Information Needed - K-Brace Bolt - Sheared Thread

[RSPEC-015]

Hi Guys,

Greetings from Australia!

About a week ago I fitted a Steeda strut tower brace to my Mustang GT. I wasn't happy with the fit of the nuts supplied with the brace. They "bit" into the steel and didn't really cover the mounting slots sufficiently.

I wasn't happy with the look and yesterday decided to remove it. I put back all the factory nuts and 7 of the 8 nuts tightened satisfactorily with my torque wrench. When trying to tighten the 8th nut I sheared off the thread. Main thing is it's not a nut associated with the strut.

Just wondering if anyone has had a similar thing happened and how to fix it? I've tried searching the front suspension but can't find any reference to the bolts. These also hold down the K-Brace which is standard on Mustangs shipped to Australia.

Any info would be appreciated.

Cheers & Thanks

Jim

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[BmacIL]

Well the only way to really fix it is to weld a new stud on, which isn't realistic. You could try drilling out what's there, cleaning that area up and painting any exposed metal, then see if a bolt can be run through the hole.

 

[Ugly John]

I did the exact same thing. It is kind of a pain in the butt to fix, but you can do it if you have some good bits and some skill with a drill.

Basically, you're just going to have to drill through the bolt. It is really a stud since it is welded to the frame.

If I was doing this again, this is what I would do:

1. Jack up at least the side of the car with the sheared stud. This will get weight off the wheel and allow much easier access to install the new bolt. Of course, use a jack stand...

2. Remove all the braces. I didn't, and I couldn't file off to a flat surface and it was difficult to see what I was doing. I did remove the strut tower brace, but I still had the K brace to deal with.

3. File the top of the shear stud flat, or even better, off completely.

4. Drill through the center of the stud. Use good sharp bit, a slow drill speed and a decent amount of pressure. Take your time, and try to stay on center. Start with a smaller bit, maybe a 1/8". The first bit for the center hole will be by far the toughest to drill, but also the most important. If you're off center with this, you won't be able to easily get back on center. Go all the way through. Look up from under the wheel well and you can see how on-center you are. Progressively enlarge the hole using larger bits. The smaller the step between drill diameters the better.

5. Your last drill should be as close to 10mm as possible. The actual closest bit would be 13/32nds (10.3188mm), but good luck ever finding one of those. I went with a 7/16ths (11.1125mm). I figured the holes in the K brace and the strut tower brace were both very loose, so it would be ok. You will not be removing the entire stud, since the head is welded. But it has a flat head, so a replacement bolt can go right over top of it.

6. You should replace the stud with a 10x1.5 bolt. I went to home depot and got a couple of them (they came two to a package) in different lengths. You can re-use your original nut. Buy longer bolts than you think you'll need.

6. Deburr the hole, and hit the bare metal with some primer or paint. I got a small can of brush-on rustoleum in black for this kind of thing.

7. Install the new bolt from underneath with the K brace and strut tower brace back in position. Put the nut on top, then tighten it down with a socket on the bolt head from underneath.

This job ended up taking me a while longer than it should have because I didn't file the stud down to get a flat surface to begin drilling. I was fighting holding it near center, and it was hard to see exactly where I was with the K brace there.

From the engine bay, you'd really have to know to look for it to tell the difference in the bolt.

I'll get some pictures when I get home this afternoon.... I'll also grab the bolts I ended up using.

 

[RSPEC-015]

Hi John,

Many thanks for the detailed explanation, that's a big help.

This happened late on Sunday afternoon so I'll have a good look this coming weekend.

Seems like you didn't have to remove the plastic inner guard liner to get to the bolt head, which was one thing I was worried about.

Best Regards,

Jim

 

[Ugly John]

Here are the pics. I did have to jack the car to get a photo of the bolt from underneath. You can see I was a bit off-center. It doesn't hurt anything.

 

[Ugly John]

And no - you don't have to mess with any liners or clips at all.

 

[RonStang6G]

I would make one more suggestion while drilling the hole through the stud use some cutting oil of some kind. Lubricating the drill bit will make drilling the hole much easer.

 

[Ugly John]

Another suggestion - wear eye protection while drilling! Steel can grab bits when they start going through, and the bits can shatter.

 

[RSPEC-015]

Thanks John,

You're a champion! Those photos have helped to ease my anxiety over this.

I'm confident now I can do this myself.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[mikes2017gt]

Another suggestion - wear eye protection while drilling! Steel can grab bits when they start going through, and the bits can shatter.

ABSOLUTELY! I almost lost an eye due to my own laziness about not wearing safety glasses. Now I wear safety glasses when I use any power tool or perform any actions with a hammer. Sounds funny, but when my eye was bleeding it wasn't so funny. :headbonk: If you think about it, a hammer isn't really a tool you use when working on a car...or is it? Driving out strut bolts, knocking exhaust pipes loose, separating ball joints are all done with the 3-pound sledge, AKA "BFH." All it takes is one small metal chip to hit you in the right spot and you're a cyclops.

 

[Ugly John]

^^^^^THIS!!!!

Glad you're eye is ok.

OP - another thing to remember is that you shouldn't feel any pressure to get this done immediately. Base cars don't have anything mounted to these studs at all, so you will not gain the stiffness you want, but it's not like you're going to damage something. Tie it into other maintenance and make it convenient. Keep us posted!

 

[RSPEC-015]

Hi John,

The info & photos you posted have helped a lot and I've lost the anxiousness now.

I'm considering Shockworks coilovers at the moment which the dealership where I bought the car from will fit; they've also said they'll include this repair for me.

I might just have a go myself to drill it out and clean it up though.

Will keep you posted!

 

[THE_AHJ]

RSPEC-did you end up getting this completed? I did the same over the weekend, and found this thread so I'm confident I can get it done. How did it turn out if you completed it already?

 

[RSPEC-015]

Hi AHJ,

The dealer I bought my car from has told me they will fix it when they fit the Shockworks coilovers. They're just trying to arrange a date at the moment.

Cheers

 

[THE_AHJ]

Thank you.

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