Sheared bolt/chassis. Safety concern!

[TurboDoseBro]

Hello guys,

Tried taking off the seat the other day (first timer), everything was going great UNTIL either the big bolt holding the seat belt buckler rail sheared, OR the chassis thread sheared on me (not first time undoing a bolt!).

What the bolt is doing is just spinning, can't loosen anymore, can't tighten anymore.

Normally I wouldn't care but because this is a safety concern for others who drive the car, it can't be dríven til it's fixed.

How would you guys go about this PITA?


Left large bolt:

[Rolley]

First thing on the list that i would try,

Grab a mate and get him on the spanner slowly undoing the bolt while you're under the car with a good sized lever against the end of the bolt. The pressure of you pushing the bolt back against the threads can often be enough to get it to pick up on a un stripped section and come on out.
If it's just you you coud try the same thing but have to be a little more careful, try putting the lever behind the seat belt bracket and pulling it towards you as you slowly undo the bolt.

Next on my list would be attack one end with the grinder, take it back as close to the body as possible and then drive it out with a punch and a BFH.

Good Luck.

Rolley.

[Mr Morlock]

if it's turning its likely that the nut on the other side - which might be a captive nut is turning. The bolt head unscrews anti clockwise- You need to view the nut and that should be viewable from underneath. The quick way is just take it up to the local mechanic and he will probably fix it in a few minutes. Don't start using angle grinders unless you know what you are doing. If you have sheared the head off the bolt - same advice- take it to a mechanic- they may choose to drill it out or use an easy out etc. Mechanics deal with these things all the time.

[KevGoat]

Had same happen to me in my NA. I levered against the bolt head while carefully undoing with a socket and it finally came apart. Wasn't easy. Turned out the captive nut and housing had rusted away. Took car down to local body shop and they took a look and found five if the eight seat bolts were seriously compromised. Fixed all eight bolts plus the rusted floor for me by the next day.

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[doc]

I had a simular problem with my Corvette a few years back. The lower seatbelt Mount is in a small "Well" to recesses the retractor under the carpet.
A mouse got into my car and built a nest in this well at some point. (Back in Wisconsin the car was parked up 7 months every year).
The mouse left, But the nest remained. And being under the carpet, under the seat, it went unnoticed.
Until of course the day it was found. The nest material held moisture, And moisture causes rust.
The captive nut being fairly thick was still intact although heavily rusted and the floor of the well all around said nut was completely gone.
Basically, I cut out the entire well and fabricated a new one from 18 gauge sheet metal, welded a new nut to the new well, and welded the new well to the floor.
A little body sealer and a shot of undercoating later and
If you get under my car and look real close, You most likely still won't detect the repair.
As Morlock said, Us mechanic's see this type of thing everyday.
If it's a bitch for you. Take it to someone who deals with this all the time.
If you have the tools, and know how to use them, I'll bet it's repaired already.

[doc]

Found this, Posted on a different car forum many years ago, And by the way, I'm no photographer.
But, heres the seat belt mounting well with the bottom cut out.

.
And here is the new well before welding, Note the the sides are over lapped for strength

.
And before prime and paint, But after welding.

And there you have, How to repair a rusted out seatbelt mount.

[TurboDoseBro]

Thanks guys. At this stage I might just have to take it to a mechanic as I neither have the skills or tools to do the job. If they do face it on a daily basis I'm guessing it'll be a fair price too.

I have tried to lever it with a flat head screwdriver between bolt head and seat rail bracket. No avail and wouldn't want to make it worse than it already is.

[doc]

Well, The above repair is about as bad as it can get without replacing the entire floor.
Took about 2 hours, Cost, 0.