E Series Tower Stripped Hex Insert

[Powday]

Just picked up new to me 2003 22V Limited and one of the hex inserts where the tower folds is stripped. I soaked the insert in pb blaster for a while and tried to loosen it, but it won’t budge and the top of the insert is starting to get mangled. Are these made to be removed/replaced? Any suggestions for getting this thing out or next steps?

This is my first post, but the forum has been a wealth of knowledge for the past several months while I was shopping and was a factor in selecting an older Tige. Pulled the trigger last week on what kids call the Green Surfing Machine. Thanks.

[chpthril]

If thats a removable thread insert, I bet its in there with red loctite. Would take heat to remove.

[Jetdriver]

I’d try to run a tap of the right size and pitch into it and see if you could clean the threads up enough to make it usable. Take the bolt to a hardware store and get the corresponding tap.
If that doesn’t work then like Chpthril said heat may work to free it up. If all else fails you’ll have to drill it out, retap, and put a new insert in. Not hard to do but a bit of work. If you have some left rotation drill bits use some heat on it before you start drilling it out. It’ll probably spin right out.

[freeheel4life]

^^^both good suggestions. One other thing to think about if it needs repaired is using a Helicoil. That way you won't have to upsize your hole on the other leg of the tower (keeping with your same size bolt).

[Powday]

Thank you for the quick responses and direction. I bought a tap and ran it through this morning, and that cleaned out what was there and it feels like there's enough thread left to hold it securely for now. Seems like the top end is what was stripped. It's a 3/8-16 size that's mentioned in another post.

Good to know that heat can break down red loctite, but glad I can put that off for a while.

[chpthril]

Coat all those bolts with a little anti-seize and you should not have a repeat of this.