[Sirius Projects]

Hi All,

Was fitting a set of bonnet struts today. All going well until this happened. See below.

Thinking I'm going to need a new bonnet. Can't see there being a fix for this. I'm guessing I will have to go to Ford. Any idea how much one will cost?

 

[Alb]

That could be weld repaired but it would probably affect the paint.

 

[Sirius Projects]

That could be weld repaired but it would probably affect the paint.

Thanks. I've got the car booked in at the beginning of may to get the bonnet, bumper and side panels resprayed. So even if I got hold of an unpainted bonnet, I could get them to paint that and just swap it out for the current one.

 

[sttwoton]

Very difficult colour to match properly, hope you have a very good paint shop, that can easily be drilled out and tapped, then screw a bolt into the hole.

 

[s66anb]

Drill it out and try heli coil. If that doesn't work I'd possibly just leave it. Just be careful when opening

 

[Bigayal]

Very difficult colour to match properly, hope you have a very good paint shop, that can easily be drilled out and tapped, then screw a bolt into the hole.

That would be my first option too 👍

 

[sttwoton]

I don’t think the metal is thick enough for a heli coil, riv nut would work though.

 

[Sirius Projects]

Thanks for the advice guys.

To be honest I think the issue was caused by me overtightening the nut. I've always tended to get my local garage to do jobs like this because I've never been that confident in doing it myself and typically when I do give it a try, this is what happens. Lol

 

[KD372a]

If this happened to me, I'll probably just put a self tapper in with a washer. Should be able to drill through the stud with a new drill bit.

 

[sttwoton]

Yeah, but be careful you don’t drill into the outer skin of the bonnet, some sort of depth restriction on the drill bit to stop this happening, ie wrapping a thick layer of tape around the drill bit, about 15mm from the point of the bit, so when it breaks through the broken bolt, it can’t carry on through and damage the outer skin.

 

[Alb]

As a matter of interest, were you using a power tool when you over-torqued the nut?

 

[Sirius Projects]

As a matter of interest, were you using a power tool when you over-torqued the nut?

Hi, no I wasn't using any power tools. The thing is I love cars, but I'm not a mechanic. I don't know what all the terminology means. This is why I tend to get my local mechanic to do most of the jobs on my car. Yes it costs me, but I trust my local mechanic more than I do myself. Lol

 

[sttwoton]

Get on the internet, YouTube is a good source, learn how to do things yourself, you’ll save a fortune and have a great feeling of self satisfaction too, especially really easy things, such as servicing, even the most experienced mechanics started somewhere.

 

[Bigayal]

Get on the internet, YouTube is a good source, learn how to do things yourself, you’ll save a fortune and have a great feeling of self satisfaction too, especially really easy things, such as servicing, even the most experienced mechanics started somewhere.

And get a torque wrench 🥰

 

[NickFST3]

As above I would try carefully drilling it out with a sharp drill bit. Then chase out the bolt remnants & you could probably re-use the existing threads. Worse case run a thread file or suitable tap down the hole to clean out the threads and secure a new length of stud in the hole. Worst case you can use a short bolt and washer as long as it is not too long & ends up bottoming out on the underside of the top skin. Whichever way you do it it will be cheaper & easier than getting a whole new bonnet for the sake of a snapped stud!.

 

[sttwoton]

There isn’t any thread in the hole as it is a stud not a bolt hole.

 

[Sirius Projects]

Thanks for all the advice.

I will admit I was going down the route of getting another bonnet. I phoned Ford and they quoted me £376.

But before I committed to it I phoned the bodyshop who will be respraying the front of my car to find out if it would have any bearing on the quote they gave me. To my surprise they asked me to bring the car in so they could have a look at the damaged stud. After seeing it, they said they could do a repair. So I've saved myself £376, plus the bodyshop aren't charging me any extra to apply the fix while they have the car in for respraying. So a good result all round.