How would I fix this swaybar bracket bolt issue?

A couple weeks ago I was going down the highway and a truck flipped a tire right up in front of me. I had no where to go and no time to do anything, so it went right under my car after nicely darkening the front. :unamused: Anyway, no damage seems to have been done the only thing I notice now is a missing bolt on the drivers side mounting bracket. It's the one holding the bushing onto the frame of the car.

Anyway, in attempting to put another bolt in there, I find that it's all stripped out. I can sort of screw one in there but I can't get it tight enough to really matter. And yes, I am using the right bolt for the job.

So basically, how do I fix this? Obviously it will need to be re-threaded, but I don't have the tools for it nor would I know how. So I guess my best option is to bring it somewhere, any ideas on where?

 

are you talking about the rear bushing bracket? you might be able to drill it and helicoil it

 

helicoil

 

or try and chase the threads with a bottoming tap

 

you dont want to chase a possible stripped thread with a bottoming tap. Try to make sure the first few threads are good with a starter tap first

 

There's enough room to put another nut on top of the welded nut. Just make sure to use a long enough bolt and tighten it down pretty good.

 

I dont know how different your rear bar is from a legacy but i had to do what Will said above tonight. I went to Advance and got a 30mm long bolt and nut and it worked perfectly.

 

You could try tapping it for the next size larger bolt.

 

That's a good idea, never thought of that. Seems like the cheapest and easiest way at the moment. I'll try it when I get the chance.

 

I have done this before, and its not that hard to do. It takes some patience and you will need the right sized tap and replacement threads. I ordered mine through McMaster Carr because it was a large one I stipped a control arm bolt. But you should be able to find smaller, more common taps at any hardware store.

Once you have tapped it, putting in the helicoil (or "recoil" brand is what I had) is way easy.

The nice thing about the helicoil is you get to reuse the original bolt size and the new threads are stainless steel, not soft metal.

You will need: a drill, the correct size bit, a tap, cutting oil, and the thread insert (helicoil/recoil).