I got some of my confidence back, and went to the driveway to try and deal with my stripped belt tensioner hole. I found a bolt that was the right diameter, but much longer than the original. Cut it to slightly longer than the original, hoping that it will reach deeper into threads that have not been stripped. It worked. It grabbed onto something, and now my old bolt tensioner is reattached. At least the car is now drivable again. There can't be that many threads holding it in place, so I hope that this whole Mickey mouse assembly does not come flying out, hits the radiator and causes much more expensive damage. Tomorrow I'll take it to my Indy, have him change the tensioner, and deal with the stripped hole properly. I'll get a new bolt as well.

Does about 5-6" of clearance between the Belt tensioner hole in the head, and the Radiator provide enough working space for my Indy to use the helicoil? What would a minimum working space clearance be?

Phil

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'95 E300 Diesel, 264,000 Miles. [Sold it]