I need ideas on how to fix this!

[FuzzyDunlop]

I took off my sway bar and while I was doing so one of the bolts broke. It suprised me when it broke, and yes I was using PB Blaster, but there was no sign that it was about to break, and it did. OK but thats not the problem. The bolt goes into a nut that is welded to the inside of a tube on the chasis. Here is an example of what I mean.

The real problem is that the welds broke as I was drilling through the bolt. This broke my drill bit and also sent the nut (with broken bolt still inside it) flying around inside the chassis tubing.
Here is a photo looking up at the actual holes. The hole on the far right you can actually see the nut sitting inside. I have no idea what the hole in the middle is for, it is covered up by the rubber bushing. The hole on the far left is another bolt hole with the captive nut still welded in.

So the question is - how do I possible fix this?
I suppose I could make the middle hole bigger so that I could fit a new nut in there - but how do I then weld it into place??

Do I drill small holes in the chassis (ORANGE) to try and weld the nut into place (BLUE)??

There must be an easy solution Im not seeing.
oh. and heres a picture of the sway bar tab that fits here.

 

[drnickriviera]

Get longer bolt, drill through to the other side, bolt it in?

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

or should I just drill out the far right hole, and make it big enough to fit a nut through but just weld it into place.

EDIT: derp: reverse the above image!

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Get longer bolt, drill through to the other side, bolt it in?

This could be a possibility, but it would mean drilling straight into the trunk. But this would be a last resort option.

 

[bbs lm-r]

Hmm, IMO your original idea sounded good TBH.

I had a thought though, maybe just for the sake of strengthening that area up from cutting a bigger hole, what if you welded a nut onto a plate, and then welded the plate using your idea (drilling the smaller holes to weld)?

Kinda like this (but with a bigger square plate)

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Hmm, IMO your original idea sounded good TBH.

I had a thought though, maybe just for the sake of strengthening that area up from cutting a bigger hole, what if you welded a nut onto a plate, and then welded the plate using your idea (drilling the smaller holes to weld)?

Kinda like this (but with a bigger square plate)

hmmm. interesting idea.
So if I cut a rectangular hole (green) big enough to slide some flat iron with a captured nut on it through (grey), and then drill some holes to spot weld it into place (blue). That should do the trick eh?

Then its just a matter of making sure its centered in the right place.

 

[bbs lm-r]

Yea that's pretty much what I was thinking. I'd stick around though, just to see what other guys have to say

Edit: Actually a little different, lemme see if I can whip something up in paint real quick

 

[hdfxst]

how about if you drop the bolt from the top?

 

[bbs lm-r]

Eh screw paint, here's my doodle

The only place you would cut would be the center hole to gain access, NOT making the hole that the bolt went through any bigger, so in the end, it would be a nut sitting (welded) on a plate, which would then be sitting (welded) on the inside of the frame. In the end, keeping it real strong.

I hope I'm making sense lol, if not, i'll stop right here before embarrassing myself any further

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Can you cut that entire piece out, use it to fab a template, make a new section and weld it back in?


Sway bar bushings tend to have a lot of force applied to them, in my experience.

 

[Ferzerp]

I can't read.

 

[manimal]

Eh screw paint, here's my doodle

The only place you would cut would be the center hole to gain access, NOT making the hole that the bolt went through any bigger, so in the end, it would be a nut sitting (welded) on a plate, which would then be sitting (welded) on the inside of the frame. In the end, keeping it real strong.

I hope I'm making sense lol, if not, i'll stop right here before embarrassing myself any further

Post of the year in garage!

 

[Insomniator]

thats a good doodle

 

[herm0016]

you could drill out the hole and put the plate on the outside. a small shim there should not affect anything. if you think it will, just run the plate all the way to the other bolt.

 

[JCH13]

Get longer bolt, drill through to the other side, bolt it in?

Bolt could crush the frame rail before reaching adequate torque.

or should I just drill out the far right hole, and make it big enough to fit a nut through but just weld it into place.
http://i858.photobucket.com/albums/ab150/1fuzzydunlop1/swaybarnut3.jpg

EDIT: derp: reverse the above image!

Too little weld area. I'd be nervous of any welding solution to your problem given old rusty metal and oil/coating contamination.

You'll want a Rivnut kit, like this one: http://www.automotivetoolsonline.co...tThread-Setting-Tool-Kit-AP-1427_p_14228.html

Just make sure they have the size(s) you want.

