Nation5

I was in the middle of doing the lower control arm bushings. As I was removing the three bolts that hold the compliance bushing bracket to the front subframe one of the bolts broke loose but wont come down. It's as if the bolt was bolted to a nut that was welded onto the back side of the plate, and the nut broke loose. Now I can't get the bracket off.
Does anyone know what it is that the bolt was bolting into? Was there a threaded hold in the frame that could have broke loose? Do I need to remove the whole front subframe to fix this? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

94EG8

The bolt goes up through the floor, there's a nut welded to the floor that has broken loose, you need to cut a hole through the firewall from the inside to get at it. I did the same thing one time, but I was stripping the car for scrap so I never fixed it.

BryanM.

iTrader: (1)

I'v done that before. Yes it is a welded nut the broke.


You'll have to cut the bolt to drop the subframe, but unfortunately I have no insight on how to fix this beyond that. I tossed the car that did this to me.


EDIT: Typing while 94EG8 posted

Nation5

That's what I was afraid of.
94EG8, can you circle on a picture where I would have to cut the firewall to get at that nut? If not, your best description? If I can get at it from there, I might not have to junk it like mcvtec did.

94EG8

Sorry man, I don't have any pics. But basically just take note of where the broken bolt is and make a hole in the firewall at that location. You'll need to put a wrench in through the hole to hold the nut. Once you get the bolt out, remove the nut and tap or replace it and tack it back into place with a welder, then weld up the hole you made. When you're putting the bolts back in put lots of neverseize on them. Also if you've ever considered swapping in an Integra power rack for it's shorter ratio now would be the time (get the subframe brace too while you're at it)

Nation5

In your opinion, would it be necessary to weld the nut in place, and weld the hold that was cut? If I could just tighten the nut and bolt without welding it in place, and then just leave the hole open in the firewall, would I be endangering myself and others? Only reason being I don't have a welder or access to one.
As far as the Integra power rack, this is just my commuter vehicle so there are no performance plans in place. It's got 225,000 miles and it shows.

Thanks again for all the help!

94EG8

You don't need to weld the nut there, but obviously you'll have the same problem if/when you ever decide to remove the subframe again. You could use urathane or glue for bonding body panels in lieu of welding, cut out a piece of sheet metal about half an inch to three quarters of an inch larger than the hole and use one or the other to secure it there. I wouldn't leave the hole open though.

Nation5

Looks like I'm going to get the drill and tin snips out tonight. I hope I can find it on the first shot. I talked with my brother-in-law and he says his neighbor has a welder that I might be able to borrow. I just hate borrowing from people I don't know. I already bought the Harbor-Freight 6-Ton A-frame press for $65. But it wasn't strong enough to push out a bushing. I'm hoping I can maybe return it and buy the 12-ton version from them.
Also, I might be able to convince my wife to buy a welder if I could find one for ~$100 that would do this job and at least 1/8th to 1/4 inch steel.

94EG8

As far as bushings go, you'll need at least a 12 ton press, a 20 ton is pretty much ideal for working on a Honda. That said there ways to change the bushings without a press at all.

In terms of a welder. If you're planning to actually go out and purchase one, I would highly, highly recommend you save up and buy something half decent. When Dad retired he bought a nice lincon electric mig pak 180, which comes with the regulator for gas. It's been great, it'll basically weld anything from tin foil to half inch plate with gas. Also, if you buy a mig, get one setup for gas, flux core really sucks for a lot of things.

Nation5

Checked the price on that welder, almost as much as I paid for the car. Thanks for the advice though, I'll think I'll pass on a $100 welder and borrow if I need to. Thanks for the advice as well on the 12 to 20 -ton press. I'll check harbor freight, it would be nice if they'd let me return the 6-ton.

Nation5

Went ahead and did some cutting with the angle grinder. Here are the pictures so people can see where they have to cut the firewall to gain access to the welded "nut". The pictures of the firewall cutting are right where the passenger would rest their feet. I pulled up the carpet, insulation, and chipped off a big chunk of sound deadener.

BryanM.

iTrader: (1)

Nice work!

Always wondered how that was done.

Nation5

Yea I didn't really know what I was doing, just that 94EG8 said it was back there somewhere. I just made small cuts until I could see what was there.

Richard Tungate

Absolute gold nations. I've just had exactly the same issue. I have spent months on the engine bay, I didn't want to cut the firewall and this is just what I need. Thank you very much.

TomCat39

I have an alternate thought on a fix. The downside would be you'd have the majority of the bolt and nut in that small space.

Couldn't you cut the head off the bolt to drop the bushing bracket down, grind the hole open big enough to accept the proper side SS rivnut, and do a rivnut insertion for a new bolt?