Bushing install gone wrong

[FRSFirestorm]

Originally Posted by gmookher

indeed, this can be a job that requires some skill level, i'd say you had your turn. seek help before you go a cuttin, please.

1-do not use impact on these in or out.

2-go thru the forum and find a wrecked frs or brz and obtain a set of the bolts you need first
.
seriously.

3-BEFORE you go cutting into the car, try taking the old bolt out, get some PB blaster to make removal with breaker bar easier. get in there and look at the threads inside nut, they may not be as bad as you think, may be recoverable with a tap, be gentle, really gentle

4-if youre confident in your skills go to a shop that is capable - most any subie or import shop should be able to do this if the threads are good, otherwise I suggest a good frame and body shop for doing that sort of thread assessment tapping or welding correctly

5-try and see if you can get a fresh bolt to thread into the hole if inserted at right angle, or resort to tap, remove subframe if needed

I see no need to cut out that bolt. yet.

Thanks for the advice. I have the skills to do this, my constraints are time and location. Unfortunately the car is my only means of transportation and I have a 1.5 hr daily commute to work and back. I do have a motorcycle but I'm not riding it back and forth in the dead of winter. I'm also living in an apartment with a garage but its very small and filled with my tools and bike. I do have a couple buddies with garages and will probably look at doing it there.

I've also considered, as you mention, taking it to a shop but I live in small town KY and reputable shops are hard to come by. As you also mentioned I to believe a body shop would probably be the best choice for this. Something I'm sure they've see before.

Anyway here is my plan.

I have 2 new bolts on the way. Ordered from Toyota dealer. $7.56 ea.

Once I have the bolts, determine the size and thread pitch to get a tap. I'm not pulling one out to find out now.

Once I have these I am going to attempt to get the bolt out. As I've mentioned it is seized. I can turn it in and out about 4 turns before it locks. I didn't put more muscle to it as I didn't want to break it. I've already applied PB blaster. This was Sunday evening and I had to work next day and I didn't have a large enough tap to try that if I got the bolt out.

If I get the bolt out without breaking it I will then attempt to tap the threads in the hidden nut. If it breaks I have no choice but to then cut access, through the trunk I think, to get to the nut and cut it loose.

If the tap doesn't work I again have no reasonible choice but to cut access and replace the nut. Cutting access or the bolt will be my last resort.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by FRSFirestorm

If the tap doesn't work I again have no reasonible choice but to cut access and replace the nut. Cutting access or the bolt will be my last resort.

If there's enough space in the subframe and bushings you may be able to retap it just a little larger if the nut strips and then run a matching grade 8 bolt.

[FRSFirestorm]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

If there's enough space in the ubframe and bushings you may be able to recap it just a little larger if the nut strips and then run a matching grade 8 bolt.

Thats a thought!

I also thought if there were enough room I could drill the nut center out large enough to pass a longer bolt through it and put a new nut on top. I'd still have to cut an access hole but much smaller. Just enough to get fingers into to hold and start the nut and possibly get a wrench on it till I get the bolt tightened.

[Touge Monster]

Ugh sorry to hear about your bad luck hope all goes well. Im istalling mine later this week glad I have access to a shop.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by FRSFirestorm

Thats a thought!

I also thought if there were enough room I could drill the nut center out large enough to pass a longer bolt through it and put a new nut on top. I'd still have to cut an access hole but much smaller. Just enough to get fingers into to hold and start the nut and possibly get a wrench on it till I get the bolt tightened.

I just reread my post.. good thing you understood those typos.. damn ipad and me just waking up made that a little unclear

I'd try the retap to stock size first, and failing that, go one size larger if the rest of the parts allow it, you should be able to get that to work.

[MTCRX]

Sorry to hear that, I know the sick feeling you have. It is learn by doing, and I have done similar things myself. Just take your time now, get the right tap, a good tool store would be able to measure the threads to get the right size and thread count. Go easy with the tap and use some some oil, etc, turn the tap in slowly making sure it is aligned correctly to start, then turn in and back out often to clear the cutters. With a cross-thread it shouldn't be a real struggle to cut/clean new threads.

One thing about these projects is you will think twice in the future when the bolt sticks or doesn't thread right. Another good idea, at least for me, was to get a torque wrench, it made me realize just how hard I was turning bolts, and why I was breaking small bolts so often. Good luck.

[FRSFirestorm]

Originally Posted by MTCRX

Sorry to hear that, I know the sick feeling you have. It is learn by doing, and I have done similar things myself. Just take your time now, get the right tap, a good tool store would be able to measure the threads to get the right size and thread count. Go easy with the tap and use some some oil, etc, turn the tap in slowly making sure it is aligned correctly to start, then turn in and back out often to clear the cutters. With a cross-thread it shouldn't be a real struggle to cut/clean new threads.

One thing about these projects is you will think twice in the future when the bolt sticks or doesn't thread right. Another good idea, at least for me, was to get a torque wrench, it made me realize just how hard I was turning bolts, and why I was breaking small bolts so often. Good luck.

