Over-eager MOT 'person'

[Stimpy]

Today we got well and truly shafted by a local garage who failed my Stag on the MOT.

So they failed one of the front ball joints - which I'm ok with if they say it needs replacing - MOTs are good at throwing up items that need servicing.

However - they also failed my two front seats!! (Maybe some weird phobia to car seats made before the 80's or something).

Drivers front seat. Not secure - possibility of one of the bolts missing (to the floor)
Passenger Side seat. Won't maintain an upright position!

Ok - over to me and a bag of tools.....

Drivers front seat - all bolts present and correct. I tightened them but they really didn't need it.

Passenger front seat - pulled up leaver on the left side and brought the back as forward as possible. I was sitting in a ridiculous bolt-upright way. I could bring the back of the seat further forward but this involved the side pads of the chair back squishing into the foam at the sides of the seat itself. What were they on about?

The only thing I could think of was to tighten everything. So that's what I did.

I went to tighten the shiny chrome-looking big bolts that go in from the sides of the chair that pivot the seat for allowing passengers in the back.

I noticed that when I tried to tighten these (2 on each seat) they seemed to go from fairly firm to loose with no action regarding tightening them - what I mean is I tried to tighten them clockwise and they just go round and round.

Except for one. The RHS bolt on the passenger chair sheered off. Great. Some weird made-up anti-chair bloke has ended up with me breaking off the bloody bolt.

So, I believe I've found the correct bolt here:

http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-624411

But my question is (or 'are'):-

1) How do I fit the new bolt into the one with part of the old bolt still stuck inside?

2) Should I replace all the bolts, considering they appear to turn endlessly clockwise (they don't come out when pulled, they just don't reach a 'tight point' if you get my drift).


A follow up on the 2 ...

1) I'm an intermediate DIY'er getting better by the day. My initial thought is to drill into the stump that's inside the chair - starting with a small drill and working up. Then try putting a long self tap screw into the whole - tight - and then try to unscrew the remains of the bolt with the screw. Failing that, I could keep drilling with bits going bigger and bigger until the stuck bit of bolt collapses on itself or something.

2) Should I buy 3 more bolts or am I doing something wrong regarding the other 'healthy' bolts?


Any advice would be appreciated - of course - but right now my blood pressure has, quite literally, smashed through the ceiling in the living room - through the spare bedroom (which is crammed full of junk) - through all the stuff in the attic which really should be in a tip (why store things in the attic?) and through the roof of the house itself. Locals have reported what looks like fireworks coming up out of my house.

Ok - enough moaning - I'm all ears now.......
(thanks, and if you'd like to know a place where NOT to get an MOT then please ask)

[jleyton]

I've got slightly bad news for you on this - but only slightly

Those seat pivot bolts tend to strip their threads and end up just turning ad you've experienced. If you're lucky, it's the bolt and new bolts should cure this. However, if you're unlucky, it's the captive nut that's stripped and that's part of the seat base. It'd still be fixable - I guess helicoil would be simplest - but you'd probably need to remove the seats (just those 4 bolts) to fix them.

As for movement in the seat, it's not unusual and my best advice on that would be to find a classic friendly MOT centre who would appreciate that.

Good luck anyway.

Cheers

Julian

[new to this]

the captive nut on the seat base is 5/16unf, i had to weld a new nut on one of my seats,also check the bolt that hold the seat to the seat runners if there loose

dave

[Stimpy]

Thanks for your responses - although I'd have preferred some different answers to the ones you have given - so if you don't mind, please amend your responses such that I can be satisfied that I could do the job

But seriously though - thanks for the points made - I'm going to get the seat out and onto the front lawn and check it all out.W

Worse case scenario - drill through the bolt hole and either put a new bolt in or do some 'bespoke' work by putting a bolt in and a new nut somehow (on the outer side of the captive nut)

[new to this]

dont think your be able to put a nut on the outside, the thread on the bolt is not long enough

good luck with the repair

dave

[Stimpy]

dont think your be able to put a nut on the outside, the thread on the bolt is not long enough

good luck with the repair

dave

Whoops - Ambiguous writing by me! I meant to say to put the bolt on the outside of the captive bolt 'on the inside' - as it were - so insert longer bolt from outer side- in and through the chair wall and base - through captive nut and then fastened by a new nut.

A bit of experimentation needed.

I've run out of sunshine for today - I've drilled to 'almost' the original thread inside the holes. Not sure how to keep the threads protected if I decide to fit the proper nut in due course.

[Matt]

The end of the broken off bolt shouldn't be tight as the bolt tightens onto the bolt shoulder. As you've got the centre of the remains drilled try putting something tight into the hole like a file tang and see if it will undo.