Taillight mounting holes stripped out???

[oddave715]

Has anyone been able to repair tail lights that have had the mounting holes stripped out? I have a nearly new light off my M101A3 that has been stripped out on one hole and the other is nearly gone. I'm not sure if a tap alone will be enough to repair this. My other thought is to JB Weld the hole shut, drill it and then tap it. I wanted to see what others have done before I jump in on this project. I really don't want to trash this nice light and spend out money for another if I don't have to. Thanks!

 

[jasonjc]

Metal or plastic? They make threaded inserts that you can get to replace the threads.

 

[oddave715]

These are the newer metal ones.

 

[jasonjc]

If it were mine I'd use some thing like this: https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/60857?r=~|categoryl1:"600000 Fasteners"|~ ~|categoryl2:"600186 Thread Repair"|~ ~|categoryl3:"605514 Keyserts"|~

This should make it a one time fix and last. I work for a place that made a lot of stuff out of aluminum and any thread hole got these put in to start with so they did not strip out.

 

[papakb]

The keyserts from Fastenall are probably the best option to repair stripped threads because they use standard size taps to install them.. Another option would be Helicoils but they require non-standard taps for installation. Something else to look out for is replacement lamp housings. They're pretty cheap when you find them.

Kurt

 

[Scar59]

PM sent

 

[KansasBobcat]

I have used Helicoils but not in this application. I would try degreasing the holes and coating the threads with JB weld and then retapping. You can always try another solution if this does not hold. You don't need a lot of torque in this application.

 

[oddave715]

I have used Helicoils but not in this application. I would try degreasing the holes and coating the threads with JB weld and then retapping. You can always try another solution if this does not hold. You don't need a lot of torque in this application.

That's what I was thinking of doing. I saw a kit from Loctite that is for thread repair. I might try that if I can find the kit locally. It uses a two part material(epoxy?) and a thread releaser that you coat the bolt threads with. I watched part of a YouTube video of it. I'll try to get a link for it up later today.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zUI6GMkTOjU

 

[Wildchild467]

I was an idiot and used a tap to clean out the threads on mine that were full of paint. I used a fine thread tap when it was actually coarse thread. I felt dumb dumb dumb. I'm still not completely over it.

 

[74M35A2]

I was an idiot and used a tap to clean out the threads on mine that were full of paint. I used a fine thread tap when it was actually coarse thread. I felt dumb dumb dumb. I'm still not completely over it.

 

[oddave715]

I ended just cleaning up the threads with the appropriate tap and using slightly longer bolts. They seemed to tighten up fine when I put them on last night.