I think two of the bolts holding the hood lock assembly in were over torqued and possibly stripped. The bolts spin freely, but the bolts don’t come out. I can feel the bolts spinning in the other side when I put my finger there. I tried using a flathead screw driver as a wedge at the front of the bolt when trying to remove them, but haven’t had much success getting the bolts out. I circled the bolts in red in the picture (two top bolts). From reading through forum posts and looking online, some suggestions include getting a clamp and trying to push the bolt from the outer side out, using a dremmel to chop the bolt head off and then drill the bolts out afterwards. Any suggestions before I try these? Thanks!
Hood lock/latch bolt spins freely
- Thread starter Quone
- Start date
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CharlieS
GOLD Star
There are welded in captive threads nuts in that crossmember. If they were stripped, I suspect you'll end up cutting the heads off.
Once you get it apart, you'll need an alternate way to hold the latch to the radiator support. Possible ideas include longer bolts with nuts, grind out and weld in new captive nuts, or replace the crossmember entirely.
Another bolt removal approach might be to remove the radiator support entirely, so you can work on the bench. It will be a bit of a pain to do, but it might give you less awkward access.
Once you get it apart, you'll need an alternate way to hold the latch to the radiator support. Possible ideas include longer bolts with nuts, grind out and weld in new captive nuts, or replace the crossmember entirely.
Another bolt removal approach might be to remove the radiator support entirely, so you can work on the bench. It will be a bit of a pain to do, but it might give you less awkward access.
Malleus
Far west of Siegen
Unbolt the support. It will save you hours in the long run. Remember, you also have to get fasteners back in, after you get them out. You can get weldnuts, which have a boss on them to locate them in a hole, from Metric & Multistandard, and epoxy them in if you don't have access to a welder. There is very little load on those nuts, if they are captured in the clearance holes.
The arrow points to the boss diameter. Common hex nuts are unsuitable for welding, IMPO.
I would not do this with common hex nuts.
The arrow points to the boss diameter. Common hex nuts are unsuitable for welding, IMPO.
I would not do this with common hex nuts.
