Cal Club Autocross Forums

does anyone by any chance know how to tap a bolt hole for the oil pan? (the bolts that hold the pan). if so, could you give me tips on doing this? i'm not 100% sure but the size is around 10x1.25
I stripped one of the bolts, and there's a small oil leak.
i never tapped a bolt hole before..
thanks.

Kris Cho wrote:does anyone by any chance know how to tap a bolt hole for the oil pan? (the bolts that hold the pan). if so, could you give me tips on doing this? i'm not 100% sure but the size is around 10x1.25
I stripped one of the bolts, and there's a small oil leak.
i never tapped a bolt hole before..
thanks.

You need a Heli-Coil or similar product. http://www.helicoil.com.sg/HeliCoil-Ins ... ctions.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lets narrow the problem first. Did you actually damage the pan or the bolt (or both?). If bolt, obviously just buy a new one. If the pan, did you actually strip threads out (which seems unlikely unless your a monkey), or just cross thread it?

The oil seal is actually bolt head to pan, not through the thread contact, so as long as you have strong closure it shouldn't leak.If it's just cross threaded, running a tap through the threads should clean it up enough. If you are missing threads, your best off with the helicoil like Rick pointed to.

When tapping, lot of lube (which shouldn't be much of a problem in your case). 1/2 turn forward, 1/4 turn back, rinse and repeat.

No matter what your repair here is, you're probably going to end up with metal shards in your oil pan. Best to do it with the pan off the car, second best to flush some cheap oil through before you seal it up.

If your anywhere near Santa fe Springs, McMaster-Carr will have everything you need probably at the cheapest price.

Jay W

Kris Cho wrote:does anyone by any chance know how to tap a bolt hole for the oil pan? (the bolts that hold the pan). if so, could you give me tips on doing this? i'm not 100% sure but the size is around 10x1.25
I stripped one of the bolts, and there's a small oil leak.
i never tapped a bolt hole before..
thanks.

Sounds to me like you stripped the thread in the block that the oil pan bolts to. Correct? If so, you're tapping into aluminum which makes oiling your tap very important. I second what Jason said. 1/2 turn in 1/4 turn out. This is to break the chip formed by the tap. If it starts to stiffen up too much (become too hard to turn), unwind the tap completely, blow chips out of the hole and off of the tap with air, relube and continue. Don't force it or you will break the tap.
I also agree that depending on how much damage has been done, it may be possible to chase the thread and clean it up. Often times if it was cross threaded, the first lead or two are damaged and the bolt won't start, but the threads below are fine and plenty strong.
Where are you. If you're in the inland empire I wouldn't mind taking a look.
Mark D.

you are correct, mark.
it's the aluminum bolt hole in the car. i realized that i'll most likely HAVE to use the heil coil to keep the same bolt size because bigger than this bolt head may interfere with the pan itself. i heard the size is 10x1.25 but i'll DD check later.

This is kind of scary to work on especially when it's for an oil pan that is under pressure
most shops were quoting over $100 for this job lol
is there anyone who has some time to help me out ? it doesn't have to be this week. im going to pick this tap and die set up from HF: http://www.harborfreight.com/40-piece-m ... 39384.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
i have no idea what size of heli coil i need, and where to buy. I'll try to figure this out.


i live no where near you...i'm in irvine

I've got that set if you're in the South Pasadena area and want to borrow it

Kris Cho wrote:you are correct, mark.
it's the aluminum bolt hole in the car. i realized that i'll most likely HAVE to use the heil coil to keep the same bolt size because bigger than this bolt head may interfere with the pan itself. i heard the size is 10x1.25 but i'll DD check later.

This is kind of scary to work on especially when it's for an oil pan that is under pressure
most shops were quoting over $100 for this job lol
is there anyone who has some time to help me out ? it doesn't have to be this week. im going to pick this tap and die set up from HF: http://www.harborfreight.com/40-piece-m ... 39384.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
i have no idea what size of heli coil i need, and where to buy. I'll try to figure this out.


i live no where near you...i'm in irvine

Oil pans aren't under pressure.

