j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net

Good to know. Didn't know such a tool existed.
Thanks,
Dave

paul29

There is another option you can use in a situation like this. It appears there is a sender just above the hole you want to chase the threads, if you take your shop vac and hook the "cleaned" hose up so it blows out the hose instead of suction, plug any other crankcase hoses, remove the sender and have a helper hold the hose over the sender hole and this will pressurize the crankcase and blow any chips towards you as you chase the threads( do I need to say safety glasses are required). You may have to throttle the air flow by lifting off the hole a bit as you do not want to be bathed in oil, of course you could drain the oil to limit this. Plug any other vents to the crankcase. You could use the pipe hole but may not have room to turn the thread chaser. This also works extremely well when doing a damaged spark plug hole, in that case turn the engine over until the exhaust valve is open on the cylinder to be worked , plug the intake hose with rags or what ever you have, hook the reversed flow vac up to one tailpipe, block the other if dual exhaust. Cylinder is now pressurized and any chips will fly out at you away from the cylinder. Have done this many times and no failures.

Mrmerlin

these holes are blind so they dont go through to the pan,
it is possible that the first few threads have been damaged.
and the lower threads may provide enough bite if you use longer screws.
NOTE this could take some measuring to get the proper screw length,
and possibly using some washers.

The thread chaser is a good first step,
from the looks of the oil it needs to be changed,
so I would suggest to drain the oil out first

tmpusfugit

As Mr. Merlin says the holes are blind, at least they have been in those that I have worked on. The threads get stripped when some one puts a bolt in that is of an incorrect length and then tightens down the bolt only to discover it still leaks oil, as the bolt is bottomed out, but the tube is still loose. So, then more torque on the bolt until it strips. I have found this problem on 2 16V cars. Of course the best solution is remove the oil pan and not worry about capturing the shavings as the pan can be flushed. Of course removing the oil pan is no walk in the park, but if you need a pan gasket or need to do motor mounts......

GlenL

Couple of other approaches for fixing the threads...

Cheap Chinese taps don't cut well and can serve the purpose. With a blind hole you'll lose the length of the tip, though.

Cheap and easy:

Take a good-looking bolt and use a file to make a slot, vertically, down across the threads. The slot collects the chips and gunk. Getting it started right is the trick and then it'll straighten out the threads.

Kevin in Atlanta

Or do the opposite. Source the correct bolts but a bit longer, cut the heads off, screw them into the hole cut side first secure with JBWeld, find a couple of correct lock nuts and call it a day.

j.kenzie@sbcglobal.net

If those are blind holes, why are we worried about catching the chips? Normal care not to drop stuff in the large fill hole should be obvious.
Good luck,
Dave

GlenL

Be a stud: use a stud.

I like it. The epoxy might not be needed.

The problem with these is that the aluminum casting is soft and it's tempting to over-torque the bolts. Use the right torque and , if you're worried, apply blue Loctite.

Five-8

Once i get through the rest of this TB/WP job and its time for the tube to go back in...i have all the ammunition i need to get this done successfully.

You guys are terrific, Many Thanks!

Cheers,