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Sway Bar Bracket Problem

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TimK

TimK

Jedi Knight
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My front anti-sway bar has two brackets with rotted rubber bushings. The brackets are held on with 2 bolts each that go into a box frame member. There must be welded nuts inside, but they are no longer welded. The bolts just turn without unscrewing. The only thing I can think of is cutting off the bolt heads and drilling all the way up through the top of the boxed frame and installing longer bolts with nuts on the top of the frame section. The cutoff bolts and nuts would end up rattling around inside the frame member, I guess.... :frown:

Any better ideas?
 
Could you grid the chassis end caps off, carry out necessary repairs / make new ends, and weld them back in and locally repaint? I wouldn't like to make holes in the top of the chassis rail
 
I'm with 3000. If you did what you're suggesting, you might introduce water into the frame every time you wash the car. If the shroud is off, I'd take a 3"x3" section out of the top of the frame just above the nuts. Then remove the bolts so you don't loose the nuts down the frame. Weld new nuts in and weld the top back on. Don't weld it with the sway bar attached though.
 
Hi just buy new frame tips and weld them on. Also the plates which carry the bolts can be purchased and welded on the bottom of the frame I have a method to replace the nuts inside if you like laying on the ground for a long while let me know.--Keoke
 
Serious stuff, maybe I'll just live with it another 27 years.
 
If you do nothing, at least keep an eye on it regularly. Those loose bolts may worsen as you drive the car. The car may start handling differently also.
 
It's worth a little effort to try and remove the brackets. I've found that by soaking the bolts with "PB blaster" and then leveraging the brackets from behind you might be able to remove the bolts. Once removed you can weld the nuts to the frame end.

By no means "let it go" it needs to be fixed.
 
I do appreciate all your input guys,
Johnny,
Leveraging behind what? Do you mean like putting a screw driver/wedge between the frame and the bracket, that maybe I can loosen the bolts from the nut? Maybe I'll try to drive something like a cold chisel in there. I don't have any welding capability to cut metal and re-weld it. One thing I thought of was cutting out the bottom of the frame section and then bolting a plate on by drilling a hole through the top of the frame and bolting on a replacement plate.
I don't understand Greg's concern about washing the car and introducing water. The hole at the top of the frame would be filled with bolt covered by nut.
 
Ignoring this problem will not make it go away. Nor will drilling right through the chassis rail cure it. The bolt will not tighten as it will be compressing the space inside the rail. It may seem tight but when subjected to forces generated in cornering the bolts will loosen. And water will get in!
Removing the bolts as Johnny suggested will leave the now loose captive nuts rattling around inside the rail. K.A.S. supply a repair section for this area. That may involve a fairly complicated procedure, but worth doing. As a temporary fix, perhaps a plate with nuts welded to it, or a tapped plate of thicker material could be welded to the bottom of the rail to provide a firm anchor for the anti-roll bar brackets?
 
Hi Tim,
Here are a couple options. Option A would need oval holes on the top of the frame and the nuts would not fit flush to the frame. The exposed threads would allow water to wick in. Option B would be hard to get the upper bolt in because the sway bar bracket would get in the way. I think the act of driving the car would tend to wear this type of setup, so at best, it would be a temporary fix.
 

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Again, I appreciate your concern and suggestions for dealing with the problem.
Who or what is K.A.S.? and how would I contact them? I was thinking of the fix of cutting out the affected area and welding in a plate with welded nuts. The threaded thicker plate sounds like a good idea, too. I wonder what they were thinking when came up with the original design...
 
Greg,
Thanks for the drawings -- I posted before seeing them. I didn't realize that the frame surface was angled like that.
 
K.A.S. is Kilmartin. They're in Australia and produce the best body parts that I'm aware of. British Car Specialists (209-948-8767) here in California can send you a catalog. My only concern with replacing the front with a new part (as opposed to cutting the top and replacing the nuts) is alignment of the holes. Just keep in mind that they need to go where the originals were.
 
Not so good Greg,Good drawing . The plate with the nuts intact is readily available from just about all of our suppliers. You can cut out the original and weld in the new , or you can cut the nuts out in the original with a hole saw and weld the new plate back in. Makes the nose just a bit thicker. You can also make a thicker p[ate with threaded holes It must have a a step machined in it to align it with small section of the old plate left at the nose . We leave that section alone so we do not have to fiddle with the shroud brackets. If en you are not prepared to do some work drive shims behind the brackets to tighten them up!-Fwiw-Keoke
 
As a temp fix either A or B can work if you put a sleeve over the bolt. Essentially, take a piece of pipe and cut it at an angle. Put a washer at the angled in to spread the load. With B, you could cut a hole in the top, drop a piece of pipe in so when the nut is tightened it doesn't compress the frame. Use a large washer at the top to spread the load and some 4200 boat sealant for water proofing. Should last for many years.
 
Hello TimK,

GredW did a great drawing to clarify to everyone what you were trying to explain but I think the operation is more work than it's worth.

The best fix in my opinion is what GregW/Keoke has been saying. Get a new piece from Kilmartins, or have someone local make it up,remove the original piece and weld in the new one. It's just a flat piece of steel probably 10gauge (not wire gauge) with 2 nuts welded to it to match the original sway bar mounts. Replacing it will make it look better too and that will be satisfying.

It's easier to do the job right now than cobble up a repair that will have to be done again later. That's my thoughts anyway.

Regards,

bundyrum.
 
I just looked up page 9 of the BCS catalog on Kilmartin parts. Item 27 is Mounting Plate, Sway Bar -- a 4 3/4" piece with two holes & I assume two weld nuts. The comment is "This plate is damaged hitting a cement parking stop."
I didn't do that, but this is obviously the right part to fix my problem. Thanks everyone for their advice. I'll have to go see Dunn's welding (the people who welded my hand brake bracket.)
 
TimK said:
page 9 of the BCS catalog on Kilmartin parts. Item 27 is Mounting Plate, Sway Bar -- a 4 3/4" piece with two holes & I assume two weld nuts. The comment is "This plate is damaged hitting a cement parking stop."
Click to expand...
That looks to be the part. In case you didn't know (forgive if you did :b) that would be AH258L for the left and AH258R, well, the otter side.
 
Greg, yes I did figure it out, but I appreciate all the help you can give me.
 
Yes Tim that is what I had in mind. Usually that will hold the nuts in place long enough to remove the bolts. If your lucky, the nut will remain in place and you can spot weld the nut to the frame and you're done. Use lots of penetrating oil.
 
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