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HELP !!! How do i get at the n.s.f rear captive nut on the front subframe ?? It loosened off then started to spin and i now need to tighten it again.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 24/11/2008 at 20:44
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What were you trying to undo?
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I was renewing the clutch. Got everything finished and built up except for this one bolt :(
Edited by Dar on 24/11/2008 at 21:19
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Sorry, I am being dim. This is the subframe mounting bolt?
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Dar
You're not the first... Is this a cage nut?
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Yes, and no way of getting in at to hold it with vice-grips. Have tried to wedge it by using a screwdriver but with no success. I was wondering if you have to lift the interior carpet and possibly cut a hole in the floor but i think that this sounds a bit drastic. Someone out there must have had this problem:(
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Yes; I've seen people struggling with this before. IIRC; you can grind the head off, drive the whole thing into the box section and then fit a new cage nut and bolt.
A good squirt of Waxoyl, or even building foam, should stop any rattles.
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Yes,cut a hole in the floor just above the caged nut ,remove the rusty old critter and replace with a nut and bolt.Seen this done many times by clutch/gearbox people.
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Thx for the advice. Job was sorted in 20 mins. Lifted the carpet and sound-proofing to reveal a rubber grommet, measured 8 inches from this grommet to the engine bay along the line of the box-section under the floor and cut a 50mm hole. Was able to drop a 20mm socket right onto the nut and tightened it up. Closed the hole with an aluminium plate, sealant, and 4 pop rivets. I hope other people will find this info helpful. Thx again :)
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Guys,
I have a mk2 (2000) 1.8 Mondeo LX. Recently had a Clutch put in it at a famous budget clutch centre, (might be related to Mr Kipling). Cut a long story short it looks like a gash job (cables loose clips missing), but when I mentioned this when I went to get it adjusted they didnt want to know.
Now the car seems to be pulling to the left more and more and its only getting worse. Ive had the wheels alligned and so on but doesnt seem to make any difference.
Could it be that one of these tricky to tighten bolts has been left loose?
As you look at the car from the front the camber of the left wheel seems fine, but the toe seems negative (pointing towards the offside)
Im heading down to see a mate tomorrow about this,
A heads up from you guys would be much appreciated though
cheers, Rich
Which Mr Kipling ? The cakeman or the writer/poet ?
Edited by Pugugly on 07/12/2008 at 20:19
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Yes, this is a very common problem on the Mondeo after the clutch has been changed. If the subframe isn't correctly aligned with the chassis then the pulling to the left problem often does occur. Solved by correctly aligning the subframe, special aligning pins are available, to the chassis. Of course, as you rightly say, if one of these "spinning nuts" hasn't been tightened correctly then this could also cause the problem. It really needs a thorough inspection to see what the problem is.
I'm not too sure why you would have taken the car back to the "Farmhouse" to have the clutch adjusted; it isn't adjustable!
Edit. I've just noticed that you have a year 1998 car, which could have a cable operated clutch as opposed to a hydraulic one, so it could be adjustable after all!
Edited by Galaxy on 07/12/2008 at 20:07
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98 was the first car, mine is a 2000 so it does have a hydraulic clutch. So no adjustment needed, cheeky!!
Ill get it checked tomorrow, it does sound like this sub frame problem from what I've read.
Thanks for the comments!
Rich
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If one of the sub-frame bolts has been left loose the chances are that you would be left with a rather noticeable clunking noise when driving as the loose sub-frame would be thumping the floor pan as you drove along the road. If the sub-frame has not been aligned properly using the pins BUT is not far away, you should be able to counteract the mis-alignment by getting your wheel alignment set using 4 wheel wheel alignment guages. This will ensure that the front wheels are in line with the rear wheels. I hope this helps :)
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Had the subframe resecured and realigned today. My trusty mechanic said that it looks as though on side has been fully released before the other side was undone, thus overloading the fixings and damaging the subframe! Does this sound like poor workmanship on the behalf of the Clutch centre? or is it unavoidable for this kind of work?
My mechanic has realigned it as be he can using a fair bit of elbow grease to get the damaged side back on. Thus the car is still pulling to the left, although no where near as badly.
Rich
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That sound annoying. Wrecking a perfectly good motor with hamfisted repairs.
Edited by Pugugly on 11/12/2008 at 22:20
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Definately some dogey workmanship i am affraid. Your next step is to get the wheel alignment done correctly (all 4 wheels) and lets hope this will be you sorted :) Remember that your car will always pull slightly to the left as it will follow the camber of the road.
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I have the same problem!! How did you cut the 50mm hole?
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under the carpet and sound proofing there will be an indented square. break away the tar and you will see thin strips of metal you can use tin snips to cut these away then you will be able to get to the nut,good luck it worked for me
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