Helicoils to repair stripped pedal threads

Has anyone got any experience of using a helicoil, or anything else, to repair a stripped pedal thread? Any advice/suggestions/insights much appreciated. Thanks :)

How much are the cranks worth ?

They're an old pair of Sugino Mighty Campag Pista copies. So probably not worth a fortune, but I like them and they're going to be far from straight forward to replace, so I'd like to try and repair them.

Its only ancient bike mechanics/workshop hermits that seem to know about helicoils.

All the ones ive talked too have said they are a waste of time too, expensive fiddly & rarely work 100%

Ceeway sell them if you want to look into it, or just visit a trusty local bike shop.

if there's one part of a bike where I think helicoils would actually work, it would be the pedal threads.

having said that I wouldn't sprint on them at the track, or use them for any long rides.

Has anyone got any experience of using a helicoil, or anything else, to repair a stripped pedal thread? Any advice/suggestions/insights much appreciated. Thanks :)

Yes. I tore the pedal out of my cranks on my trials bike and had it helicoiled back together with locktite. It worked but trusting that pedal became an issue. It never failed but in the back of my mind..

Basically if it's for a road bike or something it'll probably be fine depending on how fucked the threads are to begin with. Also, if you're in the market for mtb cranks make sure they have steel inserts for pedal threads. :)

All the ones ive talked too have said they are a waste of time too, expensive fiddly & rarely work 100%

Expensive? They should cost a fiver. It's only a piece of wire turned into the damaged thread. If they don't have the tools of course it's gonna be a different matter.

my trials bike

But I didn't think you were gay?

Not until that night in Ghent anyway..

Not until that night in Ghent anyway..

Who is Ghent? :P

RPM wanted to be called Ghent for the night in case screaming his real name gave the wrong impression to our other 6-day companions..

they wouldn't have heard the screaming anyway, that gag worked.

helicoils work great if they are put in properly and not abused after installation.
I used a helicoil in the "head gasket" of my 2 stroke motorbike, that surely proves it's worth.#
and that was years ago and its still going strong, many plugs later

How do you helicoil a head gasket? You mean the head?

I had to use a helicoil in my Mini's cylinder head, luckily my mate has all the necessary tools. It can be fucking expensive if you don't.

the head...aii :O
hexagon is 8 sided ye and octagon 6 sided ? gross and net ? wtf ? this is meanigless to me...

Oh vienna.

hexagon is 6 and octagon is 8, just for the record

i helicoiled the five manifold bolt holes in the head of my car without problem - its easy to do (drill out old thread and re-tap) and can be better than the original threading in some cases... obviously easier on alloy than mild steel... ;-)

yes,helicoils work great if they are put in properly and not abused after installation.[FONT=Arial]thread insert helicoil[/FONT]

Helicolis work fine in situations where there is no dynamic loading of the component, such as spark plug threads, cylinder head stud threads, and exhaust manifold bolt holes. With these types of fixing you drill retap and insert the helicoil with the appropriate locktite. Importantly these components are then torqued and left alone.
Pedal threads are subject to multi directional loading and impacts and as such I would really think twice about using a helicoil. A better alternative is to get an engineering shop to make up a solid thread insert. However, to be effective the insert must be considerably bigger then the thread it replaces, this raises the issue of how much crank is left to support the insert. Also inserts are expensive.
You are really better off getting new cranks.

T

Interesting. Did you decide to do this in the end, polybikeuser?

I had a helicoil put in my crank by an engineer years ago when I stripped a thread in my race face mtb cranks. It was the left one and they had a hell of a time trying to find a left hand helicoil in the right size but managed to do it in the end for a reasonable price. It was still going strong 4 years later when that bike was stolen.

So i've been without my bike for about a month now as i managed to thread my rear hub on the sprocket side. So i decided to invest in a new wheelset from varno and change a few other parts on my bike. My wheel set finally came today. After having a nightmare getting my chain on today took my bike out and about 5 minutes into my ride did a skid stop and my pedal comes clean off. I have managed to thread the hole on my non drive side crank arm where the pedal goes. FML, Time to invest in some new cranks...

dead thread revial time: pun intended.

Any one had any moar luck with this issue? stripped out the LH pedal thread on the way to the G-ride last friday. Old campy strada so bit of a clusterfork really. too fat obvs. :-(

I've got a pair of Stronglight track cranks with one side helicoiled (can't remember which). They're gathering dust. 165s. Anyone want them for a tenner?