Kris Cho wrote:i heard the size is 10x1.25

10mm would be pretty big for a pan bolt. I'd guess it's a 6-8mm with a 10mm hex head.

Oil pans aren't under pressure.

Well our Z06 one was - for a short time.

oh my bad. I checked the size. it's m6x1.0. 20mm.

Mako to wrote:

Oil pans aren't under pressure.

Well our Z06 one was - for a short time.

And now has a great afterlife!

A Helicoil uses an STI thread. This is different than anything that'll be in that set. The correct tap, and maybe drill (It's been a while) should be in the Helicoil set when and if you buy one. However, the HF tap and die set would be fine if the thread just needs chasing.
How did this happen? Did the bolt fly in like normal and then you simply over torqued it? Or was it stiff right from the get-go, getting stiffer until snap, and nowhere close to bottoming out? If it's the former, you definitely need a helicoil. Buy that and don't bother with the other set.
If it was the latter, it depends on how deep the thread damage is and how much material is left. Inspect the thread very closely. Compare it to the adjacent threads. You will see where they are torn out and if any good threads are left. I would say if the damage is more than about three threads deep, Helicoil it. If it's just the first leads, get an M6 tap and chase it. Align the tap as strait as possible and turn it counter-clockwise until you feel it seat in the first lead, then proceed clockwise. The tap should find the thread with little resistance plus a couple chunks where it cleans out material. With this size thread, if it requires any more than finger muscles, you're in crooked. It'll smooth out once it gets into good threads, but if the tap is sloppy at all at depth, the thread is shot.
If it needs a Helicoil, I would recommend having someone who knows what they're doing tap it... given that it is your engine block. Lemme know what you find.
Mark D.

Mark DeShon wrote:A Helicoil uses an STI thread. This is different than anything that'll be in that set. The correct tap, and maybe drill (It's been a while) should be in the Helicoil set when and if you buy one. However, the HF tap and die set would be fine if the thread just needs chasing.
How did this happen? Did the bolt fly in like normal and then you simply over torqued it? Or was it stiff right from the get-go, getting stiffer until snap, and nowhere close to bottoming out? If it's the former, you definitely need a helicoil. Buy that and don't bother with the other set.
If it was the latter, it depends on how deep the thread damage is and how much material is left. Inspect the thread very closely. Compare it to the adjacent threads. You will see where they are torn out and if any good threads are left. I would say if the damage is more than about three threads deep, Helicoil it. If it's just the first leads, get an M6 tap and chase it. Align the tap as strait as possible and turn it counter-clockwise until you feel it seat in the first lead, then proceed clockwise. The tap should find the thread with little resistance plus a couple chunks where it cleans out material. With this size thread, if it requires any more than finger muscles, you're in crooked. It'll smooth out once it gets into good threads, but if the tap is sloppy at all at depth, the thread is shot.
If it needs a Helicoil, I would recommend having someone who knows what they're doing tap it... given that it is your engine block. Lemme know what you find.
Mark D.

this one bolt hole was slightly misaligned with the hole in the pan. It took me lots of tries to start grabbing the thread with the bolt. Once it did, i kept on screwing in with a wrench. it was on there tight at the end. i can't remember how hard i had to turn. This was months ago. No leak here.
Few days ago, i attempted to remove the oil pan which i failed because the pan was like glued on the block lol. So i put all the bolts back on. This time, i wasn't able to tightly tighten the bolt that's giving me a problem now. i can normally screw in the bolt until the bolt head forces against the pan. Then it would start spinning. (EX. i feel like it's going to tighten nice and firm, if i turn little bit more, it suddenly loses the grab and turn freely. This repeats.) ihope you know what i mean here.

My guess is that i messed up a few threads deep inside of the bolt hole.

Should i try tapping with M6?
or should i try tapping with m7 without drilling?

i need to get this fixed before this saturday..

