Stripped threads on water neck

[valkyrcustoms]

So as I've been working on my 75 I was able to get the engine running well but i noticed that i have a coolant leak between the water neck and the water T. I tried tightening the 2 bolts and the top one was fine but the bottom one just kept spinning. Took the neck off and found that the threads are stripped. Is there anyway to fix it or should i just replace it? There is not a lot of meat around the hole to put in a time-sert or helicoil and the bottom hole is blind so i can't really put a tap in there to get all the way to the back. Does anyone know if any of the parts suppliers sell these? I've looked around but have not found any. I've also checked ebay for a while now with no luck on a good used one. What are my options?

[toyfiats]

Not mine, no affiliation. http://www.ebay.com/itm/221479219244

Best to ask about the condition of the threads before purchasing (very common problem). Otherwise MidWest Bayless has one at about three times the price.

There's probably not enough room for an insert, but once I was able to tab up to the next size in a jam (tour the next morning).

[vandor]

Yup, finding a good used one should not be too hard.

[dmwhiteoak]

To get you by, just tap it to a larger thread size even if it's standard thread. Not hard at all and will remedy your problem.

[spider2081]

This is not a high torque set bolt. I would clean the hole, fill it with epoxy metal drill and re-tap it.

[chrisfiat]

helicoil it, there is plenty of room to drill it i have done it many times

[valkyrcustoms]

I think I will try several of the methods mentioned in progressive order. So first I will try the metal epoxy, then tapping to next size larger bold, then helicoil, then look at replacement.

On the metal epoxy method, do you recommend any particular brand or product over another. I have JB Weld but i've seen some loctite products and other stuff that you can get at the auto parts store, but which would be best.

[valkyrcustoms]

Decided to just go ahead and get the helicoil kit as i found several reviews of others trying to use metal epoxy with mixed results for thread repair. I already installed the helicoil kit and it seems to have done the job. Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions on how to fix this issue.