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Hello, I'm Dennis Bandy, owner of Wise Auto Tools and a Master Automotive Technician with many years of hands-on experience in the shop. Over the years, I've fielded plenty of questions from mechanics and DIYers about materials for tools and repairs, and one that comes up often is whether stainless steel is basically carbon steel treated with some kind of rust-preventative coating. Let's set the record straight on this, and I'll explain why understanding the difference can make or break your thr …

CostHeli Coil kits are initially cheaper, making them appealing for less critical repairs. However, repeat failures often lead to costly oversized repairs, like switching to Time Sert’s Big Sert. A customer put it best: “Cheap ain’t good, and good ain’t cheap.”Tool LengthTime Sert kits often include longer tools for deeper applications, whereas Heli Coil tools are typically designed for surface-level repairs. Extending or modifying Heli Coil tools can add complexity.Oversized RepairsIf a …

We're often reminded through the questions we receive via our contact form that certain topics, though covered years ago, remain new to some individuals. Below, we address one such inquiry and provide additional resources such as articles and videos to assist newcomers navigating similar issues.Question:  I have a 2007 Kia Sedona 3.8 liter engine. I'm putting in a salvage engine and the upper idler pulley has stripped threads. It uses an M10X1.5 bolt. Question is should I use a Heli Coil or …

Aluminum head bolt threads pulling out on Polaris engines is a fairly common problem. Installing a solid bushing-type steel insert is the best fix. Avoiding the expense of some of the larger kits designed for automotive applications is a smart way to save money and still get a quality repair. The larger Time-Sert kits, for example, are designed for doing repairs when the threads start down several inches. With threads flush or near the surface, a much less expensive kit made by Time-Sert can be …

This article is in video format at the bottom of the page! How severely can a spark plug hole in an aluminum engine head, which previously had a repair insert and has since blown out, making the hole bigger and showing signs of erosion, be damaged and still be fixable? Basically, there needs to be enough material to ream or drill out so that complete threads can be tapped to accept an oversize spark plug insert. The image above shows a spark plug hole after a Napa Fix-A-Thread insert failed, lea …