Stripped (non-functional) Beam bolt holes.

[jmd]

Hey fella's, not sure where to put pan related issues.
I am trying to install my new adjustable front beam with lower beam shims (doubled up) and longer beam bolts.

|---O top tube (stripped / hanging bolts)
|-((O bottom tube w/ 2 shims.

The issue I am having is one of the (Top Left) beam bolts seems to just sit and spin about half way in... not allowing me to actually bolt the thing together?

Anyone have this happen?
What do you do?

I have cleaned it, rethreaded the original bolt only to have it stall as well... do I need to drill these all out and put some type of sleeve in or something?

It seems like it would suck bad to have to replace a pan head as a result of stripped bolts or whatever?

please advise.
thanks for any insights.

[volkdent]

As long as your bolts are the correct ones and they are long enough looks like you might have stripped the "nut" section. My advice would be to get longer bolts(grade 8) and nuts(grade 8 again, preferrably pinch style) and just get a nut on the back side. It's not great, but the other option is larger bolts and re-tapping the "nut" area, just not sure how good of access you have.

Jason

[evilC]

It may be that the captive nut is spinning in the housing. See if there is a section visible on the outside, it might be flush though and put a blob of weld on it just enough to stop it spinning until there is some tightness after which tightening further will jam the nut solidly. I am guessing that the action of tightening will secure the nut better.

If that doesn't work/apply then either solidly weld a nut in from the outside or use a steel countersunk Rivnut. You will of course have to drill out the existing nut that will no doubt end up floating in the beam. The harder you tighten a rivnut the more secure it becomes (all must be within the limit of the threads though)

Bolting through would seem sensible but you would have to insert an anti-crush tube welded in trom the backside. Any plain holes would IMO dish over time that would mean a sloppy connection thatonce dished gets weaker the more you tighten it.

Clive

[jmd]

thanks for responding... I will check the nuts, thats what it seems like to me.
I have full access as I am building the pan from the ground up, no body. But I am also building a full cage for the car.
so the question then becomes do I just build front picksups the way it's done on sandrails with a top and bottom connection to hold the beam, and forgo the re-nutting of the head?

Like in this image:


Thanks for the support guys.