Broken Heli-coil in Holley 465
 

So I was rebuilding the Holley 465 stockport 12A I bought recently and when I was taking it apart I noticed the fuel bowl bolt holes were fitted with Heli-Coil inserts. I know these can be stripped and heli-coil inserts are the general solution. Well when I was reassembling it I broke one of the coils about 1/3 of the way down on the primary bowl. I barely even tightened it and it snapped. There was enough coil left in the hole to tighten the bolt, I used a bit of blue loctite but now I'm concerned #1 that it will leak. I tightened all the other bolts down good but I'm still nervous. And my #2 concern is, if it does leak, can I somehow RE-helicoil it? Or am I doomed to have to get a new main body? And if I have to take the fuel bowl off to change the jets I feel like I'm basically screwed. Any ideas? Thoughts? Anyone have a scrap main body if I need to replace it?

helicoils just screw in so with some patience you should be able to work it back out and put in a new one

or you could just put a big c clamp and clamp the bowls on so the dont lea

Trick to removing a helicoil is to use a sharp pick to bend up the tip where it broke, then grab the bent-up part with needle-nose pliers and 'unwind' it. Trying to drill them out is a very bad idea.

There exist removal tools... but I've never found anyone that stocks them.

Okay, that's good news. I will just have to order the Holley heli-coil kit from Summit. Which is like $70.. -_-

Why buy a whole kit? You only need 1 coil and an install tool - - not even a tap - - & you can buy those from hardware stores. For a lot less than $70, I'll bet.

Example, not right size but still:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CKQBEPMCMAI

Helicoils are hardened material. How do you break 1 coil 1/3 of the way down? Something does not sound right. The parent material is more prone to failure than the helicoil insert itself. Removal tools are just a flat, tapered piece of metal with a handle or as DD says, you can pull and unravel them out of the hole. If the helicoil tapped threads are still ok, you can install a new insert. If those threads are stripped, you can use a solid type insert like a premier brand. Their O.D.'s are larger sized threads and the inserts are staked in place.

I was just as confused. I was hand tightening it and it was JUST starting to get some tension and then there was a loud snap.