While I wait for the new wheel I went ahead and used helicoils on all the stripped and/or questionable threads. Helicoil is truly an incredible product - easy to install and the threads are unbelievably smooth and strong. I am half tempted to install a helicoil on all the holes on all the wheels. If you have not used a helicoil before you will be amazed the first time you do.
Maybe we can get a group buy together for some helicoil kits??? No shop should be without these.
Whenever you tap threads in aluminum you should use a Heli-Coil. Beadlocks are a very good example where you are torquing a hardened bolt into aluminum. Without a Heli-Coil it really does not matter what grade of bolt you use because the aluminum threads will fail before the bolt does. Add the Heli-Coil and you will be able to fully torque a grade-8 bolt without the female threads failing.
Useless tidbit of info: Every 747 that rolls off Boeing's line has just over 250,000 Heli-Coils in it.
Group buy would be a little tough to pull off. Heli-Coil Brand inserts are only sold through authorized distributors. There are two types of distributors. Industrial that have access to the full product line and automotive aftermarket which has very limited access. MSC Direct is an online supplier that carries a very extensive inventory of kits, inserts, taps, and tools. If you plan to buy a few kits to have on hand remember that 99% of the fasteners on the Raptor are metric.
