Subframe bolt issues

[LJRuddy]

Went to swap out racks in the 96 today... Couldnt get the subframe low enough to access the rack completely so I decided to put the car back together until I had access to more equipment so I didnt throw the alignment off completely. As I torqued down the sub frame bolts, I found the front two were spinning freely. The tabs inside of the frame rails were loose. Tried to get my stick welder in the small access hole to tack the tabs in place with no luck. How do I go about fixing this issue?

 

[zach44102]

I had this problem. what i did was take a nut with the same thread and welded it to a washer, then welded the washer to the body.

 

[kevinspann]

Subframe needs to "hang" on those bolts with the weight of the drivetrain, so you'll have to loosen the rear to do it. Might need to pry down on it too. Or jam something in the hole against the nust so it won't turn. I think I used a wrench once.

 

[LJRuddy]

The tab is inside of the frame rail which is fully boxed in. There's a small 1"x5/8" access hole that I could fit my ring finger in to feel the tab spinning. I cant back the subframe bolt out to replace it and if I cut it off, I have no way of inserting a new tab into the frame unless I am missing something? I tried to tack the tab with a stick welder by bending the rod so that it would fit into the access hole but I was welding blind and I was afraid of tacking the threads to the nut instead of the tab to the frame.

 

[LJRuddy]

Subframe needs to "hang" on those bolts with the weight of the drivetrain, so you'll have to loosen the rear to do it. Might need to pry down on it too. Or jam something in the hole against the nust so it won't turn. I think I used a wrench once.

Tried that as well. Had both rear bolts off of the car, frame hanging by the front two, car raised up by jacks the tabs still spun. There was simply not enough room to insert a steel rod into the space between the tab and the fingers that lock onto it.


On the bright side, I had a perfect Herra Frush photo op in the SHO as we rolled it into the street with the subframe attached by the rear bolts only. 15+ degrees of negative camber FTW. Thought that tires were going to pop their beads

 

[zach44102]

Tried that as well. Had both rear bolts off of the car, frame hanging by the front two, car raised up by jacks the tabs still spun. There was simply not enough room to insert a steel rod into the space between the tab and the fingers that lock onto it.


On the bright side, I had a perfect Herra Frush photo op in the SHO as we rolled it into the street with the subframe attached by the rear bolts only. 15+ degrees of negative camber FTW. Thought that tires were going to pop their beads

And no piktars?

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Putting the weight of the subframe on the loose corner works best with an impact.

You can also try jamming a prybar in the hole to hold the nut from spinning, or a 22mm crows foot can work but I can't remember the configuration of extensions I used to make it work.

 

[LJRuddy]

Putting the weight of the subframe on the loose corner works best with an impact.

You can also try jamming a prybar in the hole to hold the nut from spinning, or a 22mm crows foot can work but I can't remember the configuration of extensions I used to make it work.

lol weird you mentioned crows foot sockets... I had to drop 90 bucks on a metric set today and I didnt even get to use them. Since when did all auto parts stores stop selling them? I had to buy a Craftsman set which damn near sent US Bank under water.

I'll definitely give the above a try tomorrow after work.