Tranny mount issues

[berger]

In my quest to to get this 710m ready to go for the nice weather, I am going over things I read about here and on SDP. One of the "easy" projects I planned on tackling was the noise reduction technique. After removing the tranny cover plate from inside the bed to get a better look at the tranny mount, I noticed right away that the inner top bolt was loose. Unfortunately, the problem is that the welded-nut has spun loose ! I then got under the truck and found that the lower, inner bolt was missing! On closer inspection, it had been snapped off and left inside the welded nut ! What idiot does that???

Anyway, I went ahead with the rubber hose add-on, but now I am stuck as to what I should do about the broken weld-nut? Can I slip a nut in there and hope I can get a pair of pliers in their to hold it when I tighten it?

gear06.jpg (7.75 KiB) Viewed 3868 times

The bottom bolt I will drill out an hope to salvage the nut.

[krick3tt]

Not to sure about pliers but I have been able to jam a flat blade screwdriver to hold a nut on a similar situation. It sort
of holds against the flat of the nut. Keep in mind that you may have to sacrifice the screwdriver, but in this situation it may
be the least expensive way to go. I used the permanent type of loc-tite as well.
That kind of loc-tite is not always advisable, maybe if you can get a lock washer in there instead.

edit: some nuts have lock washers attached to them

[19D20]

A bit of a pain, but overall it's worth the trouble. I'm guessing a 20% reduction of noise. I can actually hold a conversation now without having to yell.

[ccalingaert]

Why not just fix it the right way and get it welded back in place? I've had several similar repairs done over the years either by a buddy, or a welding or muffler shop. Should only take a few minutes and won't cost much, and then you never have to worry about it again.

[berger]

Why not just fix it the right way and get it welded back in place? I've had several similar repairs done over the years either by a buddy, or a welding or muffler shop. Should only take a few minutes and won't cost much, and then you never have to worry about it again.

I may do that. I have a crappy 110v welder, and I am not that good...but my neighbor has a 220v Lincoln....so I may call him over. When welding on a vehicle, do you completely disconnect the batteries, or is removing the master key enough?

[krick3tt]

You are awfully close to the gas tank.

edit: I really like Dave's idea for this fix. Wish I had welding skills when the problem was mine.

[David Dunn]

On the bottom nut , left hand dril bits are the best bet for removal of broken studs. The heat from the drilling will sometime heat the stud up, the bit can grab the stud and they'll just unscrew... start small and work up on the bit size.

On the top nut, if the nut has broken loose, and you can get it out without damaging anything else, weld a nut to a flat strap of steel and slide it into the bracket from the end and on reassembly' once the bolt grabs it, you won't need to hold it and the steel keeps it from turning

[kpoling]

When I did this mod, a couple of the nuts were loose. They were a b(tch to get started again but once threaded, I used the trick that Krick described and got them all good & "snug". No welders were used

[4x4Pinz]

you would be better served following Dave's advice. This is what the automotive industry is doing now for hard to reach nuts. If you weld it in place you run the risk of damaging the nut and then will have an even bigger problem. If the nut is welded to a strap of steel it can be changed later if it becomes damaged.

[berger]

Thanks for the help guys. I really like the welding trick. I will use that soon, I have no doubt.

I was able to remove most of the upper spinner with a hack saw (to loose to drill) and then popped it out through the side. The lower bolt had to be drilled, but still wouldn't budge with the extractor, so I smacked it back through the bracket. I picked up some 10.9 replacement bolts and nuts and Krick's method worked well. I actually only had to use my finger, and once the bolt bit, I was able to torgue it right down without it spinning. Now to get back to the rub rail and the fluid changes!