OK, so I'm working on another board members S2k, to repair a whining tranny, which apparently had the Hulk do the last clutch job. That or Edward Impacthands. At any rate, the front 2 subframe bolts were hard coming out. I stopped, removed the access plugs from the frame, and soaked them in WD40. That helped but they were still tough coming out. I took a chance on a larger breaker bar and got bitten- one broke off, and I'm guessing the other one will if I keep pushing it.

The bolt broke off flush with the body, leaving perhaps 2-3" of bolt inside.

So... who has had this happen? What was the resolution? I'm guessing I have a couple of options:

1) Try and drill it out with the subframe on the car. With the subframe in place this will be difficult but perhaps not possible. I'll have to be careful and hopefully not destroy the threads while drilling, and can possible clean the hole with a tap and be OK. I may have to duplicate this process on the other bolt that's acting stuck as well.

2) Remove the other bolt, remove the trans, pull the motor, remove the suspension, and remove the subframe. This should get me a much better "approach" and make it much easier to drill out the bolt. I'm more confident in this method allowing me to drill and retap and be OK.

3) If all else fails... remove the bolts/trans/motor/subframe and proceed to cut out and replace the affected frame rail in front. I'd REALLY like to avoid this for obvious reasons. So would the owner.

For reference, the bolts in question are #10 in this pic:



The frame rail that the bolt threads into is #29 in this pic:



I am thinking that an EZ-out/extractor is out of the question since I was having to apply probably 160 ft-lbs of torque to move the bolt. It's hard to say, but I know I was putting probably 2x torque what they are torqued to, or about 2x what lug nuts go on with. Maybe more. An extractor will just shatter at that torque.

Any and all help is appreciated!!!

 

Good lord that looks like a PITA.

Isn't stock torque on those like 90 lbs?

 

There was a post on this forum, probably about a year ago, where someone had this problem, but I can't find it at the moment.

 

Found it, but not much of a solution, may want to try to ask the OP at that thread on what they did.

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...&#entry14905526

 

Already checked- he hasn't had it fixed yet. Given that there are 6 I think you can safely drive on 5. Problem is, the car I'm working on has a bad trans whine which will need to be repaired sooner or later. And the owner is in this for the long haul, he loves his S and doesn't want to sell it. He has a lot invested in it.

Otherwise, my recommendation might be to sell.

I've found two posts on this subject, and I've messaged both. Cdelena was the other one and he had the dealer repair it. He hasn't gotten back to me, but based on what I've read and heard I think they may have actually replaced the frame rail the bolt threads into.

 

That's an entire car full of Fail..

You car try the drill and extract method but, the threads in the body will most likely still be damaged. Unfortunately that is rally the only option that may save the threads in the body. Re tap the threads and hope there is enough material to save it.

The Non S2k's I've dealt with for this I cut a hole in the body across from the stripped threads. This only works if the body has a captive nut, which I don't believe the S2K's use.

 

The S2k uses what I would call a captive nut- it's going to be a welded or pressed nut or retainer inside the frame rail/unit body. I'm with you on the threads being jacked, I'm thinking that if I go through the drill and tap method I'll still end up with a shitty nut/feature that needs to be redone anyway. I'm contemplating just tearing it down in preparation for a cut and weld of a new nut.

I may be able to find someone with a donor section I can cut out and then splice in. That might be the cleanest way to do it. Otherwise I'm going to weld in some similar plate with a proper nut welded on the backside.

 

i believe billman250 may of had some experience with this you might wanna pm him

 

The dealership brought in a guy to drill it out. Since it is a hardened bolt deep in the frame that must be drilled exactly they were all amazed he did it. Apparently took a lot of time with the right skills and equipment.

 

I guess you have to remove the subframe completly for full access. Unfortunatly I cannot see the attached pictures so I have just a clue where your stucked bolt is located.
After removing the subframe you should heat the rest of the bolt with a torch. Wait until the heat is transferred into the nut.
Then cool the bolt with water so that it shrinks. The nut should be still hot.
Then try to move the boltshaft with a big claw. Move fore and back. It takes time but it works.