How to access Bulkhead Door Hinge Bolt Fixed nut

[bd90]

Whatever fixed/welded nut that frame side door hinge attaches to is broken or spinning. How do I get the bolt out? Was thinking of cutting a large enough hole in the pillar bottom on inside of vehicle near the floor to access the nut. Is there another way? Do I have to remove a major portion of the dash to access the top pillar door hinge bolts? I've searched this forum but haven't found a suitable answer. Thanks, Brian.

[evilfij]

Drill out the head of the screw. Replace captive nut and screw. 10minute job.

[bd90]

#1 If I attempt to drill out head of screw it will spin because captive nut is broken loose. #2 If I am able to remove old screw by drilling it out how do I back it up with a new nut if I don't have access to the inside of the door pillar? If they make the frame side screws impossible to access, at least they could have heavy duty welded some nuts to the frame instead of some flimsy capture nuts. Could I for certain gain full access to the other side of these screws if I removed the fender and/or dash?

[KevinNY]

The only access is to get that hinge off exposing the square holes that the captive nut clips slide in through.

[evilfij]

Wedge a screwdriver behind the hingeto put pressure on the head so it does not spin. Also, you can also just take the other screws out of the hinge and it may just come off, captive nut and all.

[bd90]

Thanks, that explains alot. if I damage or lose a capture nut, are those avail where stainless hardware are obtained. Do they come with SS bolt kits?

[FlaD90]

Brian,

I would check with Stephen or RDS.

[dave_lucas]

My Mud UK stainless kit came with new ones

[Davis]

I also tack welded the nuts to the carriers when I reinstalled mine to avoid future spinning.

[MUDSUX]

Brian,

Same EXACT thing happened to me when I took my doors off. Very frustrating. I had to take the door off the hinges so they wouldn't get in the way. Can you get at least one of the hinge bolt off the bulkhead? If you can then you can spin the hinge out of the way to get access the the back of the spinning bolt. Grab it with some needle nose pliers and drill out the bolt. Here are some pics to see what it looks like behind the hinge. Make sure you don't drop the bolt inside the pillar when you remove it. For some reason it's not letting me upload pics. See this thread, post number 83:

http://d-90.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21725&page=5

I plan on tack welding mine too, and use lots of anti-seize. I got replacements from here:

http://www.rovahfarm.com/seriesscrewsnutsbolts.htm

[aosias]

Thanks, that explains alot. if I damage or lose a capture nut, are those avail where stainless hardware are obtained. Do they come with SS bolt kits?

Yes- depends on the kit. Some come with new retainers and some do not. I just re-used my old retainers.

I have a few nuts lurking in my bulkhead. Someone suggested a magnet in the speaker hole to fish them out. Someone else just suggest I wait until the bulkhead rusts at the bottom and they fall out.

[bd90]

George doesn't stock the nuts for the hinge bolts. I don't think he ever did. His kits are standard thread oval head bolts anyway like you find at Lowes. Maybe Lowes would have the capture nut.

[61rover]

These guys have everything you need and they're great to deal with: http://a2stainless.co.uk/

Fast service too.

[TDI Guy]

Brian, If all else fails, you can remove the front wing and there are several windows for you to get into the pillar to grab the bolt or if you drop anything down the pillar...
I would try to jam it with a screw driver or something like stated above and drill the head off..

[Wolf Fabrication]

George doesn't stock the nuts for the hinge bolts. I don't think he ever did. His kits are standard thread oval head bolts anyway like you find at Lowes. Maybe Lowes would have the capture nut.

Yes he does, I just ordered some last month: http://www.roversdownsouth.com/body.htm

Good price too.

[bd90]

Yes- depends on the kit. Some come with new retainers and some do not. I just re-used my old retainers.

I have a few nuts lurking in my bulkhead. Someone suggested a magnet in the speaker hole to fish them out. Someone else just suggest I wait until the bulkhead rusts at the bottom and they fall out.

Thanks for the offer. However, I was able to find everything I needed at my local Lowes hardware. The SS Oval head bolts are exactly like the original except SS and standard thread. These are 5/16" x 18 Thread. The nuts are called "U" nuts that clip on just as the original ones but they have the threads built in not a square nut that floats in the clip like the original. Used a bunch of antiseize and looks great. I couldn't return your pm cuz it kept saying I had to wait 30 secs between messages even though minutes had passed.

Yes he does, I just ordered some last month: http://www.roversdownsouth.com/body.htm

Good price too.

Jonathan, I spoke to George a few days ago and he said he doesn't stock them. I surfed for some of those capture nuts and could'nt really find anything and then found the U nut at Lowes that looks pretty sturdy. If I find some 5/16-18 capture nuts somewhere in the future I'll switch them out.

THanks to Ron and the other "drill it out" advisors. That's what I did and I didn't even scratch the paint on the hinge. This is probably the best upgrade I've ever done on the 90.