Yep saved me a couple days of agony myself.

Yes, +1 on the above comment. Thanks for sharing the knowledge and educating us.

I'm glad it helped.

Hell yeah. I have done the wire/shim trick in the past but it didn't even occur to me for this weeks newest dilemma... a stripped Briggs & Stratton head bolt thread. 'till I saw this video. Teamwork baby!

@@sixtyfiveford just helped me too! Thanks bud!

I replaced the head gasket in my 2000 Civic and one of the valve cover bolt holes stripped. I couldn't find a Helicoil kit in my small town, so I bought AutoZone's equivalent. Then another bolt hole stripped and there weren't enough inserts, so I ordered the actual Helicoil kit. I spent about $60 total for the AutoZone kit, the Helicoil kit, and extra inserts. How much does copper wire cost? :) Also, I am positive that it is available in my town! :D

Did you mention that was the connection to your steering wheel.. call me crazy but that's not something I would rig unless I absolutely had to in an emergency situation I don't work on cars

Awesome. It doesn't work for everything but has been a lifesaver a few times.

That's awesome. I think I have 2 bolts on my oil pan that I did this to 15 year ago still holding strong.

Where and what copper wire do I get

ShawnMrFixit Lee haha... YOU'RE awesome.

Original mechanics knew how to fix stuff.

bob Last Nice, never thought about steel wool.

Thanks for subscribing.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

Awesome. It doesn't save every thread but has helped out a ton in various situations.

Awesome, I'm glad you tried it out.

armypipesmoker Thanks Bro

Thanks, I'm glad you tried it out. It's not a fix for every situation, but it works in a lot of them.

kyle anderson Thanks man.

Awesome. It has saved my butt for little things just like this.

Unfortunately the holes were too badly stripped. But I will keep that in mind for future use.

Awesome.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

Awesome

Solder... Good tip.

I realize this is old, but this video is helping me today. Just thought I'd mention to be mindful of solder wire in applications around heat or it may just drip out.

Awesome

KydexByParlusk Ooops! just saw your post.......great minds think alike!

KydexByParlusk Being a woodworker for a long time is where I think I adapted this technique for metal from.

Parlusk, sixtyfiveford, I couldn't begin to tell you both how many times I've used toothpicks and some Titebond to fix a stripped hinge or door strike screw. Nearly everytime I install a new door or hardware on an old door jam I have to use this little trick. Always works and never fails. Oh and the use of a tappered end spring loaded centering bit to pilot the new hole helps the new screws track properly.

Parlusk Use wooden golf tees, glue, hammer in the tee, then snap off the extra.

+Rob Jones, old golf tees, perfect and I'm on my to a customer's home right now who's an avid golfer. In fact the house backs up to a large 2x18,1x9 holes golf course. I'm sure he'll have some unwanted tees to spare. I can't believe I hadn't thought of that myself. Wow, serious brain fart on my part. Thank you for the advice. Truly appreciate it.

Awesome

Me too

Was going to say the same thing. You can even use regular wood screws as tapcons, by dropping a small piece of wire (with the insulation on it works best) into the hole. Works fine for light duty uses, and thanks to the sparkies, there are always lots of small clippings of wire laying around on a job site

@@danbell3827 Yep. You can always tell where the sparkies have been working. You must be an Aussie.

@@dsc0273 Lol... about as far away as you can get... Canadian :P

@@danbell3827 Ah. We call electricians sparkies as well.

Definitely not as good as new threads, but has its place.

Awesome, I'm glad you tried it out.

Awesome, I'm glad you tried it.

Jaime Mendiola I just had the same issue!

RyeOnHam Yeah, I've jammed an imperial in the place of a metric a few times. I would have just used a metric in this situation but it was slightly smaller. So I could have swapped an imperial in the place of a stripped metric. The Center punch is a good idea and will definitely get you out of a bind.

RyeOnHam Cut a relief at the end of the bolt like some self tappers have.

I have done this too. Rolled it against a belt sander to taper it and file relief cuts like on self-tapping screws.

Correct, due to galvanic or electrolysis reactive corrosion. The reaction is due to dissimilar metals at the molecular level that is exacerbated by any moisture including atmospheric humidity and or acid including the moisture and fatty acids from a human touch. using aluminum foil will also convert to aluminum dust when exposed to moisture including atmospheric humidity.

