HeliCoil

A helical insert is an insert made of coiled wire. The helically formed coils of diamond shaped stainless steel or phosphor bronze wire screw into a threaded hole to form a mating internal thread for a screw or stud. These inserts provide a convenient means of repairing stripped-out threads and are also used to provide stronger threads in soft materials such as aluminium, zinc die castings, wood, magnesium etc. than can be obtained by direct tapping of the base metal involved. Another common generic name is screw thread insert (STI), although many users call them all by a prominent brand name, the registered trademark Heli-Coil. Applications include engine cylinder head repair after unintentional over-torquing or cross-threading of spark plugs strips the thread of the socket. Kits with matched tap and coil exist for this. The straight radial piece in the photo is the driver tang which is used as a key to grip with pliers for driving the coil into place and is discarded after installation.