Cross Member Removal

[DMECMAnderson]

My Crossmember failed. I've received a new one and am in the process of removing the old one. Unfortunately one of the captive bolts on the passenger side is no longer captive. I can untread the nut as the captive bolt turns... Any suggestions? I can see no way to see the head of the captive bolt.

[djape1977]

angle grinder?

[DMECMAnderson]

Yes I can cut off the bolt... But then what? I need it to put the cross member back on... Thinking of drilling a pilot hole near where the head should be... Perhaps I can jam something or weld the bolt head again.

[FiatMac]

This is fairly common on our cars. You need to inspect the frame rails carefully as there may be other cracks or rust that will need to be repaired. You probably will need to cut a window in the frame to make the repair.

I used "crossmember repair" in the site search function and below is one of the better threads on this repair.
http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... air#p66117

If the frame rails are in good condition otherwise, another option is to drill holes through the frame rail and weld in reinforcing sleeves, then run bolts through the sleeves. The sleeves are necessary to prevent crushing of the frame rails.

[fiat218]

Mine bolts was busted and pulled thru on the driver side,I bought a new crossmember,
I ad a guy Make me a plate with the 2 bolts fitted, then he welded it up where the othe bolts where
He did cut out the bottom section as to where the bolts hung down, then refit the peice and welded


it can be fixed

[djape1977]

how much did you pay for your new crossmember?

[fiat218]

I got mine from vicks auto, I can't recall. But it on there site

[djape1977]

188$

thanks

[DMECMAnderson]

As Clint once said "A man's got to know his limitations" I do not possess either the skills or the tools to do the welding job shown in the previous posts... Early on when I bought the car, I had it serviced by a local Dave Weaver. I went looking for Dave today and alas he has apparently actually passed on. I hope the Fiat Gods are smiling on him now!

I'm looking for a qualified mechanic in the (preferrably North) Atlanta area that could handle this type of repair. Suggestions?