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Jason M.
Dodge Dakota
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6/19/2005
22:13:54
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 Subject: Helicoil brake caliper thread repair
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I did the brakes on my 2002 Dakota this weekend. Probably the worse brake system I have ever worked on. Everything about it is cheap, especially the rotors, which began warping at 6000 miles. The pads still look almost new.
Anyway, one of the threads for the brake caliper stripped out on the spindle. The pins look fine. I read some older posts about helicoil as a fix, but none appeared to cover the newer model Daks. Has anyone used a helicoil to fix this problem on a newer truck? Any idea on the correct size? Any other suggestions?
Jason
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John K
Dodge Dakota
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6/20/2005
07:43:32
| RE: Helicoil brake caliper thread repair
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Hi Jason,
I suggested the Helicoil solution. I have never actually used this method to fix a steering knuckle or spindle, but it's quick and works wonders on stripped holes in engine blocks and heads. Another good suggestion was to weld up, re-drill and tap the holes. Either way, you will need to have a machine shop do this work, unless you have a drill press or a really steady hand.
If you're really, really good, you can drill, tap and Helicoil the hole without removing the knuckle from the truck. If you can do that, then you da man!
The thread size is probably metric, you'll need a screw guage to check it.
Another option is to find a good junk yard specimen.
Good luck!
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bob70
Dodge Dakota
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6/20/2005
09:21:46
|  RE: Helicoil brake caliper thread repair
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I did mine on a 94 4x4 on the truck, The 94 was a 9mm x1.25 and the kit is hard to come by, check a pep boys they carry thier own brand of helicoil, and then you need to find the correct drill bit, mine was a "U" size, which is hard to find too, sears told me they don't exist, and ACE didn't have em, if you have a place called FASTENAL near you, they carry both the heli coil and the drill bit. I did mine on the truck, I put some high strengh thread locker on the heli coil for good measure, and let it dry before putting the pin back in. Just verify your size first, and the job itself isn't too bad. I just can't believe how weak the metal is in those knuckles... the heli coil is probably stronger.
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Jason M.
Dodge Dakota
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6/20/2005
16:49:29
| RE: Helicoil brake caliper thread repair
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Thanks for the info. I tried Fastenal. They have kits for every size except 9 mm. Says his supplier doesn't even stock it. Called the dealer. He says they drill & retap for $180. Seems excessive, but my options are running low.
Any other suggestions?
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daddio
Dodge Dakota
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6/20/2005
17:05:51
| RE: Helicoil brake caliper thread repair
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can't you drill & retap or just tap to the next larger size in SAE instead of metric? seems i read on here somewhere that somebody did that.
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John K
Dodge Dakota
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6/20/2005
17:45:40
| RE: Helicoil brake caliper thread repair
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here ya go
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bob70
Dodge Dakota
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6/21/2005
08:16:13
| RE: Helicoil brake caliper thread repair
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I got my helicoil kit at NAPA, it was expensive there(I think around $35-$40, but it was the only place I could find one at the time, but I did see one at pepboys for much less. NAPA also sells a caliper bolt that has larger threads made for this situation, but I have read it is a one time use only, and they cost about $15 each. and if you strip that out, you are back to square one.
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nater44
Dodge Dakota
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6/21/2005
16:02:41
| RE: Helicoil brake caliper thread repair
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get the helicoil kit from NAPA thats where I got mine, 48 bucks i think. I asked about getting new studs and having it tapped larger, the aluminum studs for my 94 were 30 dollars apiece I think, helicoil it, I did mine 30K ago and have had no problems at all
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Jason M.
Dodge Dakota
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6/22/2005
22:20:09
| RE: Helicoil brake caliper thread repair
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Thanks for all the suggestions.
I ended up buying an oversized bolt at NAPA for $20. It was listed in the online store, but my local shop had some in stock. The instructions do say it is a one time use, and it comes with thread lock. The instructions also say that you can only use one per caliper. Install took about 1 minute. I put it in slowly and kept a torque wrench on it. It went in perfectly, just like it was meant to be there. I figure I can prepare ahead of time for the next time I do the brakes and have the helicoil on hand.
Jason
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slopehead
Dodge Dakota
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6/25/2005
10:05:56
| RE: Helicoil brake caliper thread repair
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save yourself a lot of money and time looking for the helicoil drills, taps and inserts, go to www.use-enco.com. 1-800-873-3626 type in HEICOIL for a search or go to page 613 in their online catalog,(it is the same as the paper one they send in the mail) through page618 for all their Heli-Coil and other branded thread repair inserts.
according to Machineries Handbook and other machining publications there is no standard for 9 mm threads so I suspect that is an in-house specification, by DC, or mis-information, not sure which.
Individual inserts can be purchased for $0.53 on up, depending on size and length, plus shipping, from the current 2005 master catalog. Many times they have them on sale in smaller monthly catalogs for a bit less.
the idiot from sears is just that. "U" drills do exist and are on page 5 as sold idividually for only $1.70 each, in what is known as "jobber" or standard length, (other lengths are available) and the decimal equivalant size is 0.368 or only .007 under 3/8ths. A full set of "letter" drills, size "A" through "Z", can be had for as little as $24.11. These are high quality drills and not those cheap junk "Made In China" drills that Wal-Mart sells that go dull after the first hole, but the same ones I buy to use in my CNC production runs, drilling hundreds of holes before re-sharpening them.
A company called MSC has a larger selection of thread repair inserts. They can be reached at www.mscdirect.com or 1-800-645-7270
Both companies pride themselves in getting the order to you the next day, in most cases if the order is placed by 4 pm est.
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Demon
Dodge Dakota
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6/26/2005
20:26:31
| RE: Helicoil brake caliper thread repair
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New caliper with a core return is not that expensive and you will have a new caliper. If you don't like the rotors, I got new heavy duty rotors with 2 year warranty at AutoZone for $35 each. Ceramic pads $50 for set. You can redo the while thing for less than $200 and have everything new, can be done in an afternoon.
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