Birty Dastards Jeep Club

Tech Forum => Workshop => Topic started by: brendjill on May 11, 2009, 05:38:46 PM

Title: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: brendjill on May 11, 2009, 05:38:46 PM
99 XJ failed MOT cos the anti-roll bar bushes are shagged and the one retainer plate is loose. Ordered the bits no bother from Lightohouse Jeep (good crowd) but when I tried to loosen the d bush retainer it appeared to be stuck. Got out the penetrant spray and gave it a few blasts during the day. just got from under the bonnet and think i have broken the thread on the nut which sits inside the chassis.

What can I do, I have 9 days left to take it back to them !!
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: tim_aka_tim on May 11, 2009, 05:56:44 PM
Is it the bolt marked on this pic? (or one of the other three bolts)

Can you re-tap it very slightly larger?
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: brendjill on May 11, 2009, 06:04:33 PM
hard to tell but it looks like the exact bit but only on the other side:

at the moment all I can do is get the bolt to keep turning. Went to my mechanic earlier and he was afraid it would break. Don't want to do anything till I get some advise. He mentioned re-tapping but he was pulling those faces and making those noises so I bailed !

oh and it's on the front !!
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: tim_aka_tim on May 11, 2009, 06:15:27 PM
I know on the T/C skid, there is a nut that is welded onto the inside of the frame. This nut may be
the same. I would have though it more likely not that the thread has broken, but that the
weld attaching the nut to the inside of the frame has broken. Can somebody confirm?
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: brendjill on May 11, 2009, 06:16:23 PM
(http://http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn1/brendjill/Jeep%20Cherokee/11052009118.jpg)

here is the little bastid
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: greggmo on May 11, 2009, 06:31:37 PM
take it off then go for your mot. if it aint on there they cant fail it. 8-)
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: brendjill on May 11, 2009, 06:35:06 PM
that's one way but it's the car my pregant-with-twins missus drives my 2 year old in so I would rather fix it !!
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: greggmo on May 11, 2009, 10:31:23 PM
it woul do no harm to have play in it but mot testers think they are god. get yer mot and pop it back on. 8-)
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: brendjill on May 11, 2009, 10:41:23 PM
if I take it back without the roll bar will he not be a little suspicious ?

think I've gone to far as the bolt is now loose !!
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: JamesH on May 12, 2009, 08:50:57 AM
I would cut the head of the bolt off (carefully with a thin disc on angle grinder, or slower with a saw). Try and lose the spinning nut, either get it out of the body or just out of the way. Then drill the hole out if it isn't already clear, probably 9.5mm ish or whatever is the right size for a 10mm tap. Then tap the hole ready for a new 10mm bolt (setscrew). If I've misjudged the size it might need a 12mm.

I would say it'd probably take about an hour with all the tools to hand and a cup of tea  :mrgreen:

Even if you don't have the tools, you can pick cheap ones up fairly easily, I got a tap and die set from Argos when I was in a bind recently!

James
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: Ric Jacques on May 12, 2009, 10:25:05 AM
Don't use a grinder to get the head off, too easy to make a mess. Hold the head still with a ring spanner and drill the bolt centre with a quarter inch drill. When you've drilled down the thickness of the head it'll fall off. Neat and tidy!
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: brendjill on May 12, 2009, 10:28:19 AM
is the nut a loose nut welded to the chassis or is ut part of the chassis (so to speak)
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: Ric Jacques on May 12, 2009, 11:08:24 AM
Usually it's a loose nut welded to the inside of the chassis. Normally just a square nut.

Sometimes you get lucky in that you are able to get a spanner in through another hole somewhere just enough to hold a new nut in place. Looking at your pic you may be able to use the hole top right with a universal jointed socket on an extension bar.

Good luck with it, shouldn't be too much of a drama.
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: brendjill on May 12, 2009, 11:12:58 AM
brothers on the other side of the pond are proving to be very helpful, reckon I can get at it if I take the bumper off:

http://www.cherokeetalk.com/forum/f20/h ... #post52913 (http://www.cherokeetalk.com/forum/f20/help-needed-other-side-pond-4145/#post52913" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: Dave69 on May 12, 2009, 07:29:06 PM
if your stuck for ideas, it's always good to look on naxja for ideas as well. the american arn't afraid to try ideas.

get a spanner inside the access hole and see if you can get some purchase on the nut, the other option is to cut the head off and punch the bolt through. refit with a new bolt and tape the correct nut to a spanner and fix in place. you might have to bend the spanner to suit your needs
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: Panic mechanic! on May 12, 2009, 07:32:45 PM
Surely if you can get a spanner on the nut in the rail, wouldn't it be just as easy to get  a mig or arc in the there and put a good weld on it?
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: brendjill on May 12, 2009, 07:39:21 PM
Quote from: "Panic mechanic!"
Surely if you can get a spanner on the nut in the rail, wouldn't it be just as easy to get  a mig or arc in the there and put a good weld on it?

can't get in there without cutting - can only get in from drivers side
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: captain cavalier on May 13, 2009, 10:09:28 AM
have u tried putting some down force on the bar and using an air gun

has worked in the past for me
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: dxmedia on May 13, 2009, 10:13:18 AM
Might take a few minutes, but what about a junior hacksaw on the head?
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: tartanzj on May 13, 2009, 03:47:15 PM
Take front bumper off and you can get access to the weld nut from there easily.

Third pic down viewtopic.php?f=22&t=9397 (http://www.birtydastardsjeepclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=9397" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

HTH
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: brendjill on May 13, 2009, 03:53:28 PM
cheers for the reply, can only get at the right side, not the left without cutting. Quicker to cut a small finger hole in the chassis rather than take bumper off, cut front of chassis to reach in.

thanks for the post
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: brendjill on May 16, 2009, 12:48:22 PM
got it sorted - thanks for all your help fella. Cut the bolt, drilled chassis, used a maget to get the bolt to line up, loads of slime and tightened it all up, replaced everything and got the green cert.

(http://http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn1/brendjill/Jeep%20Cherokee/16052009122.jpg)
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: Tank on May 16, 2009, 12:51:49 PM
Glad you got it all sorted  8-)
Title: Re: %£$%ing Failed my MOT - HELP
Post by: JamesH on May 16, 2009, 04:04:55 PM
Nice one  :-)