new knuckle or...?
 

i just did a brake job on the truck ( new rotors and pads on the front and shoes on the back ) when i was putting on the calper bolts on the front left side the lower bolt was stripped (not the bolt itself but the knuckle) unless i can find a helicoil i think im gonna need a new knuckle. anyone have any suggestions ? im thinking if i find a helicoil im gonna have to get a diffrent bolt to work on it and i dont know how easy that would be to find. worst case could i use a regular shoulder bolt ?

RE: new knuckle or...?
 

If I recall...don't the caliper bolts have a slight taper to them at the threads? That would make them a bit different from a normal shoulder bolt. But if youre helicoli-ing...man I dunno..

Some online searching has pointed out a few things. First, the helicoli could be a problem with the intense heat of the braking system. A couple threads were concerned with the rates the different metals will expand under those temps. Second, do you really wanna leave your braking up to a little helicoil? :D

The calipers are going for like 30-50 bucks on ebay.

RE: new knuckle or...?
 

No taper to the threads.

The purpose of a helicoil is to create threads that match what was originally there. I don't know as I would trust them in that location though. Not necessarily due to heat, but due to vibration and just general discomfort for doing something like that to such a critical system.

I would try to find a new steering upright at the junkyard. Should be fairly cheap.

RE: new knuckle or...?
 

i found one for $75 at a local junk yard. ive heared of people helicoiling spark plugs but nothing major like this. i dont know how easy it would be to get a drill in to take out the rivets on the ball joints and i know you can rent tie rod and ball joint seperators. so doing it myself wouldnt be a problem. i may as well do all new ball joints,tie rods, and bearings since the truck has 150K miles on it and possibaly cv shafts/axle/ whatever you want to call it.but i have never helicoiled anything and i dont knwo how reailable they are.

RE: new knuckle or...?
 

There is a oversized caliper bolt that will bolt right in. It has a thread tap on the first half the threads to make its way in. I had the same problem with mine and aked a buddy who owns a break shop and he hooked me up. The bolt also has a cotter pin that goes into the end of the oversized bolt because of that lawsuit ****. I have one in mine and its working like a charm. I picked it up at my local Napa store. Just ask its only 20 dollars and it'll take about 15-20 minutes to work in...

I am having the same problem with mine ... When I go to Napa what exactly do I ask them for ??