I have an ally part with a stripped M8 thread in it. Can I repair it with a helicoil myself, or is specialized tooling required?

Cheers

Fred W B

No problem with helicoil, we did a Beetle crankcase, where the fuel pump mounts - no worries.

Marcus

If you need to keep the same thread then you can buy a kit to do the job. It may involve drilling and retapping the original thread. You then insert the helicoil and then your original part.
One word of warning is that they sometimes come out when you unscrew the part again, so be ready to save it.

have you considered lumiweld? or less likley to be succesful, epoxy metal?

Yowza - Thanks for quick reponses guys.

The repair is to the thread for the clamping bolt that holds a Kart hub on the axle. This (and a key) is all that holds the wheel on, so it has to be right

Will pop past my usual engineering merchants on the way home and see if they can supply.

Cheers

Fred W B

Have you considered drilling and tapping a larger size, then fitting a steel bolt with loctite? Then cut the bolt off flush and drill and tap that the original size. It always works for me!

You can get a new hub for the same price as a decent helicoil kit!

Can't you drill and tap it in a different place if the key is still o.k.?

If you buy a kit you will be suprised how often you use it .

I got a V-Coil kit £30, they are holding my rear calipers on my Xantia. I'd recommend 'em.

Having owned a couple of karts in my time I would try to get a new hub. The vibration on kart components is something fierce and, in my experience at least, most repairs tend to fall apart in no time at all. I once had to do something similar on the clamp bolt for the rear sprocket on a 210cc Villiers cart and it just kept coming apart again much to my annoyance!

You'd be surprised how easy it can be to get these parts if you go to a local karting event or get a copy of Karting magazine and phone around a bit.

Cheers,
Craig.

Thanks again all - I have sorted it out by drilling and tapping it up to M10. Turned out 2 hubs needed to be done. Had to fiddle a bit with the countersunk recess for the cap head screw, and ended up machining a bit off the M10 caphead head diameter by spinning the bolt in a drill machine and applying the flap wheel on a anglegrinder to it (poor mans lathe), so it would fit in the original countersunk.

The hubs are to suit a 30 mm axle, and replacements are not easily available

It's not for a race kart, so didn't want to spend any money on it - Watch this space

Cheers

Fred W B

[Edited on 15/4/06 by Fred W B]