_zebra

so i was at the track last weekend, and i was in the middle of removing my mufflers when i hear this little *clink*. i look down & it's just the retaining washer from the hanger bolts. i thought "no big deal" & went about twisting the muffler to slide it off the pipe. that's when i hear *clank*. i look up & the stud plate that the rubber hanger bushing bolts to just got knocked up into that rear crossmember thing that runs along the rear of the car.

i got to looking and feeling around up there & it seems the only way to get into there to drop the studs back down is to take the rear fascia off so i can remove the foam & reach in there. does this sound right, or is there an easier way to do this?

rebelheart

That is pretty much the way to do it.Why the heck were you removing your mufflers anyway?

Fast one

Can you gain access by removing the tail lights?

_zebra

that's what i figured, and I just got done talking to a corvette tech at the stealership & that's what he said, too :/

and i took them off because i ain't got cutouts yet & it only takes all of 20 minutes (quicker if neither of them are stubborn)

yes & no
just taking the tail lights out won't grant access, but it will let me get to the bolts to remove the rear body panel

_zebra

by the way... does anybody happen to have a schematic for the removal process?

CHJ In Virginia

You might try to use one of the skinny long magnet tools available at the auto parts store. If you have not driven the car, they still should be near the hole location and easy to fish back into place. If not, the only way to get the factory bolts back in place is to remove the fascia. It is about a 4 hour job on and off and a PITA to do. The cross bar holding the bolts is epoxied in place at the factory, yours must have come loose. Another idea is to use the appropriate size "nutzert" and a bolt in each hole. Not stock, but surely easier than removing the fascia. If you decide to remove the fascia, PM me your email address and I will scan and send the appropriate pages from the shop manual.

SoDiezl350

Saw a post somewhere on the general forum where someone enlarged the holes slightly, used a magnet and it worked.

_zebra

well i had to drive it 5hrs home like that. with the partition in, it wasn't too bad. i already tried fishing it back down before i crawled out from under the car in the first place & actually ended up pushing it farther from the holes.

and the removal ain't been too bad so far. i just eyeballed most of it & everything's loose except the two plastic rivet things behind the license plate. can't figure those out...

_zebra

never mind - i got it

those black plastic deal-a-bobs behind the license plate are plastic screws with Robertson S2 heads.

all in all, it was actually pretty easy (at least compared to what i was expecting). i got in there, dropped my bolt plate back through, stuck nuts on to hold them back down, and put everything back together in just 2-3 hrs

mcgilles

where are the pics for the next guy?
haha j/k, glad you got it fixed!

any consensus on the best way to prevent this from happening a second time? I've never lost a bolt, but I was nervous when someone warned me about it. they are just loose up there. seems there should be some way to fix the problem so they can't be pushed through the holes. seems silly for the factory not to have put a small tackweld to hold them in place.

Bill Dearborn

I did this repair without removing the fascia. First buy a new plate. Second use a hole saw to cut a 1 1/2 in hole in the bottom of the frame between the two holes for the muffler studs. Then put some seam sealer on the bottom of the plate near the studs and get it into the frame with the studs through the holes. Bolt it down and let the sealer dry, then take the piece of metal from the hole saw and paste seam sealer on it and use it to plug the hole. Use some tape to hold it in place while that batch of sealer dries, then remove the tape touch up any holes with seam sealer and hit it with black chassis paint once the sealer has dried. Done. Will not be noticed and frame is sealed again to keep moisture out.

Bill

xtech

I had the same thing happen to me. The magnet approach didn't work, I didn't have the time to take off the fascia, and didn't want to drill a large hole in the frame, so I cheated.

I threaded the existing holes with a 7/16 NC tap, drilled out the holes in the mount to 7/16, put a liberal amount of Loctite Red on the threads near the head of some 7/16 allen head capscrews and snugged them up, fully expecting them to rip the [rather meager] threads out of the frame.

Surprise, surprise, they actually held. They've been there for about 2 months of daily driving now, with no signs of coming loose.

Not that I would recommend this procedure, mind you. But it was fast and worked much better than I expected it to.

If I ever do this again, I'll gingerly remove the mufflers / mounts, and then carefully thread the nuts back on and tighten them up.

Then I'll drill two holes in between the studs and put in a couple of sheet metal screws to hold the thing in. Isn't experience wonderful?

rebelheart

Really,removing your mufflers are a waste of time.

xtech

I was changing out stockers to Ti's - so not really a waste of time. Taking muffs off entirely - you're probably right.

Chevy Guy

So you just wanted it loud?

bumble-z

I've read horror stories of this happening, more than I care to remember.
I switch back & forth my Ti system & my BB Bullets.
What I did to avoid this from happening is, I purchased an assortment box(16) of Body Push Nuts. They are washer thin. Apply one on each
(4) stud. They are so thin that they don't interfere with any thing & hold the studs in position, nice & tight.

_zebra

like i said last night, this was actually pretty easy. the worst part of it was realigning the pass-side with the quarter panel on the install and holding it there while you tighten the nuts.

sorry - i don't own a camera, but the best way to prevent this is to make sure you don't lose the little retainer washers that are on there. they're just a little thin ring that catches on the threads & holds the stud in place against the frame... kinda like the ones on brake rotors - just not as heavy-duty.

wow! that sounds like more of a hassle than taking the back off. and in the end, you've also cut an unnecessary hole in your car

not only did it make it easier to hear when to shift (yeah, i still watched the tach, but i'm used to my listening to my truck with LTs, ORY, and chambered duals), but i also saw slightly better top-end - based on my time slips afterwards (maybe it was me just driving/shifting better... who knows? but regardless of that, why do you care if i took my mufflers off?)

i thought those were supposed to be on there already.

Chevy Guy

I dont care at all, I dont care if you drive your car off a cliff.

Just curious if it was as silly an exercise as it seemed. Thanks for confirming.

GeorgeZNJ

I had to remove the rear bumper cover (rear fascia to the high end guys) to install my rear tow hook. It seems intimidating, but in reality it was very simple, and straightforward.

_zebra

thanks for all the constructive input you've offered to this discussion
and there are some people who i wouldn't care if they jumped off a cliff... carrying their smart*** comments with them

sorry. for some reason, i just always think of an AutoZone Honda when i hear the term 'bumper cover'. i don't know why.