A matter of time...

Well, it was only a matter of time before I damaged something. After pulling the entire engine and trans to replace the front pump seal on my TH350, I was putting the carb back on when the threads stripped out on the intake manifold. DOH! So, the next day at work, I picked up a HeliCoill brand thread repair kit.

The kit consists of a tap, the insert, and the tool to install the insert.

Step one is to use the correct size drill (not included) to prepare the hole. Be careful here. You need to make sure the drill goes in completely straight. Also, be sure to cover any place that the metal shavings could get into. I used the handyman's favorite tool, duct tape, to cover the opening in the intake manifold.

Step two is to tap the hole with the provided tap. Be sure to go slow. I used a tap handle (also, not included) with the tap.

Next, use the install tool and thread the insert onto it. You can only thread it on one way as the bottom has a tang on it. More on that later...

 After using a blow gun to clear out the chips from the hole, thread the insert into the hole. It should be slightly lower than the top of the hole to ensure your new carb stud will thread properly. After the insert is at the proper depth, use a small punch to brake the tang off of the insert.

 The aforementioned tang..

This time around, I sprung for some ARP studs.
















All done!