is Phil.
He'll sort it for you.
Cheers
Rob
Glad you got sorted Nick.
Sorry forgot to tell you about Zara, the German Shepherd - ain't no one burgling my brother !
Picked the tank up today from lowton engineering . What a fantastic job done ! New holes drilled and tapped .The sender unit fits perfectly! And Chris and Phill are two fantastic guys. So helpful. Id recommend them and id use them again.