So the heli-coil got ripped out.....

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hemlock

Feeling the Heat
May 6, 2009
455
east coast canada
....now what. Got a peice of equipment in the shop today with a 3/8 16 heli-coil torn out of a large aluminum casting (in a very awkward spot to add to the fun). I'm not sure how to go about repairing this one. I'm thinking I may just have to build it up with liquid metal, and re-drill/tap. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.
 
Any chance of overdrilling a bit deeper into the housing, redrilling, re tap, and use a stud? What's it on?
 
I've done this before to repair and re-bush pneumatic cylinders that got worn oblong from constant actuation. Really easy to do, fill it, machined it down all nicey nice, and re-drilled the holes. A lot easier than doing it with the TIG.



http://www.durafix.com

I've done similar with JB weld before but this is faster/stronger and can take a bit more heat. Repair is damn near undetectable if you want it to be.
 
You can purchase a kit that has an over-sized Heli-Coil for your application.

You will need to drill and tap for the over-sized heli-coil and then insert the regular heli-coil into that.

You mentioned the heli-coil ripped out, were the threads damaged?
 
JoeS said:
You can purchase a kit that has an over-sized Heli-Coil for your application.

You will need to drill and tap for the over-sized heli-coil and then insert the regular heli-coil into that.

You mentioned the heli-coil ripped out, were the threads damaged?

When the heli-coil got torn out, it took some of the surrounding metal with it.

Thanks for the suggestions, eveyone.
I think I'm going to drill it out for the next size heli-coil (and try to put a longer one in), and bore the hole out on the component that the bolt passes through (that fastens to the aluminum) for the next size up.
 
I think you need to solve the problem.
The threads got ripped out, then the repair got ripped out. Fixing it again isn't solving the problem of why it happens in the first place.
 
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