JakePSD
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- March 25, 2010
- Messages
- 385
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Ohio
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2003 Mercury Mountaineer
Figured I would contribute something to the forum that has given me ton of useful information. If there is a better section of the forum to put this, mods feel free to move it or even change the title if you think it'll get better views. As I'm sure all the experienced members here know, and some of you may find out if you ever decide to remove your transmission yourself, the bolts on the crossmember really like to break off. I learned this myself the other day. Here is how I fixed it.
1. Take a grinder and smooth off what's left of the bolt (if there is enough sticking out to do so).
2. Drill a smallish hole in the center. Doesn't have to go all the way through.
3. Take an air hammer with the pointy chisel and stick the end in the hole you drilled, the hole keeps it from bouncing everywhere and dinging up your frame while accomplishing nothing.
4. Hammer away. This may take a while depending on how good your air hammer is. Mine apparently sucks because it took a solid hour of hammering between all 4 bottom bolts. Your results may vary. I stopped periodically and beat them with a 3 lb hammer a few times, not sure if it helped any but it sure made me feel better releasing the anger that was building.
5. Eventually they will pop loose. Use your fingers and a magnet to fish the pieces out of the round hole on the outside of the frame.
6. Buy some M12 bolts, washers, and nuts. For the top (inside the frame rail) I used some 7/16" fender washers that just fit in the hole on the frame since my local hardware store didn't have any metrics the right size.
7. I had some 1/16" plate steel in the shop and cut some pieces to act like a factory type self holding nut. You can use whatever you like but this is what I had laying around, at least it'll give you some idea to go off of. I made them 3cm wide and 5cm long. Sorry for the metric but since everything on these mostly is metric anyway I just used my metric tape measure.
8. Drill a hole almost to the edge of one side. Slide it over the bolt, put on the large washer, and weld them up. You should have something that looks similar to this.
Forgive my awful fabrication skills. It gets the job done haha.
9. Fish them through the holes you took the old pieces out of and drop them though the frame.
10. Drink a beer.
11. Continue with transmission installation.
1. Take a grinder and smooth off what's left of the bolt (if there is enough sticking out to do so).
2. Drill a smallish hole in the center. Doesn't have to go all the way through.
3. Take an air hammer with the pointy chisel and stick the end in the hole you drilled, the hole keeps it from bouncing everywhere and dinging up your frame while accomplishing nothing.
4. Hammer away. This may take a while depending on how good your air hammer is. Mine apparently sucks because it took a solid hour of hammering between all 4 bottom bolts. Your results may vary. I stopped periodically and beat them with a 3 lb hammer a few times, not sure if it helped any but it sure made me feel better releasing the anger that was building.
5. Eventually they will pop loose. Use your fingers and a magnet to fish the pieces out of the round hole on the outside of the frame.
6. Buy some M12 bolts, washers, and nuts. For the top (inside the frame rail) I used some 7/16" fender washers that just fit in the hole on the frame since my local hardware store didn't have any metrics the right size.
7. I had some 1/16" plate steel in the shop and cut some pieces to act like a factory type self holding nut. You can use whatever you like but this is what I had laying around, at least it'll give you some idea to go off of. I made them 3cm wide and 5cm long. Sorry for the metric but since everything on these mostly is metric anyway I just used my metric tape measure.
8. Drill a hole almost to the edge of one side. Slide it over the bolt, put on the large washer, and weld them up. You should have something that looks similar to this.
Forgive my awful fabrication skills. It gets the job done haha.
9. Fish them through the holes you took the old pieces out of and drop them though the frame.
10. Drink a beer.
11. Continue with transmission installation.
