Fixing Sheet metal threads

[F1addict]

Like the post says... any good ways to fix these things short of welding up the hole and starting again?
most of the philips screw holes that hold my rocker panels on my 83SC are all but useless. Would rather not weld them up because of the paint. Any tried and trued methods or is a bigger screw the answer?
Toby

[universeman]

Usually it just means the hole has been widened by working and use. You can try hammering it against a buck (put a solid piece of metal behind, and whack the front with a ball peen hammer.) Flattening the hole in its plane will often shrink its size and cause screws to hold better...you might impact the paint a little bit in that area but not much...some painters tape over the hammer end and the hold would help there. Touch up to avoid rust. Good luck!

[JSZ]

Not really easy to get behind the rocker mounts to peen this back into shape. I had the same issue with my rocker mounts, I came up with two solutions because I did not want to weld it up. One, a speed clip and two, I used a square stainless steel 6mm nut inserted into the recess of the mount. I then used a 6mm x 1.0 mm stainless bolt with a stainless washer to mount the rockers on.
Jeff

[Daves911L]

The standard old handyman's trick is to put the end of an uncurled paper clip into the hole before starting the screw. Maybe not a "Porsche approved" fix, but effective.

[ab1752]

Would a a slim profile nutsert that is not threaded work?

[juanbenae]

ive drilled out a tired H4 headlamp mount tab in the bucket that would not hold tight. i then JB welded a nylock nut of the actual size to the back side of the flange by passing the tired, tired hole entirely. took some patience and longer screws, but worked sweet.

[juanbenae]

actually, the drilled out hole was never by passed, it just became a sleeve on the mounting flange.

[James Brown]

tinnerman clips could work if you can get on the other side or an edge on the sheet metal
https://www.amazon.com/tinnerman-clip/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Atinnerman%20clip

[Alex66]

I too had this issue with my rocker panels, just pushed some Pin End Terminals into the holes and was able to tighten the screws.
https://www.amazon.com/OCR-Connector-Bootlace-Insulated-Terminal/dp/B01MTXKZQY

[psychoideas]

For a permanent fix buy some of these to suit the original screw gauge.
Drill the old screw holes out to the size of the plastic nuts.
Buy a small square file and file the driled holes square to suit the new nuts.
Snap them in and Hey Presto nice tight side rockers.

[Jack Stands]

Has anyone tried just drilling the hole larger and inserting some rail plugs (like you would for inserting screws into drywall)? I can’t think of any downside but have never attempted it myself.

[T77911S]

a slightly larger screw

BTW, great reason to buy a welder.
this may be only one small job but since I got mine a few years back I don't see how I lived without it.

prime example
ever take the seats out?
you WILL strip the allen head on at least one bolt.
put cardboard all inside my car to protect it and welded the allen to the bolt.
came right out then cut the weld and remove allen, grind weld off of allen and bolt.

did the same for one of those screws that holds a rotor on.

also done some bigger jobs

[Quickstep192]

I've used rivnuts and replaced the sheet metal screws with stainless steel machine screws.

[F1addict]

Thanks for the many suggestions guys. I think I'll try the least destructive first, Worst case I can eld it up and start again. I think the rubber seal hides it.
Toby

[dad911]

Originally Posted by Quickstep192

I've used rivnuts and replaced the sheet metal screws with stainless steel machine screws.

This.

[Pazuzu]

They make special sheet metal screws for this very reason, they have the threaded shank one size larger (ie. #8 instead of #6) but the HEAD is the smaller size. So, #8 threads with a #6 pan head. That way, they still sit in whatever little scalloped depression there is for the pan head, while the larger threads grab the sheet metal very well.

Search for your favorite screw vendor using "sheet metal screw undersized head".

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by T77911S

a slightly larger screw

The end.

Pan head sheet metal screw.

https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tnpla/74215955?cid=ppc-google-New+-+Fasteners+-+PLA_sVoObsmn0___164124449228_c_S&mkwid=sVoObsmn0|dc&pcrid=164124449228&rd=k&product_id=74215955&gclid=Cj0KCQiAieTUBRCaARIsAHeLDCQ61zrjq14JWS_nlrnD 4iY-kgVI3qcFmq5-21ExCBQMnXU6TEAz-DEaAuStEALw_wcB

[joefrantz]

Originally Posted by Quickstep192

I've used rivnuts and replaced the sheet metal screws with stainless steel machine screws.

+1 for rivnuts.
I used them to mount my oil lines.
I really don't like sheet metal screws.