Works like magic, perfect for what you want to do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkPhGIaPCVs

 

[JCH13]

Can you cut that entire piece out, use it to fab a template, make a new section and weld it back in?


Sway bar bushings tend to have a lot of force applied to them, in my experience.

With adjustable end-links to take pre-load out of the sway-bar linkage there should be almost no forces on the sway bar other that torsion.

 

[JCH13]

The thought occurs that if you really want to weld something in, the easiest way will be to drill and tap a 1/4" steel plate and weld that in, rather than trying to weld a nut to a plate and a plate to the frame. The nut's threads will become distorted and possibly not work. Ask me how I know...

 

[maidaa]

Cut a pipe to the length to fit inside the frame,insert it thru the center hole, drill up thru the trunk floor, install a carriage bolt from the trunk

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

Cut a pipe to the length to fit inside the frame,insert it thru the center hole, drill up thru the trunk floor, install a carriage bolt from the trunk

already kyboshed by JCH13? Or can you clarify?

Bolt could crush the frame rail before reaching adequate torque.

Im thinking BBS LM-R has the key. Or something similar to it anways.

Feeding off of JCH13's idea I came up with this (if it makes any sense).
First take some flat iron and weld a short bolt to its face. Then drill a NEW hole in the chassis turbing about an inch from the others. Also enlargen the middle hole to allow the flat iron to fit through it. Fit the flat iron with bolt inside. Position it so the bolt falls thru the new hole and put a nut on it. The rest of the flat iron should be covering the old hole and can be drill and tapped.

This way the flat iron plate would be guarenteed not to move if the sway bar bolt is removed and it also requires no questionable welding. The new short bolt would even be in a good position to use for a muffler hanger!

my drawings arent nearly as pro as BBs LM-R's but it is easier and quicker than Paint.

Works like magic, perfect for what you want to do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkPhGIaPCVs

whoa, might be a winner there

 

[exdeath]

Bondo and JB Weld. :awe:

 

[exdeath]

Sway bar bushings tend to have a lot of force applied to them, in my experience.

Something tells me that experience always came with having one wheel in the air when you observed that

When working on one side of the car, you always need to jack up the control arm in order to work with the sway bar on that end.

 

[JCH13]

If you lap-weld a tapped plate into the larger hole you'd be able to adequately clean the welded surfaces.

I've upped the ante, here's an image of that idea:

Edit: a riv-nut would space the bracket up a little bit, so you'd want to sandwich something underneath the bushing to keep it all tight.

 

[FuzzyDunlop]

If you lap-weld a tapped plate into the larger hole you'd be able to adequately clean the welded surfaces.

I've upped the ante, here's an image of that idea:

Im just thinking it might be tricky to get it centered. I would have to get a bolt through it first, then weld. I guess it wouldnt be that hard really. and if i did get a bolt through I could use that to hold the ground clamp for the welder!
And the welds wouldnt have to be suprememly strong. Just strong enough that the plate doesnt come loose. right?

 

[JCH13]

Im just thinking it might be tricky to get it centered. I would have to get a bolt through it first, then weld. I guess it wouldnt be that hard really. and if i did get a bolt through I could use that to hold the ground clamp for the welder!
And the welds wouldnt have to be suprememly strong. Just strong enough that the plate doesnt come loose. right?

Basically, just tight enough to keep the plate from spinning when the bolt is being tightened in. Definitely set it up with the full-size bolt you're intending to use. This setup is okay to weld because the weld is so far away from the threading it'll be much lower stress than closer welds.

Don't ground the welder through threads that you care about, arcing inside the threads might weld the bolt in place! This is bad news.

I would use a magnetic part grabber to insert and orient the plate. I would probably also extend the plate out into the larger hole to make this easier.

 

[exdeath]

Use a high quality steel unplated flanged nut, drill out the old hole slightly bigger but smaller than the new nut flange. Place a powerful body or welding type magnet on the outside, position and slide the nut on the inside with your fingers, use a bolt temporarily to align and center then remove. Magnet holds it firmly in place. Spot weld into place around the flange with a light quick two or three tacks of a mig. The force holding the bushing is a clamping force. The weld is just to position the nut and just barely needs to be there.

This would be my approach because I am a sucker for professional looking "same as factory" OEM quality repairs and try to avoid obvious "DIY" blemishes unless I'm modifying something to make it better.