Intake boot bolt hole stripped. What now?

[Taliesin]

I have an '80 GS550L, which I've now learned to ride on. Been lurking for a week or more, learning about the common intake boot and o-ring problem. I had a high idle that just couldn't be adjusted correctly, so I diagnosed an intake leak.

When we went to pull off those intake boots, we noticed that they weren't the phillips head screws that everyone curses at. They were hex bolts, giving me hope that a PO had replaced those boots at one time.

We got them off just fine, but as we got the boots back on, one of the bolts just kept turning and turning.

OH NO!

Apparently, the PO didn't use anti-seize, and when we pulled out the bolt, most of the threads from the hole just came along with the bolt.

So now what? I don't have a stuck bolt, so is it a simple matter to re-thread, and how would you experienced folks recommend I go about this?

[rapidray]

It takes about 20 to 30 minutes, taking your time, to do a Helicoil correctly & that will fix it! Ray.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. Taliesin,

Yep, totally repairable, just like Ray says. Some folks like HeliCoils. Some folks like Time-Serts. Either way is fine. I'm just here to say "HOooooowwDY!"

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Taliesin]

Most excellent, thank you!!!

The HeliCoil kit worked like magic. Here's a weird little bit. When we pulled the bolt out, what looked like the threads that came out with the bolt was actually some sort of thread repair kit. However, he used an M6 bolt, and didn't use the M6x1 HeliCoil kit. The hole was too small. So we did it right. Worked like magic.

Also had a stripped drain plug. For now it's sealed with silicone, but the next time I order parts, I'm getting an oversize drain plug.

Now we're just trying to muscle the airbox boots onto the stinkin' carbs. We cut out for the evening, but we'll get it on, man.

Thank you again for your help, and for the myriad other posts that have been a help when I use the search function.