Hi all,
I was attaching a fuel pump grounding cable to the tie-down eye bolt a few days ago and found out that the thread in the tie-down bar is stripped. Not sure how it happened, maybe the bolt wasn't fully tightened and ground the thread somehow? Or maybe when it was tied down the tiedown strap over-rotated the bolt?
Anyway, what would be the way to fix it? I think the only way to replace the bar is to remove the aileron bellcrank brackets (which includes removing the autopilot servo), remove the fuel tank to gain access to the front of the main spar and undo the four bolts bolting the tiedown to the main spar. Obviously I don't want to do this. Should I try repairing it with a threaded insert or a helicoil? I've never done it so I'm not sure how much material is necessary and if there is enough available in the bar.
Thanks!
I was attaching a fuel pump grounding cable to the tie-down eye bolt a few days ago and found out that the thread in the tie-down bar is stripped. Not sure how it happened, maybe the bolt wasn't fully tightened and ground the thread somehow? Or maybe when it was tied down the tiedown strap over-rotated the bolt?
Anyway, what would be the way to fix it? I think the only way to replace the bar is to remove the aileron bellcrank brackets (which includes removing the autopilot servo), remove the fuel tank to gain access to the front of the main spar and undo the four bolts bolting the tiedown to the main spar. Obviously I don't want to do this. Should I try repairing it with a threaded insert or a helicoil? I've never done it so I'm not sure how much material is necessary and if there is enough available in the bar.
Thanks!