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Exhaust Tip Hanger Nut Snapped

The Rebel

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Friday night installed the exhaust tip hangers that I bought from a fellow member here.

Earlier in the week spayed the bolts down with penetrating oil to soak in. Took my drill wire brush and took off the undercoat & rust. Got the 1st bolt unscrewed & hit it with more oil & screwed it & unscrewed it working it in. Once it was off and then began on the other side.

Had the bolt 3/4 of the way down & snap! The nut inside the rail came undone and the bolt just spun around & around. If everything was easy everyone would be doing it, so I took some picture wire & wrapped it around the bolt & tab to at least attach it to the frame for the mean time. Any idea what I can do at this point?

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Your kidding me.....did you heat the bolt? That's a key part to aid in bolt removal...

Well that just blows, sorry to hear that....

Drill it and extract it.....or drill it out and tap it.....I would suggest to have someone that knows how to do this do it...

So did the bolt snap in two or is it spinning in the frame? If spinning in the frame. That's bad news...
 
I was leery of using any heat so close to the tank, not that it's not leaking. Some penetrating oil got on my handle & I lost my grip. The socket was uneven for a split second when it happened. I was in a really uncomfortable position as well. The bolt spins freely.

Your kidding me.....did you heat the bolt? That's a key part to aid in bolt removal...

Well that just blows, sorry to hear that....

Drill it and extract it.....or drill it out and tap it.....I would suggest to have someone that knows how to do this do it...

So did the bolt snap in two or is it spinning in the frame? If spinning in the frame. That's bad news...
 
That blows. Now assuming that if you removed the other bolt and pried down on the hanger mount that the nut would still spin freely, you're screwed. If there was no way to stop the nut from turning, I would zip cut the head off and push the nut out of the way. It likely won't fit through any hole in the frame so it is now a part of the car! Then I would drill out the hole to accommodate a nut of the proper size and weld it in.
 
I was leery of using any heat so close to the tank, not that it's not leaking. Some penetrating oil got on my handle & I lost my grip. The socket was uneven for a split second when it happened. The bolt spins freely.
A small propane/map gas is localized heat....I warned you previously but that's beyond the point now....I wish you would have asked about your concern about heat....

You broke the nut inside the frame.....Zero fix unless you cut access above in the trunk area..
 
There's enough of the bolt out that I could probably get someone to weld the bolt & nut, zip the top off the bolt off & then get a nut and tighten it on from there.

That blows. Now assuming that if you removed the other bolt and pried down on the hanger mount that the nut would still spin freely, you're screwed. If there was no way to stop the nut from turning, I would zip cut the head off and push the nut out of the way. It likely won't fit through any hole in the frame so it is now a part of the car! Then I would drill out the hole to accommodate a nut of the proper size and weld it in.
 
Or cut the head off remove the inside portion if you can....then drill a hole above and put a long bolt through....not the best but doable
 
There's enough of the bolt out that I could probably get someone to weld the bolt & nut, zip the top off the bolt off & then get a nut and tighten it on from there.


That's not a bad idea, creating a stud vs a nut. But welding in such tight tolerance will surely leave slag on the threads. However, if you can get the nut welded back to the frame rail, the heat from that should help you continue to perhaps work the existing bolt out.
 
I like a challenge as well as creating more work for myself....LOL!

That's not a bad idea, creating a stud vs a nut. But welding in such tight tolerance will surely leave slag on the threads. However, if you can get the nut welded back to the frame rail, the heat from that should help you continue to perhaps work the existing bolt out.
 
You've got the right attitude about this problem.

Maybe, just maybe you could pull the back bumper and see what tool might fit to fish this out?

These were probably broken on my Road Runner as the exhaust tips are held in by universal hangers I assume fabricated by the shop that put the exhaust in many years ago.

Watching to see how this proceeds. Good Luck.
 
I suggest, take it to a shop that has the skills to tackle this....
 
You've got the right attitude about this problem.

Maybe, just maybe you could pull the back bumper and see what tool might fit to fish this out?

These were probably broken on my Road Runner as the exhaust tips are held in by universal hangers I assume fabricated by the shop that put the exhaust in many years ago.

Watching to see how this proceeds. Good Luck.
It's a charger removing the rear bumper provides zero access....
 
Or cut the head off remove the inside portion if you can....then drill a hole above and put a long bolt through....not the best but doable

Drilling an access directly above isn't a bad idea either. You could then get a socket on the nut to hold it for back up. Remove, repair and then just use a body plug to fill the hole. No one would think twice about it.
 
Drilling an access directly above isn't a bad idea either. You could then get a socket on the nut to hold it for back up. Remove, repair and then just use a body plug to fill the hole. No one would think twice about it.
Correct....
 
Thanks guys. Love the ideas. Is there an epoxy that I can shoot up there & then pull down on to seat the nut so that it's in place that will handle me unscrewing?
 
Thanks guys. Love the ideas. Is there an epoxy that I can shoot up there & then pull down on to seat the nut so that it's in place that will handle me unscrewing?
If it holds the nut it will hold the bolt. It wont work. Cut the bolt off and knock the rest up into the frame. Drill a larger hole so you can put a nut in the opening and weld it to the frame. This was told to you already. This will give you a solid mounting spot that will be flush and invisible when done. No holes in the trunk floor. Find a welding shop.
 
Some really good ideas, but epoxy won't work,none of them are near strong enuf; sorry.
 
What might work.
Grind /cut the bolt head and washer off. Remove or displace the broken nut left in the frame channel. Find a non spinning large flange nut for the bolt size you want to use. Alternatively you could make a nut from bar stock. Grind the flange (the green in the picture) flat on opposite sides. Open the frame hole just enough to slip the ground flange nut into the channel using a long bolt to hold it. Drill a couple holes in the frame to weld the two long sides left on the flange nut.

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This sucks - sorry to hear this happened.

You all but certainly need some welding any way you try to tackle this, so I'll throw out another brainstorming idea: Drop the gas tank (pretty easy), and cut a decent sized rectangular hole in the SIDE of the frame rail beside the bolt (and save the piece you cut out). The bottom of this cut should be where the frame rail makes the 90 degree turn. This will give you easy access so you can remove the broken nut. Likely you can use two wrenches and even save the bolt. You can now take a new nut and tack weld it in from inside the frame rail like it is supposed to be. When done, you will need to re-weld in the piece of the frame rail that you cut out. Even if you do a messy job welding in the piece (like I would do, I still suck at welding), you can grind that weld down and hide it with undercoating.

This might seem like a lot of work, but I bet you can piss away more time trying to jury rig it, and this way it will be fixed without rattles or compromises. If you simply cut away the bolt, that piece you cut away will rattle around in there - that would drive me nuts.

I'm sure others will chime in if they disagree with the above...

Good luck whatever method you choose.

Hawk
 
I have to do mine as well. Not looking forward to it.
 
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