So I bought Kirban's 6 piece lower body bushing set for 3, 4 and 7. First and foremost, the best $40 I have ever spent on my car. What a difference these 6 rubber bushings made. Gone are the squeaks and rattles. Very easy to install. 30 to 40 mins for me. However, when I removed the number 7 bolt on the driver's side, it required a little more effort than the others. This is one that is the most exposed to the elements. Anyway, I did get the bolt out and I installed the new one with the bushing and it appears that I might have stripped the threads on the mounting point. I was wondering, if I needed to could I put a thread insert in to fix this issue or is this just not feasible due to the composition of the mounting point. If not I was also thinking about trying a bolt with more threads or a slightly longer bolt. Because there doesn't appear to be a way to get to where the mount point is without cutting through some metal. Anyway, the good news is that I don't think the bolt is going to move as I had it tight at one point and I added a little more torque then the bolt started to spin, not tighten.
If it ain't one thing it's another, stripped body bushing mount point
- Thread starter MCH86GN
- Start date
If it's a stripped out hole, it's it possible to get a nut on top? I know that's not a correct fix, but it's not like we have to pull body bolts to do maintenance or upgrades.
A heli-coil would work, but the kit would be pretty expensive just to use it once. I can't imagine any person would have a need to use that size often.
If it's a weld nut and it's broke free and spinning, I guess with it out of the way, a quality replacement nut would fit provided you could get it in place.
A heli-coil would work, but the kit would be pretty expensive just to use it once. I can't imagine any person would have a need to use that size often.
If it's a weld nut and it's broke free and spinning, I guess with it out of the way, a quality replacement nut would fit provided you could get it in place.
Nope, it is the one in the very back. Number 7. I just don't know if the cage nut is broken and it is spinning or if it is stripped.
Believe it or not, here at my work they have all size helicoils, standard and metric. I also have a 10mm x 1.5 helicoil. Not sure the size of the bolt. I do believe it is stripped, I don't think it is spinning. This is the driver's side #7 bushing bolt. I didn't see anyway to check what the situation is, spinning or stripped. I'm not going to take it out until I have a plan. I'll keep a good eye on it to make sure it doesn't loosen in the mean time. Thanks for the info.
Must cut out small square flap above nut to get to and either secure, lube & back out so you can re-attach cage or go with new bolt / nut combo. Been there,. done that! These are fragile and you can save stock appearance by neatly cutting flap, bending away to make repair then fold flap back and seal.
Did you have to do it for the number 7 bushing on the driver's side. Just not sure of the best way to get there.
Yes, 2 rear of rear wheel must be addressed thru trunk floor, just measure twice & cut once!! not as tricky as it seems. pull bolt out and take long punch thru hole to secure area of repair then with cutting tool cut 2" 3 sided flap then bend flap back to make repair. It works!
I think I get what you're talking about. Here is what I was thinking, with the long punch, tap and make a small dent in the bottom of the trunk then that gives me the location of where to cut. The passenger's side I didn't have any trouble with.
TurboSmart
Member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2013
You can try those rivet nuts.
Or if its the very last one I think that you can access it by removing the bumper and bumper shock.
Or if its the very last one I think that you can access it by removing the bumper and bumper shock.
turbodave231
Moderator
- Joined
- May 24, 2001
Charles,
I've dealt with this before (go figure). You can cut a small "door" and bend back the trunk floor skin enough to fix the caged nut. The "door can be bent back and welded shut. Not a huge job.
I've dealt with this before (go figure). You can cut a small "door" and bend back the trunk floor skin enough to fix the caged nut. The "door can be bent back and welded shut. Not a huge job.
I'll be doing this surgery this week....or actually the bodyshop will be doing it. The bushing on the d/s is totally gone, fell on road somewhere. I cut the access holes in the trunk (both sides) and you can see the ground thru the huge rust hole. I think a metal plate will have to be welded onto the frame with a hole cut in the middle for the screw to fit thru. On the p/s the bushing is still there but it is pushing thru into the trunk. This might be the reason the car bottoms out when I have a passenger in it. Sorry to hijack the thread.
