Walt - Original threads on bolts MUST be rolled, or the durability is dramatically reduced. But, on internal threads such as what you have on the hub carrier, the threads can only be cut. If the hub carriers are made from aluminum, it is a good thing to have heli-coil inserts to protect the threads from galling during bolt installation. If you run a tap through the inserts to clean up the threads, and very little material is removed, you're probably just fine. In terms of using a die to clean threads on bolts, if a replacement bolt can be found easily, that's the best approach. If the bolt is hard to come by, cleaning up the threads is okay (to a degree) if the bolt is not loaded cyclically, and is loaded mostly in shear, which is the case with these particular application. Toby Peterson VIN 2248 Winged1 --- In dmcnews@xxxx, "Walter Coe" <Whalt@xxxx> wrote: > Today I just noticed that one of the bolts that hold the caliper to the rear > hub carrier had the threads damaged. Since there are two identical ones, I > couldn't tell at first which heli-coil was responsible. So I ended up using > a tap to chase the threads on both heli-coils. Barely any metal was > removed. It is quite a job getting a tap in there. After reading about how > Toby says that cut threads are not as strong as rolled threads, I figure > that a heli-coil must be even worse. In light of this, I didn't re-thread > the damaged bolt. I got another one from a junker. > > I'm not asking a question with this post, really. I'm just saying that > chasing the thread on a hub carrier heli-coil was needed and has been done. > Does anyone think this is a bad thing to do? > > Walt Tampa, FL > > P.S. to Bill Buckner -- yes I know... tenacity! :)