3/4 front sway bar bracket bolts broke :(
Thread Starter
Honda-Tech Member
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,076
Likes: 0
From: crapville, MN, USA
3/4 front sway bar bracket bolts broke :(
Yeah, i had to take the front sway bar off, and 3/4 bolt heads just snapped off after a little turning. I think what happened was that the ends of the bolts were really rusted up, because the bolts started to thread out, then seemed to get caught up, then broke.
Is it worth my time to drill these out upside down? its extremely hard, going extremely slow, and i really dont know if i'm going to be able to use an easy out...not sure what i'm going to do.
Has anyone ever had a shop do something like this? The bolts are stuck in a nut welded inside the subframe, and probably just need to be completely drilled out and retapped. How much do you think that would cost? Because if its reasonable, I'd rather save about 20 hours of cussing, swearing, and frustration.
Is it worth my time to drill these out upside down? its extremely hard, going extremely slow, and i really dont know if i'm going to be able to use an easy out...not sure what i'm going to do.
Has anyone ever had a shop do something like this? The bolts are stuck in a nut welded inside the subframe, and probably just need to be completely drilled out and retapped. How much do you think that would cost? Because if its reasonable, I'd rather save about 20 hours of cussing, swearing, and frustration.
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 452
Likes: 0
From: forest hills, ny, usa
Re: 3/4 front sway bar bracket bolts broke :( (s1ngle)
yeah this happened to be once.
i was installing a front sway bar onto my 98 civic hatchback.
i didnt have oem bolts but i had matching size/thread ones from home depot.
one of them snapped inside the subframe upon tightening. i guess i overtightened like a dumbass.
i got a screw extractor drill bit and got busy.... 10 minutes later, the screw extractor broke off and got stuck inside the already broken bolt.
i was ready to shoot myself.
i took the car to a friend of mine at a shop and like 45 minutes later and after killing all his ceramic drill bits, he managed to get the bolt out, but it was messy and he had to re-thread the hole using a tap bit.
so in conclusion...there is hope...but make sure the person that does it is someone you consider more than a regular mechanic....make sure its someone that wont expletive up your subframe more than it already is....cuz then you will never have a sway bar back up there unless you replace your subframe.
i was installing a front sway bar onto my 98 civic hatchback.
i didnt have oem bolts but i had matching size/thread ones from home depot.
one of them snapped inside the subframe upon tightening. i guess i overtightened like a dumbass.
i got a screw extractor drill bit and got busy.... 10 minutes later, the screw extractor broke off and got stuck inside the already broken bolt.
i was ready to shoot myself.
i took the car to a friend of mine at a shop and like 45 minutes later and after killing all his ceramic drill bits, he managed to get the bolt out, but it was messy and he had to re-thread the hole using a tap bit.
so in conclusion...there is hope...but make sure the person that does it is someone you consider more than a regular mechanic....make sure its someone that wont expletive up your subframe more than it already is....cuz then you will never have a sway bar back up there unless you replace your subframe.
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 452
Likes: 0
From: forest hills, ny, usa
Re: 3/4 front sway bar bracket bolts broke :( (beav)
ohh another solution that might be useful...
depending on how much of that bolt is still sticking out of that hole....you can file down 2 sides of it a little until they are flat, then soak it in wd40 for a day or so, then take an adjustable wrench and try to close in on the 2 flat sides and unscrew it slowly. do not use a vice grip because you will mess up your filing work for sure.
i have done this before. takes some time and effort. but its worth it.
remember, this will only work if you have enough bolt hanging out of the hole.
depending on how much of that bolt is still sticking out of that hole....you can file down 2 sides of it a little until they are flat, then soak it in wd40 for a day or so, then take an adjustable wrench and try to close in on the 2 flat sides and unscrew it slowly. do not use a vice grip because you will mess up your filing work for sure.
i have done this before. takes some time and effort. but its worth it.
remember, this will only work if you have enough bolt hanging out of the hole.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
