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Snapped welded nut for passenger seat frame bolt. Anyone had this happen?

BudgetPhoenix

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas
Car(s)
2009 GLI, 2016 GTI
A while back I accidentally snapped off one of the rear welded nuts for the passenger side seat frame bolt. I was using my cordless impact to get the bolts started and I'm guessing it cross threaded but idk why it snapped the welds off so easily. Pretty dumb of me but oh well. So basically I have a spinning bolt with a nut plate stuck to the bottom on the underside of the unibody frame. I looked under the plastic shield under the car below the passenger seat and there doesn't appear to be any access to the nuts. Anyone had something like this happen and fix it? I'm guessing my only options at this point are to cut a hole in the bottom of the frame to see if im able to access it then weld it back up, or cut the bolt in half from the top, and see if I can try to tap the hole for a larger size bolt, but idk how many threads I could cut into metal to where it actually is able to tighten down, also that would make the bottom half of the cut bolt fall down into the hole and hopefully it wouldnt rattle around.
 

BudgetPhoenix

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas
Car(s)
2009 GLI, 2016 GTI
Just thought of another idea. I can cut the bolt in half with a dremel, then install an m10 rivet nut in the hole and just pray the cut off piece that falls through doesn't rattle around
 

MagicMK

Drag Racing Champion
Location
PA
A while back I accidentally snapped off one of the rear welded nuts for the passenger side seat frame bolt. I was using my cordless impact to get the bolts started and I'm guessing it cross threaded but idk why it snapped the welds off so easily. Pretty dumb of me but oh well. So basically I have a spinning bolt with a nut plate stuck to the bottom on the underside of the unibody frame. I looked under the plastic shield under the car below the passenger seat and there doesn't appear to be any access to the nuts. Anyone had something like this happen and fix it? I'm guessing my only options at this point are to cut a hole in the bottom of the frame to see if im able to access it then weld it back up, or cut the bolt in half from the top, and see if I can try to tap the hole for a larger size bolt, but idk how many threads I could cut into metal to where it actually is able to tighten down, also that would make the bottom half of the cut bolt fall down into the hole and hopefully it wouldnt rattle around.
This never happened to me, but let me ask -- if the welded nut broke, then what is it spinning *in?* The nut apparently did not just snap off and drop into the frame, correct? I had something similar to this happen with an old Saturn SC1 I had (beater car) years ago. I think I was able to find away to access the broken welded bolt through the frame, and then just thread it by hand... so, can't you "just" drill a large enough hole in the frame to gain access, remove the broken nut, and then replace it with a similar nut that can be held in place with some glue or other adhesive... until you thread it from the top, and then you will have access from both sides (you may need somebody inside of car to tighten bolt while you lay underneath car with a ratchet and deepwell socket to hold nut in place until it's properly torqued.

Would that not work?
 

BudgetPhoenix

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas
Car(s)
2009 GLI, 2016 GTI
Sorry, both the nut and bolt are spinning because they are attached together and I cant really unthread the bolt from the nut because its cross threaded or something. Also its between the seat frame rails so not much room to work with. Kind of a fucked up situation lol. Pic:
 

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BudgetPhoenix

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas
Car(s)
2009 GLI, 2016 GTI
Also what you suggest would work, but I'd rather not drill a big hole in the bottom of the car, because it would need to be resealed plus its hard to line up the exact spot under the seat where the hole needs to be drilled.
 

MagicMK

Drag Racing Champion
Location
PA
Also what you suggest would work, but I'd rather not drill a big hole in the bottom of the car, because it would need to be resealed plus its hard to line up the exact spot under the seat where the hole needs to be drilled.
If you have one of those relatively inexpensive inspection cameras, like this one from Actron for only $30 shipped, then you may only need to drill a much smaller hole, first. Once you find the location, you could drill another smaller hole to make sure you have it close to center, and only THEN drill your bigger hold for access. Given that your issue is even worse than mine, bc mine just involved a broken weld as I recall, not a broken weld AND a cross threaded bolt... I don't see many great options for you other than to drill an access hold. My recommendation would be to get yourself an inspection camera and then do the drilling to make sure you have the exact spot of the bolt. Even THEN, it's still going to be a pain in the arse to remove. You might be able to get a Dremel up in there, or just be very patient with a drill.
 

BudgetPhoenix

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas
Car(s)
2009 GLI, 2016 GTI
Hey so I actually fixed it today and it was much less painful than I thought. First I attempted to remove the cross threaded bolt again by prying up with a screwdriver while I attempted to unthread and sure it enough it actually came out. I tried this previously and couldn't get it to come out. Then I noticed that while the nut plate underneath moved around it was still captive. Is it supposed to be like that? The other ones felt solid. Threads were messed up on both bolt and nut plate so I used the m10x1.5 tap and die to fix the threads on them both and sure it enough it threaded in beautifully afterwards and I was able to get the seat secured in place properly again. I ordered another seat bolt for peace of mind though. Cant believe I drove around with a hockey puck wedged under the seat rail to keep it from rocking around lol.
 
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