slayer_taunu

iTrader: (3)

so there i was, installing a BMR k-member and poly motor mounts in my 4th gen. long story short, i mess up one of the k-member to frame bolts and the captive nut that goes with it.

first thing that crosses my mind is to just get a new bolt/nut from hardware store. these are grade 10 metric bolts... good luck finding those at a hardware store, lowes and HD only carry grade 8.

then i check out the stealership. the bolt is only like $4, but the nut is all kinds of funky in design, and is $30. ouch. plus they would take 3-5 business days to get. double ouch.

then i get the bright idea to just yank one off a junk car. i call TEN junkyards, and not one had a 4th gen camaro/firebird on the lot.

so then i decide to look into fixing my nut/bolt with a tap/die set. i search around, and find this set by craftsman:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00942275000P

got great reviews. instead of cutting the threads like a tap/die set, it reshapes the threads... its specifically designed for fixing damaged threads as opposed to cutting new ones. FYI: this 48pc set is only available by mail. they have a slightly smaller version in the stores, which has 4 less sizes and is $20 cheaper. i couldnt wait to order it, so i ran to the store to pick up the smaller kit and some cutting oil.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00952105000P

worked like a charm. since i messed up the first threads on the bolt, and was afraid that i'd make them worse, i first ran the file backwards through the bolt, so it could use some good threads as a template to get the bad ones started. i then used the die to go over the threads. for the nut, i started off running it though the back side to use the good threads as a template. for both, i had to start off using a wrench to turn them, but after several passes back and forth, i was able to do it by hand.

i kept running the tap and dies through the nut and bolt, forwards and backwards a whole bunch of times, until i couldn't feel the resistance getting any better. while i wasnt able to completley thread the 'fixed' nut/bolt together with just my fingers, i only needed a tiny bit of help from a wrench to 'power through' the bad part.

i would highly suggest this kit for just having in your tool set for 'just in case'. i would of course suggest getting the bigger set if you are ordering in a non-crisis situation like i had to. i dunno if sears will let me return it or not, since i did use it... but i already ran into one time where i wanted to just clean the gunk out of the threads on another bolt, but didn't have the size, which is available in the bigger kit (m11x1.5).

97LT1

iTrader: (3)

I have this kit and like it also. It has saved me a few times, and is good for cleaning threads. I would also suggest adding their spark plug thread repair tap also. It works the same way without cutting into the metal.

SScam68

iTrader: (20)

Wow, good timing.

I need to buy a thread chaser kit so I can clean the bolt holes from all the loctite on the engine block.

I have a few pieces but they're standard, not metric.

slayer_taunu

iTrader: (3)

did you buy the smaller one? or the larger catalog-only kit?

97LT1

iTrader: (3)

It was the smaller kit I believe. I would love to have a full set of these covering all of the sizes.

88SS LS1

iTrader: (9)

I had a simialar problem working on vw where I work and had to call my snap on guy and get a set just like that for a $100.00. It's a life saver sometimes!

mmmchickenboy

FYI Autozone has this in their Loan-A-Tool program. The P/N is 27142. The deposit is somewhere around $90. No one knows they have this in stock, so most of the time the thing is brand new on the shelf.