LHS Sub Frame question

I'm having trouble with the sub frame bushings on the front end of a 96 LHS and any advice would be appreciated. I'm working on the rear set of bushings on the front sub frame assembly.

I picked up the bushings today, two tops & two bottoms. These are the heavy rubber bushings with the steel collars attached.

I started to loosen the bolt on the driver side and was making progress but now I'm stuck. The bolt and whatever the nut is on top are now just spinning as one unit. Something did back out/loosen because the subframe has dropped 1/2 inch & can see the bolt between the subframe & the top of the top bushing.

Basically right now I can not loosen it any more or tighten it back up. Either way I turn both bolt & nut spin as one. I used a mirror to try to see the nut and can see it but have not figured out how to get a wrench on it. I'm not really sure what type of nut is used or if it is supposed to fit into some type of slot or bracket that would hold it while the bolt was being turned.

Any ideas?

I know I can pick up a new bolt at the dealer but right now I'm not even sure how the nut would be held in place. I could see a couple of little flanges of metal near the nut that may have somehow held it in place but they look to be pointing a little upwward at this point.

I tried putting downward pressure on the subframe to see if that would hold the nut but no luck. To be honest when I looked at the nut with a mirror it and the bolt both looked so rusty I'm not sure that they ever broke loose. That being said it is a little confusing where all the slack came from that allowed the subframe to drop down 1/2 inch.

I'm pretty much stuck right now and when the wife gets home I'll have to tell her the "quick fix" I had planned for her car won't be done today :) Thanks for any help

Reply to
db2006rocks
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If my memory serves me correctly, (sorry, don't be mad at me for the bad news!) those "bolts" aren't really bolts, and they were welded to the frame... Hopefully someone can confirm or deny that fact, but I'm 90% certain that is the case.

Reply to
FeMaster

Thanks for the reply.

I don't think the bolt was welded, but maybe the nut was?

We replaced these bushings about 5 years ago & my buddy helped me do it. My job was to jack the car up & put it in jackstands. He went under the car with his air impact and the bolts spun right out. The whole job was done in no more than 15 minutes. Unfortunately I did not really get a look at the bolts. This time I was using hand power - a rachet & a piece of pipe about 1 1/2 feet long.

Now I can see where maybe the nut was welded to the frame? That could possibly be how it was held in place. If that's true and now that weld is broke I've got a problem.

thanks again.

Reply to
db2006rocks

My suggestion to you would be soak them really good with penetrating oil, some times you can let the weight of the frame keep those flat nuts from spinning at the top. The other method I use is to get a big pry bar type screw driver and hold pressure on the nut while loosening the bolt. Good luck doing it on the ground.

Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech

Reply to
maxpower

Thanks Glenn.

You are right about being tough laying on your back. Not a lot of access to where the nut is. But I think I can take from your post that the nut isn't really "attached" to anything and at least I have not made anything worse by what I did.

So it would seem that the bolt did back out for a ways then? That would explain the 1/2 clearance between the bushing & frame. The sub frame has certainly dropped down from where it started.

If I can't put enough pressure on the nut to hold it would it reasonable to get a new bolt & nut and try to cut through the existsing bolt where I have the 1/2 clearance to get at it?

Must have got lucky the first time we did this when the bolts spun right out. Or maybe the imapct workd better than hand power.

thanks again.

Reply to
db2006rocks

I feel your pain. You will have to get a ahold of that nut insert thing with some vice grips. Remove whatever you have to. Buy whatever kind of vice grips they sell. There is no guarantee that you will succeed, certainly. I got in the same situation you're in one time on the right front, but I managed to get out of it with vice grips.

If the vice grips fail, you'd have to cut that whole fastener out any way you can. There's a window in the frame to get at it, so it's not totally hopeless.

Reply to
Joe

You are correct... It was a LONG night, and had my terms mixed up. Yes, the NUT, which I'm not sure if it really is a nut (at least the kind you can stick a wrench on anyway,) was welded to the frame. Like I said, 90% certain, but hopefully someone can confirm this.

I wonder if perhaps they were over-tightened when put back in? Impact wrenches, depending on the kind, are seriously prone to this. Ever try to get your lugnuts loose after a shop has put the wheels on your vehicle?

I'm pretty sure that is the way it was... I don't like dishing out bad news, but unfortunately sometimes it happens like that, sorry...

Reply to
FeMaster

Reply to
philthy

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and ideas. What a nice thing to be able to do. Very much appreciated.

Everyone of you was exactly right, I was in a world of hurt. Once that nut starts spinning a guy at home laying on his back is going to have a lot of trouble finishing the job.

Last night I knew I was in trouble so I limped the car up to the local Chrysler dealer and I just got the call that the job is done. They charged me 2 hrs labor for the job.

At least it's done. Again, thanks for your help.

Reply to
db2006rocks

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and ideas. What a nice thing to be able to do. Very much appreciated.

Everyone of you was exactly right, I was in a world of hurt. Once that nut starts spinning a guy at home laying on his back is going to have a lot of trouble finishing the job.

Last night I knew I was in trouble so I limped the car up to the local Chrysler dealer and I just got the call that the job is done. They charged me 2 hrs labor for the job.

At least it's done. Again, thanks for your help.

Reply to
db2006rocks

Probably a bargain. Maybe the dealers have come up with a special tool/trick to deal with the problem. Sounds like you did the right thing.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

That's not too bad, really!

Reply to
Joe

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