Non-FSJ- sealants?!

[Shake N Bake]

Hey folks,

Well, the "Wifes car" is doing it to me again! Darn thing PISSES ME OFF! smile.gif

Went to put a new thermostat in it in preparation for our move north (we're headed to Fort McMurray AB) And in the process of removing the housing, two of the bolts sheared!

One was easy enough to deal with... The other one is turning out to be a pain. So far I've tried the drill/easyout to get the remainder of the bolt out... That went about as well as is usually expected! drilled out the rest of the ez-out, tried to tap the hole... Turns out its a soft aluminum housing, and the tap basically just reamed the hole bigger! Tried a heli-coil and the coil just pulls out with any tension on it whatsoever...

I'm outta ideas! I've tried using the 2 remaining bolts, and lots of RTV, but that doesn't hold. I was thinking about using aviation permatex, but that stuffs a pain to get off if it doesn't hold.

Next thought is just to use some self-driller/self tapping screws and screwing through the flanges... But I figure thats an absolute last resort... Anyone have any better ideas?

Oh, the one idea I had was to put a nut behind the flange and use it, but there's no room to get between the flange & head so its not going to work!

HELP! is there a sealant out there that would hold the pressure?! I know for sure the Copper RTV isn't holding... Will aviation permatex hold better? I know JB weld would do it, but I dont wan't to screw myself for later repairs! Suggestions?

Mandatory FSJ content: Boy was it fun driving the jeep around today! Love it when the wifes car breaks! smile.gif

Andy

[SpruceMoose]

have you tried "form-a-thread"? its an epoxy-type glue that you put into the hole. you put a coating of release agent on the mating thread (bolt), and then you twist the bolt into the epoxy. after it cures you back out the bolt (assuming you got release agent on all the threads) and you are left with a threaded hole! there is a chart on the package that tells you the maximum torque you can put on a given hole. i have used that stuff several times. two of the bolts holding the lower unit on my father-in-laws boat had "thread-in-a-tube". worth a shot!

sm.

[woodybeone]

"JB Weld" will also work in a similar fashion as outlined by SpruceMoose. However you would just clean out the hole with solvent to get rid of any grease and fill it with JB Weld. After it dries (24 hours or more) you should be able to drill and tap it. I've used it on smaller threaded applications but it should work for this. You may have to enlarge the hole to get more material inside to work with. Never tried the "form-a-thread" but that sounds like it should work as well.

[Crazy_Jeepman]

I am not sure what you are up against but I would never use a epoxy or JB weld for that type of repair. I would size the hole you now have get a tap one size biger use the correct drill bit size for that tap and rethread it. To many times I have seen the so called JB Weld fixes fail. I have been to Fort McMurray AB many times My dad worked in the Tar Sands, he lives in Edmonton AB now. One thing I know about that part of the country is, you sure want a good heater, and you sure do not want your JB WELD to fall apart. Do what it takes to fix it right. You do not fix cars in the winter living in Fort McMurray AB, and you darn sure don't want to break down getting there. ;)

[la mula pescadora]

i will sugest to replace the hole intake it will more expencive but if u are traveling with the family to the cold weather : do u whant to take a chance for the car to break down on the road

[Shake N Bake]

Thanks for all the advice folks, tried various methods today... Gave Up, got real mad, put in a couple self-driller/self tapping screws... Unfortunately the aluminum was too weak to tap proper...And you guys can guess what happened on the way home...

But in my fit of anger... I figured out the housing somehow does come off the head! smile.gif Now I just have to figure out how to do it without killing the head or the housing :>

Time for a Pick your part run! smile.gif

Andy