I stripped out the threads on the bottom of the car where the bolts go to that hold the crossmember in place. I thought about just enlarging the hole slightly and re tapping it but I would much rather get a nut on the top side of the area and weld it in there somehow. has anyone ever been in this situation?

 

82's didn't have the mount bolts in the same place as the models that had TH700's & M5's. So, I match drilled the holes, opened up the drain hole at the end of the frame rail, stuck a nut & washer up there with a box end wrench, and ran the bolts in.

 

I recall a couple of threads where folks cut open the side of the frame rail for access. Welded a nut in place and then welded the frame rail opening shut.

One of the more popular fixes was to drill the hole to the right size for a lightly larger SAE bolt. Dill the bolt out, tap to a larger size and use another bolt. I'd rather do that then weld. The problem with welding is that the metal is no longer protected from corrosion. A TimeSert or HeliCoil is also an option.

RBob.

 

On the driver side rail in my 89 camaro I have two 7/16 bolts for the crossmember in. The bolts come down from the top and the nuts are on the bottom. To get the bolts in the frame I welded a piece of metel coat hanger to the head and fished it in to the frame.

 

Rob, the first option with the cutting of the frame rail is OUT of the question. I just dont want to do that type of work to my car. I know it isnt your idea and that you are just throwing options out here too. the second option has a potential problem. The factory stamped a hole in the rail and by doing this, it pushed the edge material up into the rail creating more area for threads to be created. That rolled lip will not be there once i drill out the hole bigger and then the new bolt wont have a lot of threads to bond to. Kind of like tapping a hole in a thin oil pan and then trying to get a good tight seal on a fitting. it just dont happen.
Now 83z28camaro has a good idea and I actually was thinking of that myself. the only little problem with that is getting the bolt(s) to stay in place while tightning the nut. How did you stop the bolts from spinning on you?

 

The factory bolt is 10mm diameter. That is .394". Take a 25/64 (.3906") drill bit and drill out the stripped nut. Now get a 7/16 - 20 tap and tap the hole. Get a 7/16 - 20 bolt 1'' or 1.250" long and you will be set. Do them all if needed. I think that it will be well worth the drill bit, tap, and few 7/16 ths bolts to fix it as good as new. Just have to remember to use a 5/8 ths socket instead of a 15mm in the future.

Good luck

 

rjmcgee, thanks for the info. sounds like you had to do this before.

 

If done the 7/16 bolt trick on a few cars now and it has always worked well for me. Just be sure and get a Grade 8 bolt. Also, when you tap the new hole, use lots of cutting fluid...it makes the tapping process much easier.

 

I had to cut a hole in each side to mount the 700 in the bird. It's not a big deal doesent hurt the "frame" structure. I just FB glassed the holes so when I removed the trans it made it quick.

 

I just used an impact bumping the trigger will usally get the nut tight without spinning the bolt.