This thread is done. You need to Helicoil. The pan likely needs to be removed completely in order to drill and tap that hole. The best way to get your car by Saturday is to bite the bullet and pay a shop to do it, and make sure when you hand it over that it will be finished by Friday night. I will just say, there's a reason it's over $100. Or see if there's an alternate solution. E.G. Use somebody else's car, or decide if the oil leak is something you can live with for the weekend (not sure how bad it is or what's happening Saturday).
If none of those are options, confirm your bolt size, then go to your local NAPA and find yourself a helicoil set. The set will be whatever size the bolt is that you took out of there. Then get that oil pan off! I see no other way around it. Do it gently, though. Don't mar up the matting face on the block. If worse comes to worse and you can't find anyone local, PM me your contact info and we can set something up for Friday night, but it'll have to be 6 or later. Good luck.
Mark D.

$100 isn't really that unreasonable to me, but there's definitly satisfaction in doing it yourself.

I assume you have the bolt. Take it to Ace Hardware (Jeffery & Alton or Culver & Michelson), and use the loose nuts to size your treads/diameter.

Look at McMaster-Carr's catalog here:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#threaded-inserts/=erne8z" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Heli-Coil" is a brand name, your looking for a helical or treaded insert of sorts.

Jay W

Kris Cho wrote:you are correct, mark.
it's the aluminum bolt hole in the car. i realized that i'll most likely HAVE to use the heil coil to keep the same bolt size because bigger than this bolt head may interfere with the pan itself. i heard the size is 10x1.25 but i'll DD check later.

This is kind of scary to work on especially when it's for an oil pan that is under pressure
most shops were quoting over $100 for this job lol
is there anyone who has some time to help me out ? it doesn't have to be this week. im going to pick this tap and die set up from HF: http://www.harborfreight.com/40-piece-m ... 39384.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
i have no idea what size of heli coil i need, and where to buy. I'll try to figure this out.


i live no where near you...i'm in irvine

$100 is very reasonable considering the pan R&R.

where can I purchase m7x1.0 (around 20mm length). and m8x1.0 in coarse thread or 1.25. preferably near irvine

I need the bolt head to be like 8mm socket size..in order to clear the pan

Kris Cho wrote:where can I purchase m7x1.0 (around 20mm length). and m8x1.0?
I need the bolt head to be like 8mm socket size..in order to clear the pan

Same place where you get the heli-coil. McMaster Carr, Ace may have it (see above), or McFadden-Dale will have it for sure.
http://hstrial-mcfaddendalei.homestead.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Although, I agree with the others that you should have it done by a shop.

Rick

Kris Cho wrote:where can I purchase m7x1.0 (around 20mm length). and m8x1.0 in coarse thread or 1.25. preferably near irvine

I need the bolt head to be like 8mm socket size..in order to clear the pan

If you're considering drilling out the hole and going bigger, you're not saving any steps by increasing the bolt diameter, other than the screwing in the helicoil itself.

An M8 bolt with a 8mm socket size would be quite a trick!

KJ Christopher wrote:

Kris Cho wrote:where can I purchase m7x1.0 (around 20mm length). and m8x1.0 in coarse thread or 1.25. preferably near irvine

I need the bolt head to be like 8mm socket size..in order to clear the pan

If you're considering drilling out the hole and going bigger, you're not saving any steps by increasing the bolt diameter, other than the screwing in the helicoil itself.

An M8 bolt with a 8mm socket size would be quite a trick!

Cap screw!

Im at MDi hardware. they have everything!
I got all the help I need from a person who works here. very friendly.
I bought heli coil kit to keep the same size of the bolt

now it's a matter of if I do it right or not!!:)

Where's this?

Jay W

Kris Cho wrote:Im at MDi hardware. they have everything!
I got all the help I need from a person who works here. very friendly.
I bought heli coil kit to keep the same size of the bolt

now it's a matter of if I do it right or not!!:)

Posted above McFaddenDale

Jayson Woodruff wrote:Where's this?

Jay W

Kris Cho wrote:Im at MDi hardware. they have everything!
I got all the help I need from a person who works here. very friendly.
I bought heli coil kit to keep the same size of the bolt

now it's a matter of if I do it right or not!!:)

Got it, the "i" mixed me up.

This is a great place, but they have banker hours.

Jay W

Rick Brown wrote:Posted above McFaddenDale

[quote
This is a great place, but they have banker hours.

Jay W quote]

HEY, WAIT A MINUTE........