Well I managed to cross thread one of the upside down, impossible to see bolts on the bottom of the turbo while reinstalling it.

I removed the turbo and chased the threads and tried again, this time it just ate the threads on the turbo side when it started to tighten up.

Anybody had this problem? There's not much room to play with and I would prefer to not take the turbo off again. Has anyone ever used a longer bolt and a nut on the top side to hold something like this together? It's not a structural joint, just holding the drain pipe to the turbo with a gasket in between.

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#1 2006 Silver CRD Limited, flipped spare tire, ASFIR skids, GDE TCM & Ecotune, blue SAMCOs, 5V glow plugs, Rotella T6, intank fuel pump, Gen2 fuel head, new crank sensor, JBA 2.5 in silver package, Provent and ARB bumper
#2 2006 Metallic Green Limited; currently DOA
#3 2005 Silver project; currently not running...don't judge me

I haven't seen one stripped before, but the bolt and nut solution is a relatively easy fix. Luckily there's room! That should be REALLY difficult if it's the block side!

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05 CRD: H.D.S2 stat,WW Ironrock trilink&LCA's, OX rear,ARB front, 4.10's, ARB bumper, Suncoast,OME 3.5, JBA UCA,rock rails, Moabs&265/75 Duratracs, GDE tunes ,FFD fan,ARP's, 2 micron fuel, new valves,sasquatch battery tray & grid heater, tensioner relocated
Mech fan, VH & AC delete

If it were me, I would fully remove the drain plug and turbo support bracket and helicoil it. There's plenty of room to work and it will be a reliable repair.

X2, I agree, I would remove it and install a helicoil, then install threaded studs in both bolt holes using red locktite and then use nuts when installing the drain tube.

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I don't think you could use studs... There would be no way to position the drain pipe. You need to insert the pipe in the block, then rotate it into position at the turbo. Using studs would prevent that.

I'm still in the camp that the nut and bolt will be stronger and 10x easier. threading that reasonably strait for the helicoil sounds hard, and they like to fail unless you have a lot of experience with them.
Hmm, if you have to drill the hole bigger to get a bolt through I don't know if you'll have room for the drill though. Good luck

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05 CRD: H.D.S2 stat,WW Ironrock trilink&LCA's, OX rear,ARB front, 4.10's, ARB bumper, Suncoast,OME 3.5, JBA UCA,rock rails, Moabs&265/75 Duratracs, GDE tunes ,FFD fan,ARP's, 2 micron fuel, new valves,sasquatch battery tray & grid heater, tensioner relocated
Mech fan, VH & AC delete

Agree about the helicoil !

If you don't want nut and bolt use a Timesert !

I have used both types over the years and they each have a place in thread repair depending on the application and need.
I have seen failures with both types/devices; unfortunately there is no perfect thread repair.
Either one MUST be installed correctly in order to perform properly.
Lots of opinions on both options, so take it with a grain of salt.

They both have pros and cons, Helicoil vs Timesert
Pros:

Helicoil:
less expensive
will not back out with bolt or stud when removing bolt or stud due to their "spring" design.
permanent repair
may be better thread material than where installed
allows for very good distribution of the tension holding the bolt/stud
can be used in aluminum or steel

Timesert:
permanent repair
very strong repair, can withstand the same amount or more torque that the original threaded material would support
may be better thread material than where installed
can be used in aluminum or steel
no tang to have to break off

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Cons:

Heilcoil:
requires installation kit to install
repair hole must be drilled out oversize and tapped to accept coil repair
have to break off tang on bottom of coil in some applications

Timesert:
installation kits are expensive
requires installation kit to install
repair hole must be drilled out oversize, countersinked, and tapped to accept insert repair
requires countersinking of surface for insert to screw in flush with surface (tools in kit provides countersink)
hole must be drilled and tapped square with surface to allow insert to set perfectly flush
insert can back out with bolt/stud when removing fastener

_________________
Supporting Vendor and Moderator of LOST
05 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited
Ironman Springs/Bilstein/Shocks
Yeti StgIV Hot Tune
Week's BatteryTray
No FCV/EGR
Samcos/ProVent
SunCoast/Transgo
Carter Intank-pmp
2mic.Sec.Fuel Filter
Flowmaster/NO CAT
V6Airbox/noVH
GM11 Bld.fan/HDClutch
IronrockArms/wwdieselMount
98 Dodge Cummins 24 Valve

That seems about right to me!

There are times when I use a timesert (especially where getting the tang out is an issue!), but for something as trivial as the oil drain there's no reason for the extra cost. A helicoil is more than up to the challenge. I've done this repair a dozen times on turbos where over-aggressive people have stripped out feeds or returns. I've never had one fail after a repair. The hybrid turbo on my XR4Ti was repaired this way in 2010 - I bought the turbo used from some jackass that was convinced the CHRA was leaking... no, he'd stripped out one of the bolts for the oil feed! Spent two minutes, helicoiled it, and never looked back. It's been off and on the car a half dozen times without incident, never leaked a drop.