Replace early door handle stud?
 

Hi Folks.

I have an early door handle that the inner stud broke off of. Does anyone know a procedure for replacing these. I know this much:

1. The studs look like they were originally stud welded in place.

2. The metal is some sort of VERY soft pot metal with a low melting point. welding and or brazing are out of the question (tried it on a crappy one).

3. JB weld is too weak (tried it)

4. I might try to drill and tap + helicoil but there is very little room for a hole, roughly 6mm of depth.

5. my handles are freshly plated (of course) so I would rather not screw that up.

Ideas?

drill and tap. one shot, so be go slow.

it's such a shallow hole... did you just do a straight thread or a helicoil?

just drill and tap, no insert. helicoils suck, FWIW. tap as deep as possible, then grind the tip of the tap flat and get a couple more threads in. you could loctite it, but shouldn't be necessary.

Here's a link to some photos I posted regarding my experience with this drill and tap situation.

http://www.912bbs.org/index.php?a=topic&t=28751&hl=door+lock+stud