Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Crossmember bolt blues
Remember the frame crossmember bolts? I had broken three of them off in the frame while trying to remove them. There are four on each side, and while one side had four good ones, the other had only one.
Drilling resulted in a bit being broken off in one stump, and an extractor being broken off in another. Welding nuts onto the remains proved futile in getting them out. What to do?
I hadn't noticed, but there are 2 holes in the frame situated between the crossmember bolt holes. Drains? I don't know, but I decided to put them to use. I drilled the crossmember so it had holes to match, and bought some grade 8 hardware to attach it with. After tapping the frame holes, cutting the bolts with a die, and adding my new holes, the crossmember will be as sturdy as it ever was. I think if I had broken all 8 bolts off, drilling 4 new holes and using only 2 bolts on each side would hold it without hassles. These bolts are pretty tough.
I did end up drilling the opposite side of the crossmember, as I planned on reinstalling it 180 degrees rotated from its original position. Why? Read on...
Attached is photo of the new holes to give a better idea of what I'm talking about.
posted by acy76, 12:00 AM
