As some of you may know, I have a supercharged VQ35 in a 4th gen. The motor is on 3.0 timing. Anyways, I had a buddy help me install the supercharger and he managed to strip almost every hole on the timing case where the supercharger bolts up. I noticed a good size oil leak and found out about the stripped cover. I bought a tap for the holes but I am a little worried there isnt enough metal around the holes. The bolts are 6mm so I bought the next size up bolts and the tap for them which is standard. The plan is to just tap without predrilling because they are so badly stripped. Is this ok to do? Has anyone done this before?
Zack

 

What size are you going to try to tap the holes out to, 1/4"?

 

Yes I am planning on using 1/4". Sorry I was out of town. Will this be alright?

 

Bump! Should I use this tap or buy helicoils?

 

I'd only recommend using helicoils if you have experience with them.

 

Ok then I guess I will just use the tap. 1/4" will be an ok size right?

 

Screw standard, why not use metric like the rest of the car?

I'd go with an M8. I stripped out the threads on a 3.5 LIM which has M8 threads, IIRC. I tapped some M10 threads without drilling, with no problem at all. Since Al. is a soft metal, you can get away with not drilling it.

The key to tapping is use a lot of lubricant and make more than one pass. WD-40 works well as a lubricant. So you would start your cut, twist three or four times then back out to clear debris. The hardest part about tapping is getting the tap to start straight. If you get that down you're golden.

 

this car is going to drive you insane man...

 

I would only tap with metric size, it would match the previous thread better but helicoils would be A1.