Whats the thread size to this bolt.

This bolt came off the striker door jam. Gonna have to weld a new nut in. Or fill hole with weld and re tap a new thread hole. Anyone know the thread size of this bolt.

 

IDK right off but these tools are great to have around.

$10 Stainlesstown Nut Bolt Thread Gauge (Blue)

https://smile.amazon.com/Stainlesstown-Bolt-Thread-Gauge-Blue/dp/B00XUUGKTC/

 

Go to your local Ace - they have a LOT bigger nut/bolt selection. Piddle with the nuts until you find the right one. In the meantime, you can order something like the Thread Checker (yes, that's what it's name actually is). You can get it on Amazon (among others). It's a bunch of threaded nubs with male on one side and female on the other side. It has both SAE and Metric thread identification nubs all strung together with a steel cable. On Amazon, the actual brand is less than $30 - Chinese knockoffs are even less.

 

Lowes and Home Depot have them hanging up, no need to piddle.

 

I used to do that as well, but at some point, I thought $30 was cheap enough to have one of my own (without starting a collection of nuts and bolt samples).

 

There isn't a lotta material there for a repair. A regular spring type helicoil repair kit I don't think would work. There's a pipe type of thread repair that MIGHT work. Look up time-sert thread repair kit, after you figure out the bolt size and thread pitch.

 

I’d stick a weld nut in there. Bring hardware to the store and check bolt size.

 

You can also try a rivnut, but with the abuse a door stike gets day in and day out, I don't know if it would hold up for very long

 

man....that is rotten

 

I can't imagine that area in my head - can you get behind there to weld a nut?

 

You’d probably have to cut the rocker panel open. I’d weld it from the top and grind flush. Something like these.

 

Holy rust...

 

I believe this is an M8 but I'm not going to check.

But most threads are easy to identify on these trucks. They are JIS metric. For hex head screws, the wrench size tells you what the thread is:

8mm wrench: M5x0.8
10mm wrench: M6x1
12mm wrench: M8x1.25
14mm wrench: M10x1.25
17mm wrench:

$13 M12x1.25 mm Self-Locking Nylon Insert Hex Lock Nuts, Pack of 6

M12x1.25

Ok, you say, but this isn't a hex head??? Go find a 12mm hex head bolt somewhere else on your truck and pull it. See if this screw threads in that hole, or just visually compare the threads. Match? M8X1.25. No? Reinstall that one and go find a 10mm or 14mm one.

50% of the time, it works every time!


Personally I'd cut a rectangle around the whole latch mounting area including both holes, so maybe like a 1" x 2" opening. Then take a bar of 1/4" steel or SS, 1-1/4" wide, 2-1/2" long, for example, and tap the two mounting holes into that. Slide it in thru the opening with one screw installed to hold on to it, then take the original cutout piece plus a big washer (e.g. 1.25 OD) to snug it up with a screw in the opposite hole, using the original cutput piece to align the holes to their original location. Then start welding it in along all 4 sides. (You would have to cut off the remaining nut to use the cutout piece as a guide here, but then you could actually leave it on top of the plate to match the height.) But after you tac it, make sure to install the latch thing and test the door first!

Just kidding of course, I'd actually just ignore the problem and post half-baked ideas on tacomaworld instead.

Edit: Unless you have a milling machine, drill and tap the first hole, then install the bracket with one screw to line up the second hole for drilling. I've never gotten hole patterns to line up drilling by hand or with a press unless I do this!

Oh and also this way you can use US hardware if you don't have metric taps. I'd use 5/16 for M8 and 1/4 for for M6. Be warned, sometimes the box store flathead screws are low strength steel. For holding your door shut, I'd splurge for rated stuff on mcmaster or fastenal. But anything beats nothing.

 

I don’t trust rivet nuts. I’ve had them move on me. I would have to weld it down.

 

It does start into the 8mm 1.25 holes but it starts to bind after a couples of turns. Maybe because it so rusty. I’ll see if I can get a new screw

 

Typical Toyota crap. Their welded fasteners onto the frame or body always comes off easily. It's insanely annoying.

Sorry, I don't have anything to contribute. I think most of the guys in here already covered the info you need.

 

Actually, that gave me an idea. I already stated that I don't know if a rivnut can stand up to the "abuse" of a door striker, BUT, what if you mount the rivnet, then tack welded the outside (since you can't get to the inside) edge?

 

Yeah but the edge or lip is thin.

 

Guessing it’s lived in the rust belt? I never had luck with rivserts, they end up wanting to slip, and not all that strong.

Trying to weld fill, then drill and tap is an option. But getting the new hole exactly where it needs to be will be important.

This type of insert could work. It would be ideal to be able to weld it from the inside. That way you could have the new bolt in place with the latch so it’s perfectly aligned.

Another option would be to cut the entire area out with a grinder or cut off wheel and weld in a replacement from a junkyard. I’d make some sort of template so the replacement piece gets perfectly positioned. This would be a big task. I’d make sure the junkyard knows exactly what you want to take and agree on a price before you cut it out. So they don’t try to do something stupid like make you buy the whole body. Then very careful alignment, tack welding, test fit, short welds so you don’t get warping or fire.

The time-sert thread repair insert is good, I’ve had good luck many times with m16 2.0 size. But you’re counting on lock tight to hold it in place in a rusty thin piece. I’ll post a picture of the kit later.

 

Yeap lots of snow and salt here in wisconsin