relentlesstech

Yesterday I went to replace my bottom two motor mounts, and both bolts on each mount will neither loosen nor tighten after coming out about 1/4 of an inch - The impact gun was hitting them like it should, then when it started 'free spinning' I assumed they were out, but they are 'locked' in the holes - Now my front mounts are basically rattling around, and driving me nuts! How the heck am I supposed to fix THIS? :-/

CX-Adam

You broke the captured nuts loose. The only way to fix this is to cut a hole in the frame and re-weld the nuts to the frame.

Next time, hit the bolts with a torch and heat them up really well before trying the spin them out. Also, when working with really tight bolts, it's best to trying to tighten them, then back them out. Do it in phases. 2 steps forward one step back.

relentlesstech

Sh*t ... Since I can't weld, if I cut an 'access door' in the body where the mounts are, and use 2 HUGE washers and a nut on the inside, do you think that would hold? I don't have the money to go get the damned things welded o.O

CX-Adam

Which mounts are you talking about? I'm assuming they're the passenger side transmission mount (near the radiator) and the AC bracket mount? Cut the hole on the side of the mount. Not around the bolt.

Get everything tight. Then have someone else weld the nut back to the frame and close up the hole you cut. Buy some POR-15.

Do not cut a hole around the nut and use larger washers to make up for the difference in diameter. You're engine will pull them right out of the hole.

relentlesstech

Those are the ones - I can't believe all four welded nuts broke - What are the odds of that? And I have about $20 to my name until the first, so that is the budget I'm working with just to keep the car going another three weeks ...

CX-Adam

That sucks. If they backed out at all, try and wedge something between the bolt head and the frame to prevent them from rattling around and causing more damage. A washer with one side cut out would work nice.

Next time, plan ahead and start soaking stuff with penetrating oil well in advance of when you need to do work. Or, use a torch to heat the bolts. I had to torch at least half of my suspension bolts to get them out when I was working on my build's suspension.

Again, just trying to rip tough bolts out is a recipe for disaster. You can try and turn them up first to break the initial rust then back them out a little, hit them with penetrating oil, and run them back up. Repeat until they're out.

Good luck.