I have no pictures at the moment, but while taking out the shock absorber assembly, one of the 2 17mm bolts that hold it on to the body decided that it wanted to take the threads in the body itself with it. I tried chasing the threads but no dice. What are my options here? Weld the hole in and drill it out and tap to the same size, tap to a larger size and just use a larger bolt or drill and tap it to a larger size, and use a helicoil to bring it to its original size? Has anyone else had this problem before? And will this affect my alignment? I can post pictures when I get home.

Edited January 8, 20197 yr by PigEqualsBakon
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I'm pretty sure that the threads are cut into a stamped nut that was welded to the sheet metal.   I would not try to weld then drill and tap...   Unless you are an expert welder and know what alloys to use.  There are solid thread repair kits similar to helicoils that I would be inclined to look at.  Try a search on McMastercarr.com  .   If there is space, maybe sneak a regular nut in behind the stripped one?

1 hour ago, DaveT said:

I'm pretty sure that the threads are cut into a stamped nut that was welded to the sheet metal.   I would not try to weld then drill and tap...   Unless you are an expert welder and know what alloys to use.  There are solid thread repair kits similar to helicoils that I would be inclined to look at.  Try a search on McMastercarr.com  .   If there is space, maybe sneak a regular nut in behind the stripped one?

I've already gotten the correct helicoils, but the locking ones look promising too. I'll check if there's space for a nut when I get home.

I have a one that doesn’t go in or come out nice. chasing helped make it usable though still wonky. Im pulling it again to finish a lift so I’ll be keeping an eye on how you make out. 

Id toss a helicoil in there and call it a day.  

While chasing it with a tap I feel like there was no access for a nut behind it.  But I hope I’m wrong, that would be a nice fix. 

Had same thing happen to my 4wd 87 GL.

Pulled back all the RH side interior carpet & pad, drilled out the nut, ground the inside surface flat-ish, then tack welded a rectangle of 3/8 steel plate to inner well inside. Prepped that plate beforehand with a countersunk hole for a flat head allen bolt long enough to reach thru all shock brackets. Secured with self-locking nut from wheel side. Painted to stop rust inside & out of course. 

Idea is to sandwich fender well sheet metal for more shear strength. Sorry but didn't get any pics when I did that work.

Sweaty job that one. I just got lucky being able to chase my thread. Is a great cavity for mud to sit for decades.

Tapping into welded u up hole would be a b1tch...too tuff a metal usually results from welding. I would try helicoil 

Also check out Recoil Thread Repair kits, I prefer these over heli-coil. I find they give a far more secure thread when finished. Sound like they are very similar to the ones DaveT mentioned. They are a great spark plug repair if it ever strips out. Just make sure you have them seated properly because once they are in, they are there to stay. Learnt this the hard way.

 

Cheers,

Al

Went with the helicoil. I can't post pics as they're larger than 2mb and I'm on mobile. The other mounting hole was wiped out and used a helicoil on that too. Drilled and tapped nicely but it did put up a bit of a fight. So far so good, it seems to be holding. I've already loaded the car with 5 steel rims + tires and the spare in the trunk without issue but I probably won't load the car up too much. Helicoil seems to be the way to go!

8 hours ago, PigEqualsBakon said:

Went with the helicoil. I can't post pics as they're larger than 2mb and I'm on mobile. The other mounting hole was wiped out and used a helicoil on that too. Drilled and tapped nicely but it did put up a bit of a fight. So far so good, it seems to be holding. I've already loaded the car with 5 steel rims + tires and the spare in the trunk without issue but I probably won't load the car up too much. Helicoil seems to be the way to go!

I was going to suggest just weld in a new nut on the back side.  But if it works it works!!!