I need opinions if you've got em'. Anyway, I was doing my lower control arms in the rear and had to move the differential out of the way. I'm ready to put everything back together and screwing on the bolt for the front mounting point (there's 3 of them). It doesn't go in all the way. What gives!? :mad:
I pull it out, and I see metal shavings :(. After an hour or so of trying to force it/finesse it in, I've given up. From the looks of it, it looks like half the threads on the differential are chewed up (I can probably post pics later).
What are my options :help?
I've got 2 possibilities in my head already:
1) Take out the diff, and get it re-threaded. What does this entail? Larger diameter bolt too? Any way to re-thread while it's still on the car?
2) F' the threads... get a longer bolt and nut. And screw the whole thing together.
Thanks.
I'd say option 2 is probably out. I have no idea how much room there is around the diff bolt, but if you can get a die around there try just re-threading it ... it's probably the next-easiest option if you have the room to work in there. :dunno
yeah i would go with the die but make sure its the right size
How-D:
I've been a machinist for over 20 years (it hurts to say that in public) and can offer some advice here if you could post some pics as I don't have a visual of your problem. I understand that you have a stripped thread but I need to see where and how much room there is to work in to offer advice. I'm also on the southwest shores of Lake Michigan so I'm in your area. I don't know much about women or global politics but I do know a bit about metal.
I've been meaning to post an update even though most won't care ;).
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Success!
I'm a little nervous about it, but I think it should be ok... time should tell. Thank God for a racheting tap wrench; there's not much space to work in there. Thanks for the help guys.
Hey, are you sure that you've got it all lined up right? I bet it's hard to see if you have or not, but if it's not lined up, it won't go in, no matter how hard or softly you finesse it.
Not that you can change itn now, but what size tap did you use? Standard BMW thread is M12x1.5. Did you drill and tap it to an M14 thread? That would forever solve the broken diff bolt issue ;)
BTW--MSC Direct RULES the metalworking tools business. I've spent thousands there for our lathe/mill and machine tools: http://www.mscdirect.com
Oh, it went in alright - finesse <i>and</i> no finesse... and then it stopped... with about .5.-.75" thread sticking out.
Yeah, I went with the M12x1.5. Luckily, I took the bolt to Sears with me and tried out one of their dies on it to make sure. :laugh M14 does sound enticing now that you mention it, but I wonder if it would mean broken diff <b>mounts</b> instead :stickoutt.
Do they not have Helicoils in the US ? :rolleyes:
Nope... only burgers and Freedom Fries of course! (Maybe it's not apparent, but I'm not a machinist by trade.)
Anyway, I haven't heard of Helicoils until now. A little more searching brought me to Timeserts, which are apparently said to be superior. Hmm... wish I had heard about these before.
Being a machinist (couldn't figure out what I want to be when I grow up) by default I can offer a few comments on threaded inserts. The Heli-coils are what most people use, including myself. They are fine when you have a limited amount of room that excludes tapping for a larger size or a larger inert. They work well enough when you are not doing a disassemble on a regular basis and are looking for the fastest repair. They do have an affinity for pulling out with the fastener that is a bit vexing. :confused: as well as sometimes just not installing right and you have to get another and try again. I prefer to use a larger insert as it will be a bit stronger and can have red Loctite on it without getting on the fastener. You also get more choices for the material the insert is made of if you feel the need for stronger threads. If I remember, the heli coils are made of stainless (resistant) steel and this tends to gall up on dissimilar materials (fastener) unless you use an anti sieze on it and this isn't always what you want to do. The larger insert school of thought is certainly more work but I think if you take the time now it will avoid needing the time later to repair the repair. JMHO
You need an Helicoil insert tool, about $70, the special tap, about $20, and you can never be sure that you drill and tap it perfectly perpendicular. An Helicoil would be a particularly difficult fix in this case. He basically chased the threads out with an M12x1.5 tap and was done with it. An easy, and rather effective solution.