Is the rusted area lower trunk floor or frame? Usually trunk rusts there (thinner metal) so weld panel from inside trunk, you will have to make bigger access hole most likely.
I was trying to remove the bolt, the one that is either stripped of the cage nut broke and I had to really use a lot of torque to loosen the bolt and then a lot of torque to tighten it. So I don't think the bolt will come out and I will keep check on it as well as the others. I talked to Dennis Kirban and he said to just snug the bolts and I certainly did more than snug them. As a matter of fact, I torqued the bolts so much center of the washers bent a little. But considering what was being bolted together I figured that they would need to be torqued quite a bit. Next year, I plan on rebuilding a 109 block and dropping it in. I'm sure the guy who is building my engine will be able to cut the trunk, fix the issue and weld it back together.
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
As the advice has been givien yo need to get to the cage nut by whatever methods you can and without seeing it rust has created the problem.
This is proof that the longer you put off installing what is referred to as the "missing" lower body bushings the more trouble you can have on the ones located after the axle assembly due to rust.
I did every car we sold over the years prior to selling them 300 plus...
Rite or wrong I did not go by any specific torque specs but snugged them enough making sure the cage nut did not break free.
denniskirban@yahoo.com
This is proof that the longer you put off installing what is referred to as the "missing" lower body bushings the more trouble you can have on the ones located after the axle assembly due to rust.
I did every car we sold over the years prior to selling them 300 plus...
Rite or wrong I did not go by any specific torque specs but snugged them enough making sure the cage nut did not break free.
denniskirban@yahoo.com
Dennis,
I didn't know I was missing them until a few weeks ago. If you look up recent purchases for the bushings, I just purchased mine because a friend of mine pointed out that they were missing when he welded some cage nuts in for my stripped sway bar mounts. The only one I had a problem with, was the driver's side #7 as it had the most exposure and was rusted the most. For me I didn't bother asking a few questions, like what type of mount the bolts were mounted to? Cage nut, etc.
I used an 18" torque wrench with a 1/2" drive. Come to thing about it, I did snug them with this drive. Do you remember the ratchet or torque wrench length you used to snug them? I actually backed the bolts in the others out about a full turn.
Anyway, as I said to you, in terms of eliminating squeaks and rattles this is the best $40 I have ever spend and I wish I would have done this to my car 6 years ago when I bought it. It made a big difference and if I need to, I will have the number 7 fixed. Please don't think I'm blaming you or slandering your name. I have never gotten anything less than great products from you. This happened because I didn't do my homework and ask a few questions before installing. I should have emailed you before installation and asked your recommendations. Also I should have cleaned the threads before bolting anything to make sure they was no metal or other debris on the threads.
You're absolutely correct. The longer you wait to install these missing lower body bushing the more issues you could run into. If you don't install them, the squeaking and vibration only gets worst with time. I had a really bad squeak in the rear passenger's side and I'm sure the #7 eliminated it. It was night and day difference.
Dennis Kirban
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
On a similar topic concerning squeaks and rattles in the back end here are two more tips. with trunk lid fully closed try and press it down...if you can still press it down slightly open the trunk and locate the small snubber on each rear corner near the back end and turn it outward slightly...reshut trunk lid and it will eliminate the rattle from the trunk lid moving.
other possible problem is alittle more trouble to fix... annoying squeak can come from the back window...what happens is the glue that secures the back window may not be holding the back glass firmly in place and what you hear is the back glass moving.....not a common issue but one that can exist...
course this is assuming all the jack mounting pieces are secured properly in the trunk as well as the spare as they can cause rattles.
denniskirban@yahoo.com
my guess is fewer than 10 readers of this thread can put the spare and jack back the way GM did on the assembly line.
other possible problem is alittle more trouble to fix... annoying squeak can come from the back window...what happens is the glue that secures the back window may not be holding the back glass firmly in place and what you hear is the back glass moving.....not a common issue but one that can exist...
course this is assuming all the jack mounting pieces are secured properly in the trunk as well as the spare as they can cause rattles.
denniskirban@yahoo.com
my guess is fewer than 10 readers of this thread can put the spare and jack back the way GM did on the assembly line.
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