In <199710261933_MC2-2539-9DDF@compuserve.com>, Adrian Jones wrote:
>Sadness reigns in the Jones household. Your humble servant was on his
>back, just tightening up one of the last bolts holding on the oil
>pan, when the grim realisation struck his numbed brain that the bolt
>hole was stripped. The first clue was that the socket wrench could
>be spun round for several hundred revolutions without any apparent
>tightening. Secondly, when the bolt was removed," luvely" little
>shiny ribbons of alloy material accompanied it.
>
> Do you know where he may purchase a tube of "Instant
>Bolt Hole" ? Or what?
>
The usual fix for this disaster (after lubrication with liquid bread)
is something called a helicoil. These are available in both SAE and
metric sizes at your local industrial-type bolt and screw emporium.
It will be found in a part of town under a freeway, where abandoned
dumpsters and stray cats (!) are found in abundance. You will enter a
hinge-sprung door (in a larger door) with a barely legible "City
Counter" sign painted on it by hand. Up three steps and pass the
Kiwanis gumball machine (with thick coating of dust). In the
dimly-lit interior there will be several metal stools and a counter
with tools last touched by the local Packard repairman in the showcase.
A large pegboard with outlines of dozens of sockets and end wrenches
is on the wall, but only four items remain on it. There is a large
jar filled with pickled eggs next to the cash register. Two of the
stools are occupied by guys in flannel shirts talking to each other.
A third guy is on the phone, arguing with someone. No one is behind
the counter. Be prepared to wait several minutes before anyone notices
you are there. When Arlen (as identified above his pocket) shows up,
you need to say:
"Need me a heel-cawl kit, five sixteen twenny far".
Arlen will view you with suspicion and say, "Yew gotta 'count here?"
You say, "Cash." (That's a long "a"). Volubility in these cases will
not win cooperation.
Be prepared to pay $42 for a dusty, faded box with a plastic insert
with about a dozen unidentifiable bits of metal and a drill. Use the
drill to clean out your hole. Use the special tap to rethread the
hole. Use the inserting device (sorry, I know this is a family list)
to insert the aforementioned helicoil. Voila! Good as new.
Do not just use a bigger bolt. This will qualify you as a DPO.
Oh, yeah, there was the part about you couldn't get at the place with
a drill. Never mind. You will find a use for the Heli-coils in any
case, I guarantee it, and it was an interesting trip, wasn't it?
There are some thread restorers in a bottle (based on isocyanate
adhesives) sold by Loc-tite. They work fairly well for low-stress
applications such as oil pan sealing. To find some, you need to go
to your local industrial-type bolt and screw emporium. It will be
found in a part of town....
A. B. Bonds
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