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Heli coils

mr_clean

mr_clean

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how do you all feel about heli coils? I had one of my TH350 output housing bolt holes strip out and had to heli coil it (or perma coil... whatever they call it now) to make it work. Just wondering what you guys thought about that setup now-a-days...

Scott
 
mr_clean said:
how do you all feel about heli coils? I had one of my TH350 output housing bolt holes strip out and had to heli coil it (or perma coil... whatever they call it now) to make it work. Just wondering what you guys thought about that setup now-a-days...

Scott
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They are way stronger than aluminum threads. If you build aluminum machine parts for the military then your forced in critical areas to use Helicoils.
 
84_Chevy_K10 said:
They're just as strong as the original threads if installed correctly.
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Might even be stronger. No problems with them at all.

Aluminum, like in a TH350 case, will only take a torque down a couple of times and its all over for the threads. I'm a old VW head and it was concidered mandatory that if oy pulled the heads or split the case on a air cooled motor that you healicoil everything. Just healicoild all the studs on my exasts side of the head on my Yota a couple months ago.
 
Better than a heli-coil. try time-sert, the best thread inserts i have found.
 
Glad to hear everyone thinks they're good to use. I've used them before on Yota motors too. Those 22R cam bearing caps strip out if you look at them cross-eyed.... :crazy: I was a little nervous about it in a higher stress area like the tranny tail, but sounds like it'll only be stronger!!!

Thanks for the input!!!
 
Heads up!

DONT try to "mix" different brands of thread inserts!--My friend had to heli-coil a few spark plug holes in a V10 ford truck recently--he had a heli-coil brand tap and only 1 insert ,so he called a parts store for more inserts--he learned the hard way K-D thread inserts they sent have a different "pitch" on the threads,than Heli-Coil does--this was quite a problem,as the holes had already been tapped with the Heli-Coil brands tap!-( and no other store had any Heli-Coil ones!)-he got them to go in with GREAT difficulty,and he is dreading the next tune up,might need new heads next time--I guess the V10's have a lot of stripped plug hole problems,since they have only about 4 threads in each hole,and they are aluminum heads(look like cheap die cast!)..

But I wouldnt be afraid of the strength of thread inserts--everything we have ever put heli-coils in always worked well,better than the original hreads..just make sure you use the same brand tap as the inserts,or you could get in trouble..:crazy:
 
Dang, I wouldn't have thought of that! I had to buy the whole kit anyway and it came with about 16 inserts. I sure hope that lasts me many many years:D
 
I had the same problem with my TH350, so I just did all four holes while I was in there with new bolts and lockwashers...no probs in over a year
 
As far as interchanging inserts goes, so long as it is regular bolt threads, Heli-Coil and Perma-Coil parts will work with each other's taps and inserts (I have done this many times). When it comes to spark plug inserts, almost everybody uses their own tap design, so most of the time they will not interchange. The K/D insert set-up is about the best/easiest I have seen yet. The reamer/tap enlarges the hole and taps the threads for the insert in one easy step. Their solid insert is very durable as well. These inserts are very similar to a Time-Sert, in that they are a solid insert. Time-Serts are quality pieces, but they are getting difficult to find these days (they are still available, but much harder to find than they were twenty years ago) unlike the Heli-Coil and Perma-Coil kits which are available most everywhere.
 
84_Chevy_K10 said:
They're just as strong as the original threads if installed correctly.
Click to expand...

Concur. (Emphasis is mine...)

ssls6 said:
They are way stronger than aluminum threads. If you build aluminum machine parts for the military then your forced in critical areas to use Helicoils.
Click to expand...

Most military aircraft parts that are aluminum are Heli-Coiled, or use a "Rosan" fitting, for hardware to thread into.
 
Tired hands?

How about a technique question:


When tapping a hole (for any application), do you hand tap, or use a bit driver?

I've been taught to always use my hands, unless I happen to be on a mill or drill press...
 
I drilled and hand tapped my current Th350 front pump holes and 4 rears to the 203 t-case.

That's about the only time I ever had a decent torque reading. Worked good for me.
 
TSGB said:
How about a technique question:


When tapping a hole (for any application), do you hand tap, or use a bit driver?
Click to expand...

I used a T-handle tap driver. Most of my co-workers used Vise-Grips on the taps...
 
jarheadk5 said:
I used a T-handle tap driver. Most of my co-workers used Vise-Grips on the taps...
Click to expand...

Agreed. Any time I run a tap, I am VERY careful. When I was in high school, I broke a 5/16-18 tap off in my pinion yoke and had to drive home with three bolts in it. Ever since then, I've NEVER used cheap taps, and I've been especially careful using taps.
 
Ha! We use a product called "Tap Magic" at school. I can just imagine it being advertised by Dave Chapelle.

For all those tight holes, make sure you remember your TAP MAGIC brand lube!
 
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