X Brace Install

[strictlyJDM]

Do you guys know anywhere to get larger nutserts?

I ordered the install kit from understeer, followed their DIY, used a 6/17 drill bit and the nutserts are too small....

thanks understeer...

[flyfishvt]

I got mine from Fastenal. They tend to only sell stuff in large quanities and I only needed 4 so they gave them to me. Even if you pay for them they're only about $5 each. I told them what my bolt size was and they fixed me right up. You'll need a special tool to insert them. You can make your own but I didn't have great luck doing that. There's a thread poking around on how to make your own tool with a bolt and a couple nus and washers.

[strictlyJDM]

I got mine from Fastenal. They tend to only sell stuff in large quanities and I only needed 4 so they gave them to me. Even if you pay for them they're only about $5 each. I told them what my bolt size was and they fixed me right up. You'll need a special tool to insert them. You can make your own but I didn't have great luck doing that. There's a thread poking around on how to make your own tool with a bolt and a couple nus and washers.

sounds good. Theres actually a store close by to me so ill stop by during the week. Thanks

[JDStrickland]

You should be able to buy nutserts from the local Ace Hardware or equivelent. If you have a Pep Boys, they should have them also. Of course, there is always Napa Auto, they seem to carry the hard-to-find parts that I need.

Take one of the bolts with you to match the threads, or just get new sets of larger inserts and the bolts to go with them.

On my car, the nutserts are already spinning, so the stock size will not work for me. I will have to get larger ones if I ever decide to fix the plate or install an x-brace.

[flyfishvt]

If I ever get to that point I'm going to weld nuts to the subframe instead of going the nutsert road again. I have a welder now so it will only take about 10 minutes but any shop will have one too. At most it will cost you an hour of labor. Theydon't even realy need to be hidden like the stock inserts are. If they sit on top of the subframe you'll be fine.

[JDStrickland]

If I ever get to that point I'm going to weld nuts to the subframe instead of going the nutsert road again. I have a welder now so it will only take about 10 minutes but any shop will have one too. At most it will cost you an hour of labor. Theydon't even realy need to be hidden like the stock inserts are. If they sit on top of the subframe you'll be fine.
My nutserts are spinners. I haven't figured out a way to hold them so that the bolts can be extracted. If I have to take the bolts out, it looks like I'll need my angle grinder to cut the heads off of the bolts and then come up with a strategy to move forward from there. I have to get the plate out of the way before I can even think of finding a way to hold the nutserts from spinning as I attempt to turn the bolt. If I get an x-brace, I think I'll just use nuts and not bother with welding them. I can see the nutserts through holes in the frame rails, so with the plate out of the way I should be able to hold a nut with an end wrench and turn the bolt with a socket.

[pbonsalb]

Sometimes if you spray the bolt with PB Blaster or equivalent and lever against it as you unscrew it, it won't spin. Without the leverage, it will spin. Does not always work.

I replaced one nutsert. There is a special installation tool and also a DIY method that works, but you can also tack weld the nutsert on the surface if you have a welder.

[ronMtech325is]

For nutserts if your near Sunnyvale try The Olander Co http://www.olander.com/ Call first their phone sales people are really good, just set up a will call if they have what you need. I used Olanders for 25 years for hard to find hardware before I retired from my mechanical engineering job 4 years ago.

[flyfishvt]

If your nutsert is spinning then it didn't compress correctly. That's why you really need the correct tool to install them. I would cut off the bolt and grind down as much as possible to make it thin so you can just punch it into the subframe. My OEM inserts are inside the subframe. No way to get them out without removing it from the car.

[pbonsalb]

Or you tack weld them on the outside.

[strictlyJDM]

You should be able to buy nutserts from the local Ace Hardware or equivelent. If you have a Pep Boys, they should have them also. Of course, there is always Napa Auto, they seem to carry the hard-to-find parts that I need.

Take one of the bolts with you to match the threads, or just get new sets of larger inserts and the bolts to go with them.

On my car, the nutserts are already spinning, so the stock size will not work for me. I will have to get larger ones if I ever decide to fix the plate or install an x-brace.

i went to my local ACE and they only had ones for wood and i highly doubt my local napa auto will have nut inserts. I am going to find new inserts with new bolts and just go that route. I will tac weld if I have too but dont think i will

[flyfishvt]

If you have a welder its a good idea to tac them in place. The original inserts have ribs that cut into the sides of the hole and hold them in place. Nutserts have them but is almost impossible to get a hole the correct size so the ribs grab. If you don't have the offcial insert tool the nut serts will only grab onto the metal when they compress. Kind of like pinching the metal with your fingers instead of wedging it into the hole. I did this on my X brace last summer. If I had bought a welder in June instead of Oct I would have welded them on. I may still go back and do it next spring.

[jmo69]

If you don't have a welder and are installing nutserts, put some Loc-Tite on the out side and use anti-seize on the bolts when installing them. My car had them already installed and the still worked just fine even after spending it's early life in Canada before moving down here to the rust belt.