Review on Helicoil 5546 8 Metric Coarse Thread by Jathan Louis

This kit was used to repair the threads of a stripped gear pan bolt in an aluminum gear case. The insertion tool broke on the first use, the swap hack made this job take 3x longer than necessary, and the rest of the coils are useless without the right insertion tool. Why the kit is scrap and of little value: The tool for installing the helicoil (a long black bolt-like thing) broke on first use. At the end of the tool is a small handle that engages the shank of the helical coil. This allows you to screw the spiral into a drilled and tapped new hole. This handle broke immediately when my first coil was about halfway installed, so it's not possible to install this or the remaining 11 other coils in this kit. Other reviewers have noted the same issue. The tool is made of cheap metal. You will find that the insertion tool in kits from other manufacturers is a solid rod (unthreaded) and with a slot cut into the end of the rod. The shaft fits securely into this slot, rotating the shaft will screw the cable into the new hole. The disadvantage of this type of tool is that it is easier for less experienced users to properly adjust the helix. In theory the Stanley/Helicoils DESIGN is better as the threads on the insertion tool "fill" the coil during installation and prevent the coil from slipping off. jump from the steps into a new hole. However, by skimping on materials (to save pennies) the tool can easily break leaving the rest of the kit useless as each size spiral coil requires a tool to insert the appropriate size for the project. Hack to finish the job: Using a bench grinder and tiny files I was able to shape the end of the tool to look like its original design. At least enough to install the one vital coil I needed, which took about half an hour of extra time. Also, anyone who has worked with metals knows that cheap pot metals are difficult to grind/sharpen, while high quality metals are much easier to work with if you have the right tools. new thread and periodically back off the tap 1/2 turn while cutting new thread to prevent breakage of this (or any other) tap. Also clean the newly cut hole by carefully inserting and removing the tap a few times to ensure a good thread for the spiral coil. I did all this but the paste tool is still broken! Spiral coils are a first class product in and of themselves! It's not a hack repair, it's a way to repair stripped threads in soft metals like aluminum. As other reviewers have pointed out, many manufacturers install spiral coils as part of the original build process. Airplane manufacturers install thousands of spiral coils when assembling aluminum aircraft bodies. Stanley spoils its mark with this cheap kit: This kit gets 1 star and is very cheap due to the cheap insertion tool that comes with it. I really do trust Helicoil brand liners more than anyone, but Stanley has cheapened their brand by cutting corners on this KIT.