© DenLorsTools.com Summary: There are many thread repair kits available on the market today. The many choices can be very confusing for anyone who is faced with a repair that’s left their vehicle broken down. We help to provide simple information which makes choosing the best thread repair kits for particular situations.

Time-Sert, Heli-Coil, Lisle, Calvan (made by Horizon Tools) – we sell them all. We are often asked which thread repair kits we recommend. We sell all the thread repair kits previously listed so we have no incentive to recommend one over the other. No, we don’t recommend the highest priced one.. not all of the time at least. Our recommendations come down to what is best for our customers application. We have been selling automotive tools since 2005 and we know from our customer’s feedback which thread repair kits work best for certain situations.

For instance, Calvan makes a kit that is for Ford spark plug blow outs which has a very good track record. The CAL38900 works for Ford 4.6, 5.4 & 6.8 SOHC ( 2 & 4 valve) engines that have the common spark plug ejection issue. We are so impressed with this kit due to it’s track record. In fact for the 2010 calendar year we sold 283 of these kits with no reported problems. We have shops that routinely purchase replacement inserts to use with this kit again and again. The drawback to the Calvan kit is that it only works for spark plug threads in the older 2 valve engines from around 1998 and up. At this time they don’t make kits for any other applications, no headbolt thread repair kits, no oil drain plug kits etc.

The Heli-Coil brand has a large application list. In the past, Heli-Coil has been one of the most common thread repair kits for fixing damaged threads of all types. Heli-Coils are even used by machinists today for many repairs. The Helicoil is a thin wire coil which works in a lot of cases. One application we do NOT recommend them for is for damaged spark plug repair. The feedback we have received from our customers is that the Helicoil type of insert has a high failure rate when it comes to spark plug repairs. The thin wire does not hold up well when subjected to heating and cooling in conjunction with combustion chamber gases. The combustion chamber gases will sometimes leak from the cylinder with this type of insert due to it’s design (no taper). This is especially true with tapered plug design – washer type spark plugs may seal sufficiently with the Heli coil.

Time-Sert is becoming a more and more common product sold here at DenLors. Like Helicoil, Time-Sert has a large variety and coverage. Time-Sert has kits designed for Ford spark plug thread repair, not just for the 2 valve but for ALL Fords. They don’t stop there, kits are available for nearly all makes and models of automobiles for spark plug thread repairs and more. Some of our most popular Time-Sert kits are for Ford, however we sell many kits for head-bolts on GM North Star engines, Honda’s and Toyota too. One of the best kits for auto repair shops to have on hand is the drain plug thread repair kit for aluminum oil pans. The 1415C works for many vehicles with an aluminum drain pan, which are susceptible to worn threads due to weak aluminum drain plug threads. Be sure to see our repair articles below which go more into detail regarding different vehicle thread repair applications.

Related Articles and Thread Repair Products

Ford Spark Plug Blow Out Problems How to Repair

TIME-SERT Aluminum Oil Pan Thread Repair Kit

All TIME-SERT Thread Repair Kits (Recommended by most car manufacturers)

TTY Head Bolts Tech Article – Torque Wrench with Electronic Angle