Originally Posted by
elguicho
Thanks for the replies. I went ahead and bought a new stem only because I need to get back on the bike for training purposes. It will probably be more work than it deserves but I like a challenge. I have never used helicoils before so I will do some research and find out how big the hole has to be for a 7M helicoil. If that doesn't work maybe tap and drill.
If I read the chart right the rec'd. size drill for an M7 in aluminum is 7.25mm, if your stripped bolt was M8 it's probably already exceeded that.
The real battle would be finding M7 socket bolts: they may be out there but they're rare.