Big help please

[bigtalljim]

Can anybody help me source a part,
whilst putting back together the water pump, themostat and associated parts I noticed that the 3 legged by-pass flange that sits on the back of the thermostat housing has lost its threads, so cant do up the long bolts tight enough to stop leaks!!!!!

Anybody know where to get a part or fix this.

Tried to put nuts on the back of it but impossible to get the third nut on as not enough room (checked by taking it all off and no way one will fit)

Would dropping some weld into the holes and redrilling, rethreading work?


any help most gratefull

[bigtalljim]

Sorry forgot to mention this is an early S with the 2.8 Cologne lump in it

ta

[24razor]

Without really "knowing" the area (and I don't have access to a car to have a look immediately) you could possibly try to helicoil the holes, which would require re-drilling and tapping a thread to accept a helicoil. All necessary parts usually come with a hellicoil kit.

[clarenceboddiger]

I wouldnt recommend the welding and re-tapping ,you may end up snapping the tap on the weld which can sometimes be harder than the normal steel.Is there enough metal around the hole to redrill (oversize) and use larger diameter bolts ??? or how about getting high tensile steel nuts and grinding them to half their thickness??