Thanks, I've actually lost sleep over this. The pain is easing a bit with time but I'm still pissed that I did this. I know better. Its not my first cross threaded bolt by any means but its been a LONG time since I've done it. That on top of it being a critical bolt and a friggin hidden nut makes it much worse.

Think I have 4 torque wrenchs now. One down to less than 15 in/lbs that I use to set pre-load on crush washers for pinion shafts in differential setups.

I started a gym regiment a couple years ago. Maybe my strength gains have my torque calibrated arm screwed up

[gmookher]

dont beat yourself up

best of us do stupid shit

I wouldnt suggest it if it wasnt what I'd do:

1-find a warm place to work, hard as it may be find someone pay them, see if there is a forum member to help you

2- rent a car, dont rush this or make choices based on time
orbitz has cars for $25 a day

3-drop subframe, gain access, clean out threads, tap once, tap right and be done

man I feel ya..pay attention to #1 and #2 more than #3

best-
gem

[Calum]

1 USE AN IMPACT GUN! Set it to the lowest setting and even reduce the air pressure, let it sit there hammering away, until it slowly starts turning the bolt out. You should start at a setting that's too low and slowly work it up to just turning the bolt. This will keep the bolt in the elastic range of the material instead of causing it to yield or fail. Using a breaker bar is a sure way to twist it off or break the internal nut free. I've done this more times then I can count. It works great, you just need a little patience.

2 USE A TAP! If you can get the bolt out run a tap through to clean things up and hopefully straighten out enough of the threads to get a good hold.

OP seems like he's probably thought about this, but for anyone reading this please PLEASE don't follow the advice below. Impact guns aren't the enemy, not knowing how to use them is.

Originally Posted by gmookher

indeed, this can be a job that requires some skill level, i'd say you had your turn. seek help before you go a cuttin, please.

1-do not use impact on these in or out.

2-go thru the forum and find a wrecked frs or brz and obtain a set of the bolts you need first
.
seriously.

3-BEFORE you go cutting into the car, try taking the old bolt out, get some PB blaster to make removal with breaker bar easier. get in there and look at the threads inside nut, they may not be as bad as you think, may be recoverable with a tap, be gentle, really gentle

4-if youre confident in your skills go to a shop that is capable - most any subie or import shop should be able to do this if the threads are good, otherwise I suggest a good frame and body shop for doing that sort of thread assessment tapping or welding correctly

5-try and see if you can get a fresh bolt to thread into the hole if inserted at right angle, or resort to tap, remove subframe if needed

I see no need to cut out that bolt. yet.

[FRSFirestorm]

Originally Posted by Calum

1 USE AN IMPACT GUN! Set it to the lowest setting and even reduce the air pressure, let it sit there hammering away, until it slowly starts turning the bolt out. You should start at a setting that's too low and slowly work it up to just turning the bolt. This will keep the bolt in the elastic range of the material instead of causing it to yield or fail. Using a breaker bar is a sure way to twist it off or break the internal nut free. I've done this more times then I can count. It works great, you just need a little patience.

2 USE A TAP! If you can get the bolt out run a tap through to clean things up and hopefully straighten out enough of the threads to get a good hold.

OP seems like he's probably thought about this, but for anyone reading this please PLEASE don't follow the advice below. Impact guns aren't the enemy, not knowing how to use them is.

Must admit I am skeptical about using an impact but will keep it in mind when I attempt to remove the bolt. Thanks for the input.

[FRSFirestorm]

Running through the scenerios again in my mind and all the input from this thread I am going to modify the plan a bit.

Instead of starting off directly on the offending bolt I'm going to get the bushings in the front two attachments first.

Do the work with wheels off the ground and leaving all the bolts loose to allow movement for alignment as advised. This will help with the attempt at tapping. If the tap is also sucessful I only want to attempt to torque the bolt one time so I want to have the other bushings in place. Torque them and never touch them again.

[FRSFirestorm]

Was hoping to work on it this weekend. Bolt I ordered are on back order. Was told next week delivery.

On a side note, according to the service manual these bolts are designated as "non-reusable part"

[FRSFirestorm]

Update. Woot! not ideal but I'm back under full power.

Decided this morning, being again some good weather, to go ahead and install the front bushings. I obviously was anxious about it but must say they went in without a hitch. Thanks to some tips from this thread. I think the key was getting the rear wheels off the ground. Just some minor adjustments with the jack supporting the rear assembly and I was able to hand thread the front bolts back in.

After getting the front bushings in and torquing the three sections I decided to again take a stab at getting the cross threaded bolt loose. To my surprise it started backing out fine. Being I didn't have a new bolt or tap I just decided to see if I could drive it home even though cross threaded. It took some effort and time but I managed to get it in, and tight, without any further damage. Obviously not ideal but I'm going to run it as is. I will eventually take it back out and do the tap and new bolt but it will be in fairer weather.

I'm so happy!

[RazBRZ]

I almost had this problem. Mine started in a little hard, so I stopped, looked underneath and the hole wasn't lined up. So I loosened the other side and used a mallet/hammer to move the subframe back into position. I cross treaded a bolt installing the whiteline positive shift kit (and I did not force that bolt at all). I must say I'm very disapointed in certain production points of this car (very cheap). I'm glad you got things sorted out