Sea&Sea housing grip failure stripped out

[Skiroach 1]

I have a Sea&Sea MDX800 housing which is 7 years old. Maybe 1000 + dives on it. The (female) threads on the aluminum housing side of the connection have stripped out. The Stainless Steel screws that attach the Ergo-Grips no longer hold. Has anyone experienced this same issue? Both the Left and the Right sides failed at about the same time. I am attributing failure to the aluminum/ saltwater combination of the housing. Currently, the connection it uses a 8mm 1.5 x20mm hex head screw. I am thinking of taping them out to a 10mm screw but a little worried about the housing thickness

[paolobl65 44]

Yes , I had the same problem in my old S&S MDX-7D for Canon 7D , and I changed the original screw with a bigger one ( 10 mm ) .

That kind of work was made in a mechanical tool shop and now the housing works again perfectly .

hope this help .

[Skiroach 1]

Paolobl65...Thank you. I assumed this was the only fix. Glad it worked. Will try it on mine,

[Chris Kippax 43]

If you know the original thread size/pitch I would purchase a helicoil kit and do it my self. See if the helicoil kit is available in 316 stainless steel. Loctite the helicoil in and coat the mounting screw thread in anti corrosion lubricant

[ChrisRoss 150]

If you are doing such work yourself, you need to have the right equipment, a bench drill with a depth stop to drill out the screw holes and be experienced in doing such work as it is very easy to make a bad thread in aluminum, the helicoil is a good solution, and should provide stronger threads than tapping a thread directly in alloy but you need to install it correctly. Coating the screws in a waterproof grease will help stave off corrosion.

[Skiroach 1]

Thanks Chris Ross i will look into the helicoil. Your insight is invaluable!