Fixing the Boss on the trans

[NEp8ntballer]

So I've decided that the boss needs some attention.

Backstory:

My car used to be owned a long time ago by a not so smart person. this person removed the M12Xstupid long bolt to replace the trans from the boss brace and apparently managed to lose it. Because he was trying to sell the car and nobody seems to want to buy a non running SHO(especially a green one) he used what he had at his disposal. Which in this case happened to be a very large bolt of the non metric variety. To give you an idea about the ill fittedness of this bolt for this specific application the bushing for the boss brace is essentially *****. it is visually distorted after having a bolt larger than designed forced through it so the interior is now also of a larger diameter.:vomit: Now along comes another guy who decides that the best way to solve this problem is to drill and retap a new trans because the vehicle was bought from the prior owner with a blown transmission(this car has led a storied life and has killed more trannys than a serial killer) and the bolt would not thread into the hole where it belongs.(thanks to this thread: http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=90171) I like how some of you can tell a standard from a metric thread just by looking at it and not even bothering to ask for something like a ruler in the photo or what the bolt head looks like.(I'm an *******, I know)

So that is the current situation. If you felt that was too long then here's the CLIFFS: somebody used a standard bolt to replace the bolt that was meant to thread into the boss brace. After that trans blew a diff pin the prior owner of the car decided that his junkyard trans must have had bad threads since the bolt that came with the car won't thread in and proceeded to drill and tap for the proper bolt size. Odd, I know because somebody running the proper size drill bit through a properly sized hole wouldn't have removed any material...

So here's the dilemma: with the larger than stock bushing, thanks to being reamed by a larger than needed bolt(I have a good suspicion that upon removing the improper bolt it's gonna pull out a lot of what is left of the bushing since the bushing is so jacked up) how do I fix this problem? Some of the proper threads are still there way down in the trans case as well

Option A: Jose's Boss brace with the thicker plate(currently the front runner because of availability and ease of install) Anybody that has one care to tell me how they like it? The only problem would in my mind be the lack of a proper sized bolt and a proper sized bushing. Can anybody help me out with either of these?
Option B: Heli coil: self explanatory
Option C: I'm open to suggestions.

none of you(especially James and crew) had better mention buying another SHO(read: the turbo car or the blue Gen1) because that's the last thing I need and I'm slowly running out of self control.

thanks everybody

Teal Deer: 56K is fast compared to 3G

 

[sperold]

I, for one, need a picture. I don't recognize the term boss brace. Any old picture will do.

 

[NEp8ntballer]

I, for one, need a picture. I don't recognize the term boss brace. Any old picture will do.

here's a photo of part of the rod shifter. you have the rod which shifts and then the other rod that gets bolted into the trans. this part that the bolt goes into is called the boss.

this is a photo showing my bolt(incorrect for the car) and my bushing(visually distorted and damaged):



in the car it is supposed to look like this(The one I am talking about is the one closer to the top of the photo):

 

[Phoenix]

On my spare MTX , the boss hole is also fubared. Im bringing it to a welding place (they weld alu plus they are good and cheap) , have them fill the hole flush. Then you either drill and tap , or you can drill , tap and helicoil it - its going be be even stronger.

For that bolt you may want to get another one from the guys here in the WTB section.

For the bushing , some energy suspension bushings that can be trimed on a buffer to fit this might do the trick.

 

[sperold]

Is there any chance that you have the "width of a nut distance" of original thread left in the housing?
Without knowing anything about how it assembles, could you create a stud (original thread size) that would stick out of your casing that the rod (that is bolted to the tranny) could slip over.
That way, you never disturb the original threads in the case again.
You can reinforce it by welding (?) or any of the liquid metals that people rave about.
The forces are not trying to pull the threads out, so if you get it snug in there and provide lots of contact area for the stud and casing to "seat" itself in, it could work.
Just a thought without knowing much about the issue.

 

[NEp8ntballer]

For the bushing , some energy suspension bushings that can be trimed on a buffer to fit this might do the trick.

I'll look into that.

Is there any chance that you have the "width of a nut distance" of original thread left in the housing?
Without knowing anything about how it assembles, could you create a stud (original thread size) that would stick out of your casing that the rod (that is bolted to the tranny) could slip over.
That way, you never disturb the original threads in the case again.
You can reinforce it by welding (?) or any of the liquid metals that people rave about.
The forces are not trying to pull the threads out, so if you get it snug in there and provide lots of contact area for the stud and casing to "seat" itself in, it could work.
Just a thought without knowing much about the issue.

the guy who drilled it out didn't drill all the way back so there are still some threads in there. there looked to be enough that it could still sort of function. What I might look at doing is a mix of turning an excessively long bolt into a stud or even a 12mm diameter section of steel rod with threading on both ends, a boss brace from Jose, a fresh energy suspension bushing. Anybody have the specs of the bushing so I know what to look for?