Somebody Help I F'd up!

[johnnyrad]

I'm going to scream. The threads in the frame were one the hex bolts goes into for the control arms bushings is cross threaded and I can't get the hex bolt to go in true now..What the hell do I do now!!!

[kayger12]

Can you try one of the old bolts and see if they will seat properly?

Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

[johnnyrad]

I'm using the old ones. They didn't send new ones with but I didnt ask for new ones. I mean WTF. Are the threads made from f'in copper. What a joke:facepalm

[Crickett]

Retap? :dunno

[johnnyrad]

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i401/bslotterbach/DSC_0861-2.jpg

FAIL!

[johnnyrad]

How do I retap?? Can I just put the one hex screw in and force the crossthreaded one in for now??
Can I replace the female threads somehow?? I'm lost..

[az3579]

How do I retap?? Can I just put the one hex screw in and force the crossthreaded one in for now??
Can I replace the female threads somehow?? I'm lost..

You should be able to acquire a retapping kit at sears...

Either way, I wouldn't attempt retapping using the method you described.
You would also need the bolt for the size you retapped, as the size will change.

Sent from my DROIDX

[MsRN]

Sears sells tap and die sets; you might be able to tap one or two diameters larger, and find a bolt to match. Good luck!

[Crickett]

^ This: buy yourself the appropriate-thread tapping bit (shouldn't be terribly expensive; I had to do so on my old car) or check around to rent one.

[johnnyrad]

Autozone has sets, I can rent them I think. The screw is 16mm so do I just tap for a 17mm?

[az3579]

Autozone has sets, I can rent them I think. The screw is 16mm so do I just tap for a 17mm?

Try 17 or if that doesn't work, 18mm.

Sent from my DROIDX

[danewilson77]

Why not just run the 16mm tap in there and clean up the threads? No need to go a size bigger imho.

[az3579]

Why not just run the 16mm tap in there and clean up the threads? No need to go a size bigger imho.

Do you think that would really create sufficient threads to bring the bolt in?

Sent from my DROIDX

[danewilson77]

I would use a 16 to chase the threads first. That's just what I would do. I stripped out a mounting point on my seats. I chased the hole with a same size tap, and it worked like a champ.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/IMG_20101023_210045-2.jpg

[johnnyrad]

I would use a 16 to chase the threads first. That's just what I would do. I stripped out a mounting point on my seats. I chased the hole with a same size tap, and it worked like a champ.

http://i1015.photobucket.com/albums/af278/nicee46/Maintenance%20and%20Misc/IMG_20101023_210045-2.jpg

UPDATE! It mother truckin worked! I did just that, I ran to Autozone and for $30 bought the tap and die kit. The old timer there knew exactly what to do. Thank god for senior citizens :) He said exactly what Dane said, he evened picked out the right cutting thingie and said use this, smack a little oil on it, work it back and forth and then try it. The first few threads became useless but I only screwed up the first thread anyway I just had to get the screw past that and once I did it set. I just took it out for a spin and holy shit those bushings are awesome. You can tell for sure I did the right thing by replacing them.

Thanks guys for pointing me in the right direction..I was frazzled and couldn't even think. Thank god for family!!

[kayger12]

Good recovery, Jrad. Way to get her done.

[MsRN]

I'm glad Grampa Dane and the rest of us could help...you're a good boy, Johnny! :p

[johnnyrad]

From fumbling failure to finished in fine fashion.. I just hope my kids or neighbors didn't hear what I was screamin when it happened.

[danewilson77]

:rofl

Droid! Srs Legitness!

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Good recovery, Jrad. Way to get her done.

+1

[MrMaico]

Good job Johnny. A little late to the party but, it doesn't work to try and tap out an already threaded hole with a larger size tap. You may have gotten lucky and got the bolt to bite but it's not recommended. Good thing Dane got you on the right track.

If that hadn't worked you would have needed a Timesert repair kit like this....

http://www.timesert.com/

Helicoil is another brand but Timesert is considered to be a better design.

Just thought I'd post this for the next guy that's in your shoes. You don't want to do a half-assed job on something critical like this.

Barry

[ryankokesh]

If it makes you feel any better (not sure it would), I had the same exact problem.

[johnnyrad]

Good job Johnny. A little late to the party but, it doesn't work to try and tap out an already threaded hole with a larger size tap. You may have gotten lucky and got the bolt to bite but it's not recommended. Good thing Dane got you on the right track.

If that hadn't worked you would have needed a Timesert repair kit like this....

http://www.timesert.com/

Helicoil is another brand but Timesert is considered to be a better design.

Just thought I'd post this for the next guy that's in your shoes. You don't want to do a half-assed job on something critical like this.

Barry

Thanks M&M. Never to late to get to the party. What a helpless feeling that was. Your link looks like a perfect solution to what I had encountered. I would have been callin that number if I didn't fix it.

[johnnyrad]

If it makes you feel any better (not sure it would), I had the same exact problem.

Ryan what did you do? The same thing I did?

[ryankokesh]

Well, I didn't know about the whole tap solution. The original bolt was f'ed up, so I just tried getting a new one and finagling it in there. I guess mine wasn't too messed up, because somehow I got it in there and was able to tighten it down properly. If I ever have to take the thing off again I'm definitely going to invest in one of these sets...