Hi all,

My car has adjustable bracket at the back, but I noticed the two bolts on the horizontal part of the bracket became slightly loose.
Just wondering, how do you re-tighten them?
The bolt located towards the inside is accessible, so I just put another nut on top and tighten it.
But what about the bolt towards the outside? How do you fix it?


Thanks,

Daniel

Just to be sure we are all on the same page here, could you put up a pic?

Sorry, I haven't taken any pics from my car, hopefully this link from Minispares will help...
It's the side with 2 non-round holes, fitted on the car it will be the side that's parallel to the ground.

The bolts will go from the bottom and there seems to be welded nuts on the other side?
The hole that's closer to the washer to set up the toe is not accessible due to the trailing arm.
The other hole, I can put another nut on top of the welded nut and re-tighten the bolt.

Hope I'm making sense.

OK, ta, sorry here mate, put to be a bit clearer still (I'm a bit hard of hearing! ) it's the bolts on the underside of the subframe member?

Or is it the ones in behind the trailing arm?

No need to sorry, actually thank you for being patient...
It's the bolts on the underside of subframe member.

OK, gotya now.

The nuts are actually welded in to the subframe, so you should be able to do them up from underneath.

It sounds like the threads in these nuts have stripped. Might need to Heli-coil them.

Did you have a wheel alignment done recently Daniel?
What does the thread look like on the bolts, slightly rounded on the pitch?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMkVq1jRGU

Thanks GT.
It shouldn't be a concern right?
At the moment, only one bolt is slightly loose (not loose loose, just not tight tight). The other one I put another nut on top.

Hi Scott...
Yes, I did a wheel alignment recently.
Do you think the alignment caused the bracket to slightly move?
I haven't taken out the bolt, just noticed that there's a tiny gap and couldn't tighten it back on. That's all.


Daniel

In the short term, I'll say a cautious no, only because you still should have two more bolts on the vertical above it, but I really wouldn't stuff around and avoid driving it until you can get it fixed. Have you pulled the bolts out (one at a time) to see if they are stripped or the welded nut?

It's not a big deal to helicoil them, you can do it yourself and these days the kits are easy to come by and fairly cheap. It will come in handy as time goes by. The size kit you need is 5/16" UNF.

If they strip, I just tap them out to 3/8 UNC and fit a starter bolt.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

The problem I found was that if you tapped them out to 3/8 inch the head of the bolt was too big to get a socket on it - its marginal at 5/16 - fixed the problem by using 3/8 allen keyed bolts. UNC is available anywhere 9 UNF is available out of USA) - use a bit of locktite to be sure . Will make removal later so much easier

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Mk1 Cooper S
Mini K Rally car

Hi again,

I took out one of the bolt today, thread looking good.
There was a bit of metal stuck between the threads, pretty sure it wasn't part of the bolt. So it must've been the welded nut, right?

Anyway, the option is to either helicoil or tapping the nut.
Which one would be easier and better?

Also, how do I prevent this problem in the future?
Scott asked about wheel alignment, don't know if it contributed to the problem or not, but I wonder if this also happens with standard minis (ie. no rear adjustable bracket)?


Thanks,

Daniel

The Docs prescription is the answer Simply drill and tap. Its by far the cheapest.
To prevent it happening again dont do the bolt up above the recommended tension. You shouldnt go above about 18 ft lbs for 5/16 and 27 for 3/8
You can locktite it in which will not only lock but will prevent moisture getting down the thread. Otherwise use a cavity wax product around the threads. Trade names are Tectyl or Ensis fluid. Alternative is fish oil

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Mk1 Cooper S
Mini K Rally car

I coat the tapped hole and the bolt with Loctite/Permatex #3 gasket cement. It doesn't set real hard, but seals the moisture out of the threads and you can still undo it easy years later.
I used this same method on outboard motors with broken bolts... works for me.

_________________
DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.