6mustang6

I went to install my engine crossmember today...... and where it bolts to the passenger side is not there. The threads are gone, like whatever nut was there was gone. What do i need to do??? Would a weld be strong enough? Im so pissed.

THUMPIN455

Put a bolt through it. you have a drill if need be dont you? nut on the other side.

Sean W.

+1

figure it out, humans are extremely adaptable, im sure you will figure something out, be creative.

Scott H.

It would probably cost about $100.00 (maybe less) to have a welding shop fabricate a "U" plate with a nut welded to the topside. Wouldn't take much and would actually be stronger than the original. I'd be tempted to cut the other plate out, and have two made. That way instead of a repair to a messed up frame rail, you'd have a chassis stiffening upgrade.

Did you figure out how far off the your frame rails are?

Scott

6mustang6

Scott, Actually when i jacked up the car from under the radiator(i couldn't jack from engine) it was lining up perfect. Let me tell you the story... lol. What i did is, I used one of those metal things, that you thread onto a bolt ,and when you stick it in a hole, it spreads out, and holds on. The problem is, the bolt is way to skinny to hold the bar in place. This was a temperary fix, until i could weld it. When i lowered the car, the wheels where straight... as usual. Me and my friend took a test drive, and then got out and looked. THe wheels were off again. I got home, and looked at my rig job, and could see where the bar pulled out from the bolt as much as it could. So it has helped. Now what im thinking about doing is buying a welder, and just welding the bar on there, or do you think i should get a patch panel, and replace it?

Scott H.

Yeah,

I wouldn't weld the cross brace on. I'd weld "U" shaped nut plates like I was suggesting before.
And...since you are thinking of getting a welder anyways...you could fabricate a bracket that ties into your lower control arm mount points (ala the Boss Mustang)

I'm nothing if not persistant

Good luck which ever way you go!

Scott

6mustang6

hmmm, What are these U shape things you are talking about???? I cant think straight........ Also, Do you mean, weld a bracket from the lower control arm brakets to the crossmember brackets? Thanks Scott, you're always a big help.

DrBob67

Ditto on the don't weld it in. Later if you need to drop the oil pan you will be SOL. You'll have to undo the weld or pull the engine. I don't know the background on your car and this may be a uneccesary question but it seems odd that the threaded hole was not there. Obviously you were not the one to take it out. Did someone modify the underside?

6mustang6

The car was in a front end wreck before i got ahold of it. Im asumming, that broke the nut inside, and they just removed the bar. Or they removed the bar and broke the nut. Something along those lines. Im just going to figure what to do. OH, I think i realized what scott was talking about. ARe you talking about a plate, that has a nut attached to it? That could work. Enlarge the hole, and slide the nut inside of it, and then weld the plate. Thats a good idea.

stang6790

If the hole is not worn out and oblong I would suggest using a rivnut. I'm not sure the size of the bolt but they make them in pretty much any size. you should be able to do a google search and find the size you need. Here is a link to some 3/8 rivnuts on ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NUTSE...spagenameZWDVW