That's what I would recommend. Just use solvent and an appropriate size bolt to clean out the threaded hole.

 

+1 on thie reply from Lakerat. Taps can cut small shavings from the threads that will make the fit between the bolt and the threaded hole more loose. Buy or make yourself a thread chaser.

Mike

 

You are correct, but you would be suprised how much slop can be in a thread and it is still acceptable.

 

I actually learned my lesson from continually tearing down the engine in my drag boat and freshining everything up. I always used bottom taps with an assortment of sizes I needed mounted in T-handles. After a few times of doing this, I found myself having to start heli-coiling the threads in the block because they were pulling out when torqueing the head bolts. Finally discovered the thread chasers, and they really aren't form-taps, that's a whole different animal. Some of the crud, like gasket sealers, will get very hard due to heat and when a tap hits it, it will go the path of least resistence and cut, especially on aluminum. If your luck isn't with you, the tap can also get cocked in the hole and break or chip a flute, then the real fun begins. Thread chasers aren't as brittle as a HSS tap, so unless you are just being totally ham-handed, they won't break.