Small mistakes turn into big mistake - 83 ATC200

[turtlethepyro]

Good Morning Guys,

I'll do my best to be simple and short. Last night i was changing out my front bearing, and had to pound the front axle out of the hub because the bearings were toasted. Finally got it out, cleaned it all up, lubed up, put in new bearings and seals, went to clean up the axle and noticed that there was a slight deformation of the first thread. I didn't think anything of it, put it all back together, went to use the impact gun to install the axle to the fork and BRRRRRRR!!!! Stripped the dam threads!!!!

So, i guess i am definitely looking for a new axle (as i imagine the warped threads caused this). Obviously the threads on the fork are done. Will i need to buy another fork? I have read that maybe i could use a helicoil? This bike is a 83 ATC200, based on the vin stickers. What other ATC forks can i use that are the same? I am hoping this isnt a one model/year part. This $14 bearing job just turned into $200 real quick.

I am defeated at this point. Thanks for your help.

[floydechoes2000]

I learned (the hard way) to keep my impact gun away from my ATC's and Quads, I do everything by hand now for the same reason.

Do you need new forks or just a new axle? I'd search ebay, I'm sure they're out there. I'm not sure what else is a direct bolt on if you need complete forks, but I'm sure others will chime in here soon.

[schlepp29]

You could clean up the axle (lightly grind) and use a die with the correct thread pitch. Possibly the forks with a tap unless its really bad. Off top of my head I can't remember the thread pitch but some one on here knows. Hope you get it fixed.

[shortline10]

File the damaged threads and make sure the threaded end isn’t mushroomed .
Thread the axle in the the outer side of the fork by hand to make sure it will go with no resistance , proceed to thread it all the way in so it will repair the damage in the fork threads .
Reinstall the correct way by hand and you should be good .

[Baba Yaga]

If you can't clean up the existing threads, you could always have an aluminum welder weld up the area, and tap a new thread on the correct centreline.

[Jim mac]

just a tip, I had the threads on a crank buggered up and knew I would cross thread the nut putting it back on. I wasnt sure about filing it down and getting the threads to align on the die to the shaft.
so I took out the trusty cut off wheel on the dremel and cut my die in half, put the two halve onto the good part of the threads and clamped it on there with a hose clamp and spun the die off the crank a few times to fix the messed up threads on the end of the crank. jim

[ironchop]

Here's another tip.... We use these on repairs alot in our machine shop

It's a thread file and each of the four sides has a different pitch pattern.... So with double ends, that makes eight different thread pitch sizes. The outside diameter of the item isn't that important but the file is shaped in a way that the teeth are angled to match the thread shape at each different pitch size. These are much easier to use than a die for many people and you don't need a 40 peice set of dies and die handle. As Mike mentioned, make sure the end isn't mushroomed and if it is, you can grind a chamfer on the end to remove the buggered part and thread file to restore the threads. These also come in inch size and they are a great thing to have in your toolbox in my opinion. Rock on.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191123/85e7bbf7079fc38c4b2d4a2d1726bd33.jpg

Sent from my Z958 using Tapatalk

[ps2fixer]

just a tip, I had the threads on a crank buggered up and knew I would cross thread the nut putting it back on. I wasnt sure about filing it down and getting the threads to align on the die to the shaft.
so I took out the trusty cut off wheel on the dremel and cut my die in half, put the two halve onto the good part of the threads and clamped it on there with a hose clamp and spun the die off the crank a few times to fix the messed up threads on the end of the crank. jim

That's effectively a "thread chaser". I had the same kind of issue, crank threads were messed up (wrong thread pitch nut was used) and my dad's thread chaser worked well enough that it hasn't came loose. The last owner had the nut come loose and break a hole in the cover. My dad suggested red locktite in this case, clearly wouldn't want to use that on forks, they are already hard enough to get the bolt to break loose.

@ OP

Impact isn't bad to use, but be sure you meet two very critical things. ALWAYS start the threads by hand, and if it's small bolts and such, make sure the impact doesn't have enough power to snap them off. Either lower the air pressure or most have a power adjustment. There's smaller air powered tools that run in 3/8 in with lower max torque. Luckily I've watched my dad enough, I never cross threaded a bolt from using an impact, but I've done it with hand tools when I was young on rusty stuff.

I'm with floydechoes2000 though, I rarely use an impact unless it's lug nuts, or taking apart an engine. I almost always assemble by hand. Mechanics have "torque sticks" to set the torque on lug nuts with an impact. Just hitting it by ear doesn't get consistent torque values even though a lot of people use them this way including mechanic shops lol. My dad has always been about doing the job right, so he bought the right tool for the job.