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So you're car has started squeaking but when you look for the grease nipple there's just a hole with some stripped threads :(
What now?
Strip the part to pieces so you can drill to a large size and tap for a larger nipple?
No time for that? OK, I've got a solution.
Here's how I got my girlfriends beetle back on the road in record time without having to strip the whole front beam.
Safetywise, this may or may not be the best solution for you, it is merely what I did and it seemed to work very well.
You are likely going to be working under a ton of metal. Take precautions, never rely on hydraulics to support it above you, axle stands, bricks, large lumps of wood. These are the things of safety.
What now?
Strip the part to pieces so you can drill to a large size and tap for a larger nipple?
No time for that? OK, I've got a solution.
Here's how I got my girlfriends beetle back on the road in record time without having to strip the whole front beam.
Safetywise, this may or may not be the best solution for you, it is merely what I did and it seemed to work very well.
You are likely going to be working under a ton of metal. Take precautions, never rely on hydraulics to support it above you, axle stands, bricks, large lumps of wood. These are the things of safety.
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As I said in the intro, I don't have time to strip the front end, take everything apart so I can drill and tap to a larger size, then put it all back together.
Plus if I were doing this I'd want all new bushings and bearings on standby to swap in for this poor old unloved beam.
So here's what I made.
I got a sheet of metal, thin enough to easily work but thick enough to hold a thread. It was probably just under a mil thick steel.
I drilled it before I cut it to prevent holding issues (holding small lumps of metal can be frustrating even with a vice). You guys know how to drill right? Centre punch where you want the hole, get a decent sharp bit, maybe a little cutting fluid, not too fast for steel. Hold the drill as perpendicular to the piece as you can eye (or better yet use a drill press).
Once drilled to 5.5mm, the nearest size I had to the correct tapping drill size for an M6 thread, I deburred the hole, then cut out the small rectangle of steel from the large sheet.
Bend it around a form, you might need a vice and or pliers to help, steel is tough, fingers are soft!
The form could be a broom handle, I used a mastic tube as it was close to the right diameter and just rigid enough for this thin sheet.
Tap the hole to M6. I used a first and a second tap. Didn't bother with the final as I wanted a tight thread. The sheet was thin enough I didn't worry about tapered thread shenanigans.
Make sure to tap AFTER bending, otherwise your hole will distort the threads as it bends.
Plus if I were doing this I'd want all new bushings and bearings on standby to swap in for this poor old unloved beam.
So here's what I made.
I got a sheet of metal, thin enough to easily work but thick enough to hold a thread. It was probably just under a mil thick steel.
I drilled it before I cut it to prevent holding issues (holding small lumps of metal can be frustrating even with a vice). You guys know how to drill right? Centre punch where you want the hole, get a decent sharp bit, maybe a little cutting fluid, not too fast for steel. Hold the drill as perpendicular to the piece as you can eye (or better yet use a drill press).
Once drilled to 5.5mm, the nearest size I had to the correct tapping drill size for an M6 thread, I deburred the hole, then cut out the small rectangle of steel from the large sheet.
Bend it around a form, you might need a vice and or pliers to help, steel is tough, fingers are soft!
The form could be a broom handle, I used a mastic tube as it was close to the right diameter and just rigid enough for this thin sheet.
Tap the hole to M6. I used a first and a second tap. Didn't bother with the final as I wanted a tight thread. The sheet was thin enough I didn't worry about tapered thread shenanigans.
Make sure to tap AFTER bending, otherwise your hole will distort the threads as it bends.
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It would be great for greasing sealed bearings but in this application you need to force in grease until it comes out the end of the shafts. The grease would choose the easiest root and come back out around the needle instead of forcing through the bushings and out the ends, as the needle wouldn't form a tight seal with the hole.
Steve
I used to be in the habit of jacking and leaving the jack in with a large lump of wood under something sturdy. Don't want the jack to give up only to watch the wood go through a soft bit of floor or something :)
My trolley jack tends to go down overnight too. Once left my motorbike without a front wheel only to find it the next day sitting on its forks :( At least it was still upright :)
Nice 'ible anyway.
Use a piece of innertube, a small rectangle of stainless steel, and clamps to put a patch over the holes until you can pull the beam. This will keep the dirt out and the grease in!