Opinions wanted - best way to fix this (1 Viewer)

[Rusto]

Hi all,

It's been a little bit since I posted, as my search for a 40 project has been put on hold for a bit. But that does give me some time to do some smaller jobs on my 60 to basically finish what I've started.

I did an interior refurb recently that went will for the most part. no hidden rust found. New carpet and seats redone, etc. Happy with the result for the most part.

HOWEVER (you knew it was coming), when pulling the drivers seat, I broke the weld on one of the four threaded holes that hold my seat on. Unfortunately, it appears that bolt was cross-threaded from the factory (damn shoddy Japanese craftmanship ), which caused me a headache as I had to basically pry the seat out, making a pretty big hole where the threaded hole used to be.

I attempted a crappy fix of a nut wedge in hole surrounded by jb weld. Held for a little while, but has come lose and my driver's seat is wobbly with only three bolts working.

I've decided to now get if fixed properly, which to me means having someone who can weld cut out a small section and then weld in a new piece that has a good backing nut in the right place so that I can securely mount my drivers seat.

2 Questions.

1. What do my fellow MUDers think is the best way to fix this?
2. Any idea on how much a correct fix would cost? Seems like a small job that is straightforward, but I know nothing about the costs of a welding job these days. If the price is right, I may have the welder put some backing nuts on the holes for rear shoulder harnesses while I'm at it.

It's good to back working on my 60, that's for sure.

 

[Seth S]

I’ve not looked at how my drivers seat mounts....but you could make a steel rectangular plate 1/8” is probably enough. Drill a hole of the bolt size in it. Put the bolt through and spin on a weld nut. Then weld the nut to the plate. Take the bolt out. Paint the back of the plate and clean the edges bare. Then position the plate and nut over your deformed hole so it lines up with the seat base and weld the new plate in place. Clean the area prep and paint it. Put copper anti seize in the bolt hole. And put the seat back in.

 

[Rusto]

Thanks @Seth S. That's basically what I think will happen, except that I can't weld, so I'll need to rely on someone else. However, placing the steel plate over the existing metal could make it uneven. Even though it may never be seen again, once my seat is back on, I want it to sit right and look at feel as it nothing had happened.

 

[Seth S]

But depending on how deformed that metal is you might have to do some work to realign everything

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

In that area as explained above you could predrill then use self drilling metal screws. Not as good as a weld but close.

 

[FJACS]

Time to learn how to weld. Especially if you want to buy a project 40. Buy a used 120v wire feed and get to it.

I’d probably cut 3 sides, bend it open, weld in a new captive nut, bend it closed and weld it up. Or maybe blow the hole open with a step bit, cut a new circle of 20ga metal with a hole saw, weld a nut to it and burn that in the floor. There are a few ways to do it. I can’t think of any that involve JB Weld.

 

[ss95003]

if you wedged a bolt in there with JB weld, you should be able to take it to anyone that can weld and have them just weld a nut in there for you. Shouldn't cost you much at all, its a quick job.

 

[Feistl]

Hey mate,

I've done a similar repair in the past (no pics on me right now so I'll try and explain).

First, get yourself a serrated nut (pretty sure it's M8). Measure the backside of the nut (it should be around 9.5mm), then drill out the hole so you can put the "nut" part through but the serrated edge catches on the metal.

Then use a ball ended hammer to hammer the metal where the hole is back 1-2mm (the width of the serrated edge).

This means the lip of the serrated nut is now at the same "height" as the factory hole.

Finally get a long M8 bolt, thread the nut on a few threads then you can hold the bolt to keep the nut in the hole and at the correct angle. Just needs a light weld with a MIG gun... literally a 30 second job.

(Remember to wire brush the area before you start, much harder to weld through paint).

If you're still not sure I can try and find some pics for you.

Cheers

 

[bigfj62]

Easy fix with a welder. You might be able to get someone to cut that piece out for you on a junk truck to scab back in.

 

[Prairie Swamp]

@Feistl that's a pretty solid fix that's very low impact.

I think we call that a flange nut up here.

 

[Rusto]

All great tips. I like @Feistl 's suggestion as well. My neighbor is a decent enough welder that we could do that together pretty easily, I think. I'm going to order a couple of new bolts from Toyota then find a flange nut that fits, and get after it.

Thanks for the good advice and confidence-inspiring tips. I think I can do this with the help of my neighbor without leaving the driveway.

I'll come back and post when I have the fix (with pics).

MUDer4life.

 

[Rusto]

update - bolts are NLA. getting some from Fastenal.