Richard Anderson

I am in the process of repairing my 1978 as I am having some charging issues. I took off the alternator and the bolt that holds the adjustment bracket appeared to be stripped. It had a m5 bolt in it. It has some threads and I tried a M10 but it was too big.

I was planning on doing a Helicoil but I looked at my parts engine and it has the same issue. Is there a special bolt for this ?

Thx
Andy Anderson
Silver City NM

Mrmerlin

please post a picture of the bolt location your talking about, I can guess but a picture is worth a thousand words and you might be talking about an 8 mm bolt

Richard Anderson

working on the photo, but it was a M8 not M5.

Richard Anderson

it's the hole top center

Hey_Allen

I just had to fix this on my '78, thankfully the stock bolt appears to have still been present.
I used a M6 helicoil, after reaming the hole to size manually with the proper size bit in a drill chuck, to keep from having to remove the radiator again.

Wisconsin Joe

From suggestions on here, I used a Timesert.

I've repaired 3 holes in the block using them, with great success.

Much more robust than a helicoil (in fact, I took a broken helicoil out of one of the holes that was damaged).

Make sure you are measuring the shaft of the bolt, not the head. It's not the size of the wrench that you use that is the measurement (Captain Obvious, at your service).

Hey_Allen

If it weren't for the cost of acquiring the Timesert kit, I would have used a Timesert for this as well.
I'm definitely a believer in their advantages, but they charge handsomely for the quality...
I own one for 12mm fasteners, as used on MK4 VW motor mounts, but none of the smaller sizes.

rjtw

I recently repaired that exact same location with a Time-Sert, based on very helpful feedback from Dave, Joe and Josh. Photos and explanations here: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...l#post15712208
To the OP: Please let us all know how it turns out.

Mrmerlin

as an option to this repair,
clean out the screw hole,
then find a stud that fits deeply into the hole,
then make sure enough is left to hang the brackets on and fit a washer and nut,
JB weld the stud into the hole let it cure.
As long as you dont super tighten the nut it will be a permanent repair