Hollywood D

I accidentally cross threaded a brake caliper bolt last night and crushed the first couple threads on the bolt. I inserted another bolt to see if I had ruined the threads inside. I started to feel a lot of resistance so I backed that one off before I runied it as well.

What's the best way to go about fixing those threads? Would a tap and die set work? They aren't stripped. I ordered a new caliper bolt from pelicanparts. Just don't want to damage that one too.

pettybird

there's a thread restorer kit that you can even rent from autozone. works wonders. taps can be a little too aggressive, but if you have one, it'll work too.

John_AZ

If you cannot use a tap, you might have to rethread. This is better than HeliCoil.

Timesert

http://www.timesert.com/

GL
John

Hollywood D

I don't have a tap and die set. But I may need one soon.

I found those timeserts while googling last night. Look pretty straight forward.

kombatrok

I would try to tap it, go very slowly and use plenty of oil.

mazdaverx7

i would most definatly tap it to the original thread pitch and run a die over the caliper bolt to ensure a smooth combination. if you've cross threaded a couple threads, no big deal. if its stripped, then it can become more of a pain in the butt

Hollywood D

Well I ended up going with pettybirds idea and rented the thread restorer kit from autozone. It ended up being free to rent. They refund everything after you return it. It cleaned the threads right up an it works fine. I was able to fix the bolt also. Pretty cool tool, I might have to buy myself a set. I'm still going to wait for the new bolt to get here though to finish up the job. That will be one less part on the car thats 28 years old.

m73m95

You did very good, all on your own!!

Problem with using a tap, is they are designed to CUT threads. So, if a tap runs into a section of bad threads, instead of straightening them, it cuts through them leaving gaps in the threads.

Thread repair kit is the best option. They are designed to straighten threads that are already there.

(EDIT)

My bad . I read to quickly, and didn't see your post.

pettybird

Glad it worked out. I broke down and bought one after doing the rental thing a couple times...


If you're interested in getting one, just buy the rental set. If you have any pull with one of AZ's managers they can get you a brand new one in the wrapper. Wild thing is that since you can bring the rental tools back damaged and still get your money back, they treat them as lifetime warranty parts. If you break something, they give you another kit!

Hollywood D

Yea, there were a few if the smaller pieces in the kit that were damaged. The threads on those were completely crushed. I saw that Sears has a set for about $69 online. It had good reviews on it.

mazdaverx7

really sounds like a good investment!

Crackership

I know this sounds horrible, but I bought a really nice metric titanium/nitrile(sp?) coated tap and die set from, of all places - Harbor Freight. It was like $60 or so, and has been worth every penny.

doabarrelroll

Note to self: Don't use bleach when washing the wife's blouses