When I got the XJ11, the PO had stripped the threads for the screws that hold the outer plastic plate (the one you remove to get at the filter) to the plastic airbox. To secure the plate I did things like the toothpick in the hole to give something for the screw to bite into. Enough of that, it never seated tightly and while it may not have been a big issue, I wanted it to work the way it is supposed to.
So I brainstormed a bit as to what would be the best approach & while this may not be best, it's what I came up with and it works. Not sure what the XS11 airbox looks like but if your threads in the plastic are stripped, this'll do ya too.
There's two screws holding in the plate so I went to the hardware store in the nuts & bolts asile and bought two "T Nuts" which are the things you can hammer into a drilled hole in wood and there's teeth on it to dig into the wood and there's a small threaded center sleeve that's part of it. I measured the width of the screw and bought the right drill bit to match the OD of the sleeve & in this case the OD of the sleeve is 9/32" (Yes, metric threads to match the metric threads on the screws).
I used my dremel tool to cut off the pointy bits that dig into the wood:
I used an allen bolt on hand that is the same threads & diameter as the airbox screws to run the T-Nut onto and then locked it in place with another nut so it wouldn't spin while I was cutting at the T-nut.
Once the pointy bits were off I could easily use the Dremel to cut off the plate end and give me a thin sleeve to insert in where the threads were damaged.
I removed the lock nut and used the drill bit to go in as deep as the length of the sleeve (used tape to mark on the drill bit so as to not go too deeply). My expectation was the airbox plastic would expand while the bit went in (soft stuff) and that would make for a very snug fit for the threaded sleeve. It was a good guess and I loosened the lock nut and put the sleeve at the end of the allen screw and set the sleeve into the hole using a hammer to tap the sleeve in. I stopped when the end of the sleeve was flush with the plastic. Since the lock nut was loose I just unscrewed the Allen bolt & left the sleeve in the airbox. In the photo below I already inserted the sleeve into the lower right hole and have yet to touch the upper left.
It was in solid. I don't think the sleeve will come out easily if at all, it would take a lot of rotational and pulling force to dislodge it.
Here are both holes with the threaded sleeve in it and now the XJ11's airbox has its old ability to be together snug.
Poor man's helicoil but it works!
Hope this helps.
So I brainstormed a bit as to what would be the best approach & while this may not be best, it's what I came up with and it works. Not sure what the XS11 airbox looks like but if your threads in the plastic are stripped, this'll do ya too.
There's two screws holding in the plate so I went to the hardware store in the nuts & bolts asile and bought two "T Nuts" which are the things you can hammer into a drilled hole in wood and there's teeth on it to dig into the wood and there's a small threaded center sleeve that's part of it. I measured the width of the screw and bought the right drill bit to match the OD of the sleeve & in this case the OD of the sleeve is 9/32" (Yes, metric threads to match the metric threads on the screws).
I used my dremel tool to cut off the pointy bits that dig into the wood:
I used an allen bolt on hand that is the same threads & diameter as the airbox screws to run the T-Nut onto and then locked it in place with another nut so it wouldn't spin while I was cutting at the T-nut.
Once the pointy bits were off I could easily use the Dremel to cut off the plate end and give me a thin sleeve to insert in where the threads were damaged.
I removed the lock nut and used the drill bit to go in as deep as the length of the sleeve (used tape to mark on the drill bit so as to not go too deeply). My expectation was the airbox plastic would expand while the bit went in (soft stuff) and that would make for a very snug fit for the threaded sleeve. It was a good guess and I loosened the lock nut and put the sleeve at the end of the allen screw and set the sleeve into the hole using a hammer to tap the sleeve in. I stopped when the end of the sleeve was flush with the plastic. Since the lock nut was loose I just unscrewed the Allen bolt & left the sleeve in the airbox. In the photo below I already inserted the sleeve into the lower right hole and have yet to touch the upper left.
It was in solid. I don't think the sleeve will come out easily if at all, it would take a lot of rotational and pulling force to dislodge it.
Here are both holes with the threaded sleeve in it and now the XJ11's airbox has its old ability to be together snug.
Poor man's helicoil but it works!
Hope this helps.
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