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Stripped threads on gas tank

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Pacodog

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It looks like I have stripped both of the threads on the bolts that hold the gas tank in place. :miffed:Has anyone put a heli-coil in these threads? Is there enough meat in there? Thought about drilling the hole out , longer bolt and a nut on the bottom but is is hard to get a wrench under there.
 
Pacodog said:
It looks like I have stripped both of the threads on the bolts that hold the gas tank in place. :miffed:Has anyone put a heli-coil in these threads? Is there enough meat in there? Thought about drilling the hole out , longer bolt and a nut on the bottom but is is hard to get a wrench under there.
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I don't think that there’s enough thickness on the bracket to install a heli-coil, and I have had my tank off a bunch of times and thought about what I would do if the threads ever stripped out, and yes you can drill out the stripped holes and use longer bolts with nuts, but like you say it hard to get a wrench up underneath the bracket and on the nuts.

So if this ever happens to me, I plan machining up 3/8" thick by 3/4" wide aluminum nut plate with two 6mm threaded holes with the same center to center distance for the gas tank, then you can just hold it up underneath the bracket on the frame and screw the gas tank mounting bolts into it, that way you don't have to try and get a wrench up underneath the bracket to keep the nuts from turning when you tighten the bolts, and that’s something that I could make up for you for a reasonable price if you don't have the means to make one.

I'll have to look at it again, but I also believe that the nut plate could have a 6mm threaded hole in the center of it to use for bolting the bracket up underneath the bracket on the frame after drilling a hole through the frame bracket, and after drilling out the stripped threads, you could easily place the nut plate on top of the bracket and insert two bolts through gas tank mounting holes to align the bracket, and using the nut plate as a drill guide to spot drill the center mounting bolt hole.

A long time ago I started to apply copper anti sieze to the gas tank mounting bolts because I was taking the tank off and on a lot tinkering around on things, and my threads are still in good condition.
 
Will a tap and die work there? It has worked for my in a couple other places on the frame of my bike.


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Tap the nut with the next size up thread which might be an English size. Won't need much just enough to snug up and use a lock/spring washer. Should be enough meat in the nut to a size
 
Boxercup Dave said:
Tap the nut with the next size up thread which might be an English size. Won't need much just enough to snug up and use a lock/spring washer. Should be enough meat in the nut to a size
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A 6mm nut is not big enough to drill and tap out to either a 5/16" or 8mm bolt, and bedsides the gas tank is mounted with rubber grommets between the frame and the mounting plate on the gas tank, and a larger bolt won’t fit through the steel sleeves that fit into the grommets, so they would have to be replaced with a new grommets with a larger ID as well as new larger steel sleeves, providing that you could find grommets that fit the holes in the mounting bracket properly in the first place.
 
Zip-ties to the rescue. Ta Daaaaaaaaa! Other than that, As MM suggests.
 
Lot's of good options here. If I can get a wrench or socket down there, I'll probably just drill the existing nut out, buy a longer bolt and new nut. That's probably the cheapest route.
 
Pacodog said:
Lot's of good options here. If I can get a wrench or socket down there, I'll probably just drill the existing nut out, buy a longer bolt and new nut. That's probably the cheapest route.
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I pulled my seat off yesterday to look at it again, and its going to be a real pain to not only hold the nuts up in place underneath the recess on the frame bracket to get the bolts started, but also getting a wrench on them as well to keep them from turning, and it looks like the only type of wrench thats going to easliy fit up underneath the bracket to hold the nuts is a deep offset 10mm box end wrench, and even that might not fit if the bends are correct and it has a deep enough offset, plus the lenght of it will have to be cut down on order to clear the area around the bracket.
 
Can the bracket be drilled and a Rivnut installed? I've had good luck with them on race cars and aircraft in similar applications in the past.
 
MSl77384 said:
Can the bracket be drilled and a Rivnut installed? I've had good luck with them on race cars and aircraft in similar applications in the past.
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I have used rivnuts before also, and they would work but the problem is going to be the remaining portion of the welded square nuts that are going to be left which I think is not going to allow them to work.

Another option over a one piece nut plate, is to make two individual nut plates that would fit up underneath the recess on the mounting bracket, and have a handle on them that would allow you to easily hold them in place while you screwed the bolts into them, and these would actually be easier to use than holding a one piece nut plate up underneath the frame bracket, and they would easily fit on each side of the electrical components and wiring that centered right behind the frame bracket and underneath it.

Gastankmountnutplates_zps7e7e10d9.jpg
 
Pacodog said:
How about this guy here, it's called a coupling nut. It is about .7 " long. Might be able to get at it with a open end wrench? Or maybe run a bolt thru the other end to hold a handle like MM suggested. I just don't have the machine tools that he has.

http://www.boltdepot.com/Product-Details.aspx?product=15800
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That should work, and then you can bolt a handle to the on the other end, and they'll be like what I posted up.
 
Nice job fixing that problem! I stripped a tank bolt on my previous bike (S50) but in my defense there was only one bolt holding the whole tank instead of two and to make matters worse was even smaller of a bolt as well! ;)
 
I have a problem with stripping bolts for some reason. I will be smearing anti-seize on every bolt I see from now on!!
 
Pacodog said:
I have a problem with stripping bolts for some reason. I will be smearing anti-seize on every bolt I see from now on!!
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The guy who told you to tighten it till it strips then back it off half a turn needs a good beating. A good torque wrench is a great investment, as it's one thing to strip a replaceable bolt, but another to strip spark plug threads or the oil drain plug!

On the Bandit, some blue loctite is a good idea too. You undertighten things they drop off, usually at the furthest place from home on a public holiday, with the part only available ex Japan. By sea. With a 3 month back order.
 
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