Got my car up on the ramps today and tackled the other 2 stripped thread bolt holes. This one is the front bolt hole for the dogbone mount. The helicoil kit was £20 from ebay.
First up was to remove the dogbone mount. Then, using the drill bit supplied in the kit, drill out the old knackered threads. This it very easy and only required light pressure on the drill.
Then you rethread the hole using the tap supplied in the kit.
Hole tapped. I used a can of air to blast out the metal fragments in the hole to clean it out.
This is the helicoil on the insertion tool ready to thread in. Beside it is the tang removal tool.
Gently thread the helicoil into the tapped hole, you should only feel light resistance, if it feels difficult, back it out and run the tap in and out again to ensure all debris has been removed. Thread it down so it's about half a turn below the surface. Using the tang removal tool to knock the end tang off, only a light tap with a hammer is required. If you don't remove the tang the bolt won't go it very far!
Try the bolt in it to make sure it goes in ok. I got a new set of bolts from David at Sere.
If you're happy - job done! Refit the dogbone mount and torque it up, 40Nm for the front 2 larger bolts and 20Nm for the rear 2. Mount is solid again.
Poor show by Star Performance who must have stripped these threads years ago and never bothered to fix them or tell me about it.
Oh and this is what I found in my nearside rear tyre:
Spare wheel on until it's fixed.
Looks like getting the new set of Goodyears was a timely move, they should be here any day now.
