Recenlty changed...or tried to change the body mount bushings on my 200K+ mile car. All of the bushings forward of the rear axle went easy, but the ones behind had some rust issues. One of the nut plate just behind the driver's side rear tire had pretty much discentigrated and the driver's and passenger side rear mount bolts broke clean off as soon as I tried to turn the bolt. Anyone else with a high mileage car run into this before? What did you have to do? I'm thinking my next step is a body shop since the only way I can think of to fix this is to cut the sheet metal in the trunk to access the nut plates. Not the popular decision, but the only one I can think of.
Body mount bushings on a high mileage T type
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Squid4life
Well-Known Member
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- Jul 5, 2004
Had it happen on an old suburban. Had to take a die grinder with a cut off wheel and cut a small access panel (3" x 3") in the trunk floor to be able to grab the tops of the bolts with vise grips and spin them out. Soak them with PB blaster penetrating oil for a few days first! Luckily the nut plates were ok after removing the bolts. Otherwise, find a car in a junk yard and cut those out to replace the metal with surrounding nut plates. Post some pics if you can, maybe it'll spur up some more ideas. Wish you were closer, I could probably help out. We have salvage yards within a few miles from the house, and I can weld a little bit.
One of my friends had to buy some is why I know about it.I had the same problem with my car. I cut access holes in the trunk and welded the nut to a flat plate that I could sandwich between the trunk floor and the bushing. I had to repair the hole in the frame also.
It was a lot of work but at least I don't hear the body bouncing on the frame anymore. :tongue:
There are a couple of pictures in my album you can access from my private page.
Why yes you did have the same problem that I did. How far off the frame did the car have to be jacked to weld up the hole/put in the new metal? The holes are about as big as the bushing. Did you use metal from a donor car or just regular sheet metal?
I had the same problem when i took the body off the frame 3 frame holes were gone and the two floor mounts behind the rear wheels. The biggest issue when they are that bad is trying to figure out where the center of the hole is i found a donor to work off of then made new ones from 1/8" steel plate. I salvaged the nut plate and cage from the donor part. I have some frame repair washers left over if you need some makes life easier! here is a link of mine when i did it!
Chris
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/show-car-restoration-body-repair/353787-making-progress.html
Chris
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/show-car-restoration-body-repair/353787-making-progress.html
Hey,
I removed the rear bumper and jacked the body about 3 inches.
I used some sheet metal to patch the holes.