I'm confused, isn't the original bolt steel? or is it aluminum?

@@manthonychavez the bolt is made from steel but the part you screw the bolt into is made of aluminium

It doesn't work in all situations but it has saved my butt a few times.

Awesome, I'm glad you liked it. It doesn't work in all situations, but I've save a handful of random items with the trick.

Hey thanks.

sixtyfiveford that was cool. I want em

I wouldn't mind a collection myself.

sixtyfiveford dude, how do know all of this?

sixtyfiveford where are these VWs. I need an electric car project. MUDDy

+sixtyfiveford pero que gran cochinada haces .

same especially on a guitar where the screws go in and out a lot if a person makes mods to their guitar. Although I must admit I never thought of doing it with copper wire into aluminum.

Linus TechTips I didnt know you were a car guy!

You may need a pilot hole from the front side to center the hole for the nut.

Worn door hinge holes, yes sir!

I'm glad that moment was short lived.

I've use this technique for just that purpose. I'm glad you found it useful.

I.e. make your own helicoil. (and helicoils aren't that expensive. a full kit with tap and tools, sure, but the "spring" is cheap and you can buy just those.)

Horn wouldn't work then due to not being able to get the contact on. Those weird shoulders on the bolts are for the horn button contact .

Hi Mustie

Holy fuck, that's a lot of shit

.my yard almost there... I have a set of chinese heli coils bunch of different sizes for $30

15 to go.......

Thanks, I'm glad it was helpful. It's not a fix for every situation but it has saved me quite a few times.

And?

lmfao I almost said the same thing.

+Feleni Siufanua Exactly..

Thanks, I'm glad it was helpful.

In aluminum and cast iron, properly installed Helicoils hold more torque than brand new threads. Just like a ladder manufacturer, Emhart knows how to cover itself in a sue-happy world. That doesn't mean it's not a superior repair- in fact many racing engine machinists install Helicoils on high pressure components since they are superior to tapped threads. And for the sake of argument, these bolts do not connect the steering wheel to the steering components anyway, it's the horn ring.

Janet, I'll guarantee you that I have more experience than 99% of mechanics you will ever meet. My credentials are ASE Master, LNG Master Fitter, Limited Mechanical Electrician and Certified Millwright. Multiple Associate degrees come with these certifications. Among many other projects in 40 years of custom fabrication I have hand built several complete steering assemblies on offroad trucks and buggies. When someone tries to tell me they know better I just have to shrug at them and ask if they are better trained or more experienced than I am. Very few are. I have dealt with literally hundreds of damaged thread situations.

Janet Merner Allow me to explain why you are incorrect. Threads cut into aluminum or similar soft metal have 'X' holding power. This is less than an identically sized thread in mild steel. Significantly less than threads cut into a higher quality steel alloy such as stainless. In order to insert a Heli-Coil, the part is drilled to a larger diameter, threaded to a larger, similar pitch, and the Heli-Coil is wound in with threadlocker such as Loctite red. Now, when the bolt is tightened, the stainless spring flutes are driven horizontally from the bolt thread into the base thread. This is a stronger connection because it is using two hard metals to wedge into a softer metal and there is now a flexible quality to the connection due to the wedge of the Coil into the base material. It is capable of significantly higher tightening torque. This is the reason that many racing components use Heli-coils for threaded connections rather than straight threads into soft metals such as aluminum and magnesium. Hopefully the physics of torque on a coiled insert make sense to you and you can now understand why it creates a superior threaded connection.

Janet Merner The part IS NOT the steering hub. It is the horn ring. The steering hub is part of the steering wheel which is held to the steering shaft by a large nut and taper fit. Are you beginning to understand why your continued argument is so ridiculous? Those three bolts have nothing at all to do with holding the steering wheel on.

those 3 bolts are the only thing that hold the wheel it is a grant steering wheel style adapter the center bolt in this case holds the adapter NOT the wheel

Nice work!

Awesome I'm glad you tried it

Hey Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

I have the exact same issue on my 89 chevy k1500. no room to tap them, im going to try it too.