Stripped sidestand threads in case... do helicoils work?

[krista]

So I'm trying to get that 750 engine fitted to Pongo (my 1997 M900 from hell) and found the threads were stripped in the case. Thaaaaaat's why the engine was so cheap on eBay. Oh, and since they took the side covers off to paint them, it leaked oil, too. So I put on new gaskets. At least now I can clean up the mess, get Pongo off the lift and start taking apart the loaner MTS1000 for our next fuel tank project.

Anyhow, out comes the 13/32" drill and in go 20mm long helicoils. It all went well and felt great. The bolts tightened right up to 32 ft-lb.

Anyone have experience with how reliable this repair is?

Yaaay thanks,
Chris

[ducpainter]

I've had good luck in general with helicoil repairs over the years, except with spark plug threads. Never tried them on a sidestand. I always use loctite on install, and lube the bolt.

Most people prefer timeserts/keenserts as they can't back out when the bolt is removed.

[krista]

Cool. Yeah, I've done 1 spark plug. Was a beater and he was going to junk it if it didn't work. It worked, so yaay there. I ran the helicoils in til they bottomed. I don't do loctite on my bikes, but bolts are prelubed (as they always are from the chain goo)

[ducpainter]

The loctite is to keep the insert from backing out if a piece of grit gets in there or any corrosion forms.

I don't use loctite on many things.

[Speeddog]

I've done a couple sidestand hole repairs, but always used Time-Serts.
For reference, Time-Serts have a *tiny* bit smaller tap diameter than Helicoils.

They also have a limited selection of larger OD inserts (Big-Serts) for when a Helicoil repair goes bad.
They're approximately the same size as the Lightweight Keen-Serts.

Then there's the Heavy Duty Keen-Serts as the final option.

Assuming there's sufficient material.....

http://www.timesert.com/

[oldndumb]

I've done one with a helicoil.

But Speeddog is definitely correct recommending Time-Serts. I would have used them if I had not been in a hurry and could have found some locally. Sucks when the only local resources are HomeyDepot and Lowes.

My first use of Time-Sert was back when Porsche specified them as the authorized repair for pulled case stud threads. I figured they finally went for the best since several earlier fixes did not prove reliable.

[Langanobob]

I've had good luck with Heli-coils.  Main thing seems to be to drill the oversized hole as straight and true as possible.  I wouldn't worry much about the Heli-coil backing out when the bolt is removed since I don't think it happens very often with a properly installed Heli-coil, plus the side stand bolt usually doesn't get frequently removed. 

I also like Timeserts because as pointed out earlier, they use a slightly smaller drill and tap than a Heli-coil, which I found surprising.

[MonsterCafe]

+1 on the time certs. It's a stronger repair. Helicoils can pull out. I always repair with time certs and loctite them in. $.02