Timing belt tensioner Pulley mounting threads stripped - Ideas? (1 Viewer)

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So the goons that did my last timing belt change stripped the threads in the oil pump housing that my timing belt tensioner Pulley mounts to. I can get it snug but there is no way to torque the bolt up. The tensioner is not loose but it's not ideal for sure.

To say I'm pissed is an understatement.

In any case the way I see it my options are:

leave it and hope for the best, ugh.

pull the engine and replace the oil pump assy. Not keen on pulling a perfectly fine engine.

Apply a serious amount thread locker and again hope for the best.

Heli-coil it.

Hello coiling it wouldn't be to difficult. I've use them in the past, though its been awhile , but they are solid and a permanent fix in my opinion. My only concern is I think that hole goes through into the pump so I'd be concerned about depositing chips into the oil pump.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Thx
 
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Could you tap and thread it for a bigger bolt?
I’m not sure if you could get a tap in there and keep it straight. It’s a s***ty location. But if you did, you’d also probably have to bore out one of the holes in the tensioner so that a bigger bolt would fit, which is also not easy to do.
 
Thanks guys. I think Im going to bite the bullet and replace the oil pump. Truck is off the road for the winter anyway so I've got till March to get this done.

FSM. First step. Pull motor. Ugh.
 
wow, sorry to read that. I'd be real pissed too. Good luck with it all.

(You're not going to tell us what the goons said ... ? )
 
Thanks guys. I think Im going to bite the bullet and replace the oil pump. Truck is off the road for the winter anyway so I've got till March to get this done.

FSM. First step. Pull motor. Ugh.
I’m pretty sure somebody on here replaced the oil pump without pulling the engine out. Unbolted engine mounts and raised with a hoist high enough to slide the pans out, then removed pump.
 
I’m not sure if you could get a tap in there and keep it straight. It’s a s***ty location. But if you did, you’d also probably have to bore out one of the holes in the tensioner so that a bigger bolt would fit, which is also not easy to do.

Sorry its the Tensioner Pulley bolt not the hydraulic tensioner bolts. That wasn't' really clear in my first post.

I’m pretty sure somebody on here replaced the oil pump without pulling the engine out. Unbolted engine mounts and raised with a hoist high enough to slide the pans out, then removed pump.

Ya looking at whats involved it seems like half dozen of one and 6 of the other.
 
wow, sorry to read that. I'd be real pissed too. Good luck with it all.

(You're not going to tell us what the goons said ... ? )

Long since out of business. These clowns were members of our cruiser club and came highly recommended to.
 
Sorry its the Tensioner Pulley bolt not the hydraulic tensioner bolts. That wasn't' really clear in my first post.



Ya looking at whats involved it seems like half dozen of one and 6 of the other.
In that case, then you definitely can’t tap the hole for a bigger bolt, given the speciality sleeved bolt that is used to hold that pulley on.
 
I like timesert better than helicoil.
 
Well after discussing it with another member here that has done it and lying under my truck for 20 minutes today I am going to give it a go with the motor in. I'll remove the Diff and that should give me enough room. the tricky part will be gluing the pans back on without making a mess and making sure it seals properly. Hell if it doesn't work the motor can still come out.
 
If it's been running like that since those goons messed with it, maybe chance it? lol, or just add helicoil in it and make it sit tighter? I'm being lazy here
 
Well after discussing it with another member here that has done it and lying under my truck for 20 minutes today I am going to give it a go with the motor in. I'll remove the Diff and that should give me enough room. the tricky part will be gluing the pans back on without making a mess and making sure it seals properly. Hell if it doesn't work the motor can still come out.


Form a Thread or even JB Weld with a release agent on the bolt would likely solve your problem. The tensioner itself IS pretty heavy but the tension against it is fairly constant, not a lot of dynamic stresses I wouldn't think.
 
Thanks. Appreciate the ideas but Im going to just change the oil pump and eliminate any future worries. I would totally go with a timesert or hell coil if that hole didn't pass completely through to the crankcase. I'm the kind of person though that no matter how careful I am I'm always going to be stressed that I introduced a bunch of swarf into the oiling system.
 
Thanks. Appreciate the ideas but Im going to just change the oil pump and eliminate any future worries. I would totally go with a timesert or hell coil if that hole didn't pass completely through to the crankcase. I'm the kind of person though that no matter how careful I am I'm always going to be stressed that I introduced a bunch of swarf into the oiling system.

you're a good man, some people would jerry rig it and sell the truck and let someone else deal with it.
 
Like the guy that sold it to me for instance. haha

To be fair he probably had no idea what his ham fisted mechanic did.
 

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