Last week one of the 2 upper mounts for the rear differential on my RT4WD wagon ripped out. The threaded hole the bolt threaded to is no longer there and is now replaced by a larger hole. In order to remount the rear diff I would most likely need to weld new metal where the diff mounts to, possibly even replacing a good section of the underbody with new metal. Not having any experience in welding nor the equipment to do so, my dad and I have brainstormed a few ideas.

My dad is thinking of redrilling the holes for the upper rear diff. mounts clean through to the interior of the car, then putting a long and strong metal plate that would connect both holes and then get some long *** bolts to bolt the mounts with. Does this sound crazy? I'm not too fond of this method.

We were also thinking of temporarily using threaded battery hold down bolts and a metal strap and strapping up the broken rear diff. mount so it sits in it's original spot. It would be similar to the way the gas tank is strapped up. In fact one of the holes we would be using is the same rear hole that the gas tank strap uses. This idea sounds more logical but I'm a bit worried about the repair holding during extended driving.

Here's a photo of the ripped out driver's side mount...



Or Could I get someone or some shop to fab me up a mount like Epic Tuning and mattcivic did for their 4WD hatch and CRX?

I did post this on hondacivicwagon.com but haven't had any replies yet.

Thanks in advance.

 

I think if you drilled all the way through and used the largest grade 8 bolt that would fit and use a large steel backing plate at least 1/4" thick it should hold pretty good. I would do that if its just your dd.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crx Jimmy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think if you drilled all the way through and used the largest grade 8 bolt that would fit and use a large steel backing plate at least 1/4" thick it should hold pretty good. I would do that if its just your dd. </TD></TR></TABLE>

exactly what i would do. cheap easy fix

 

Thanks CRX Jimmy and 1badteg. It is my dd. I guess we can make it look good if we go that route. Sounds like it may be too much trouble to weld in new metal eh? I just want to get this car back on the road.

 

I think the other idea would be just as strong, and easier.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ~sp33~ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think the other idea would be just as strong, and easier.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You mean the battery hold down bolts and the metal strap a la gas tank? That's the idea I favoured. I guess we can always do that one first and if it doesn't hold, then we can drill straight through and if that doesn't hold, weld new metal. Thanks for responding!

 

I was thinking a steel backing plate.

Goodluck either way though

 

Spoke with my dad last nite and we are going to strap it up and support it temporarily with the battery hold-down bolts and a 1/4" thick metal bar. The bolts will hook up to current holes in the body or sub frame and the metal bar will support the rear diff once we tighten it up to the bolts.

Once my dad gets back to work on Monday, he will fab up the steel backing plate for when we drill the holes through the interior next week.

He was also looking at welding equipment in a Harbor Freight catalog we had lying around. Woohoo!

 

So Sunday afternoon my dad and I get to fixing the rear diff. mount. We end up drilling holes through the body down to where the mount is. Extend a metal plate to connect the two holes, and run 5.5" long bolts down to secure the mount.

Bolts in the trunk:


Underneath we bolt up another metal plate to the two bolts and tighten her up. While my dad was drilling the holes, I turned off the 4WD.

Underneath near the mount:


After bolting everything up and driving the 92 miles to work this morning, everything seems to be holding up. My question now is will the repair hold when and if I turn the 4WD back on? It seems like it will. Thanks!