 | Home > Maintenance & Modifications > Hinge bulkhead no-longer captive nut - any ideas? SOLVED |
 
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| Dinnu Member Since: 24 Dec 2019 Location: Lija Posts: 3457   
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Congratulations, you just made it theft proof
You can cut it, extreme care that you di not damage the bulkhead. Keep the blade on the hinge side, as hinge is cheap to replace if damaged. Since the nut in the captive plate is spinning, most likely you would then be able to push what remains of the bolt and the nut in and then take it out from the central rectangular hole. Then again care not to drop the bolt/nut in the bulkhead. Maybe you can tie some cable ties on the bolt, right next to the bulkhead before you start cutting, so you can keep or pull the bolt out. The cable tie might act as an extra protection to the bulkhead. 1988 90 Hard Top, 19J Diesel Turbo, Shire Blue - Restoration ongoing 2012 90 CSW, 2.2TDCI, Santorini Black |
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27th Aug 2021 5:38pm |
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| balmybaldwin Member Since: 17 Apr 2021 Location: Surrey Posts: 192  
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That's what I fear.
After a bit of poking about I think there is a side access that could be used if I take the wing off... however I forsee that leading to similar issues elsewhere. One of my issues is that the hinge is so loose it might be hard to cut without someone holding on to it... I guess I could fix it with the other bolt. Might have to go shopping for a low profile grinder... I doubt a dremel bit would do it, and my current grinder is difficult to get flat against things  Click image to enlarge |
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27th Aug 2021 6:34pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17516 
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Drill the head off the bolt, remove the hinge, if necessary cut the bolt shorter, then bend the retaining tag clear of the bulkhead and remove the remains through the centre cut-out.
If you try cutting between the hinge and the body you will almost certainly damage something you don't want to damage. If you can't drill the head because the bolt spins, use a 1mm cutting disk in an angle grinder to cut into the hinge parallel to the body panels and cut through the bolt (use a Torx tool to stop the bolt spinning). You'll wreck the hinge but you're replacing it anyway. |
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27th Aug 2021 6:39pm |
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| nitram17 Member Since: 08 Jun 2014 Location: newcastle Posts: 2261 |
Have you tried heating up the bolt with a small burner and try wedging in a trim fir tree removing tool and see if it will turn? |
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27th Aug 2021 7:47pm |
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1850 
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I would suggest a set of left handed drill bits - they might just encourage the bolt to start turning. But mainly I wanted to mention a diamond edged cutting disc I recently found/bought for my dremel - it was a really effective piece of kit. Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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27th Aug 2021 8:01pm |
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| MichaelE Member Since: 18 Jan 2020 Location: Crawley West Sussex Posts: 155 
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Whatever method you have success with, don't worry about dropping the remnants inside the bulkhead. Ultimately, no harm will be done in the big scheme of things if it stays there. When I was rustproofing the internals of my bulkhead last year I too lost a nutplate remnant. Down at the bottom there was a small hole, maybe half an inch or less. Can't remember if it was a drain hole or a rust hole. Anyway, I enlarged it to about 3/4 inch or so and let a pile of rust fall out, along with the remnant. Then I placed a bowl underneath to catch the excess Dinitrol that poured out after injection, to re-use.
When it comes to fitting new nut plates, there are one-piece ones available, and you won't have this trouble again. It's also worth noting that I had a new 2-piece nutplate [Britpart] come apart and drop to the bottom on trying to start the bolt. That's when I found the 1-piece ones. |
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27th Aug 2021 11:38pm |
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| balmybaldwin Member Since: 17 Apr 2021 Location: Surrey Posts: 192
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Well, after some encouragement from your good selves, I have taken an Angle Grinder to my pride and joy.
Success! Click image to enlarge Plus I thought for benefit of others, here's what I did to make sure I didn't drop the bolt and J clip Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Finished: Click image to enlarge |
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28th Aug 2021 9:09pm |
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