Seat belt bolt in B pillar broke loose!

[dirish]

Installing 3 point shoulder belts in truck. The passenger side bolt in the
Pillar broke loose. I have a the bolt halfway in but not tight. Any suggestions
on what to do. The whole point of removing lap belts was so my four year
Old could ride in His truck. Thanks in advance!!

[cdowns]

i'd go to the autoparts store and get a new correct bolt and ttry that out

[dirish]

Originally Posted by cdowns

i'd go to the autoparts store and get a new correct bolt and ttry that out

I may have miss typed. Bolt is correct, factory nut in the pillar came loose inside pillar.
Bolt is correct, and threaded halfway. When i "ape'ed" it, it broke loose.
Now bolt is half tightened, and internal nut spins. In other words, i put to much torque, and
Broke it loose from pillar. Anyone else?

[67_ShortFleet]

Hmmm, Thats a tough one. I just bought one from a member cutting up a cab. It is held in with some spot welds. I'd drill them out and re weld. I can post a picture of what it looks like on the inside if that would help you. That is the cut out piece that I bought

[dirish]

Originally Posted by 67_ShortFleet

Hmmm, Thats a tough one. I just bought one from a member cutting up a cab. It is held in with some spot welds. I'd drill them out and re weld. I can post a picture of what it looks like on the inside if that would help you. That is the cut out piece that I bought

that would be a big help for me thank you!

[67_ShortFleet]

This is what is on the inside. depending what welds broke, it might be an easy weld repair

[dirish]

Seeing it does help thanks!. I believe the nut has broken free from the metal
Support. I'm gonna have to some thinking

[Willys47]

drill a hole close to the bolt and plugweld it to hold the nut maybe the belt cover will hide the weld watch ouy for the sparks on the seat and the rear glass.

[pritch]

I did the same thing on a hood hinge bolt, and I fixed it like this:

This is where the nut was:


Then I got a big flat washer and marked out the circle and drilled some plug weld holes:

This is something I would do different if it was me doing what you are-I'll explain later.

I could hold the washer assy from behind:


Put the assy in the hole and hole it with a nut on the outside:

Yes, I didn't need that 3rd plug weld hole.

Then, weld every thing back up:


Now, here's what I'd do: find that original backing plate. GM figured that it is strong enough, so I wouldn't use anything less! Drill out the now nutless hole in your cab until the plate fits though. Drill a couple plug weld holes-enough to hole it in place while you tighten up the seat belt bolt, so some good welds. then finish the metal and paint.

[dirish]

Originally Posted by Willys47

drill a hole close to the bolt and plugweld it to hold the nut maybe the belt cover will hide the weld watch ouy for the sparks on the seat and the rear glass.

That's about what i was thinking, I will try to get it done in the next week, or so.
I will post some pictures, and results.

[dirish]

Originally Posted by pritch

I did the same thing on a hood hinge bolt, and I fixed it like this:

This is where the nut was:


Then I got a big flat washer and marked out the circle and drilled some plug weld holes:

This is something I would do different if it was me doing what you are-I'll explain later.

I could hold the washer assy from behind:


Put the assy in the hole and hole it with a nut on the outside:

Yes, I didn't need that 3rd plug weld hole.

Then, weld every thing back up:


Now, here's what I'd do: find that original backing plate. GM figured that it is strong enough, so I wouldn't use anything less! Drill out the now nutless hole in your cab until the plate fits though. Drill a couple plug weld holes-enough to hole it in place while you tighten up the seat belt bolt, so some good welds. then finish the metal and paint.

Very nice work, hopefully i can come close to that!

[mikey531]

Question ! that repair to the hood looks great but how is he going to get behind the pillar??

[dirish]

Originally Posted by mikey531

Question ! that repair to the hood looks great but how is he going to get behind the pillar??

My plan is to drill 2-3 small holes to get to the nut, bolt is half in nut.
I will put a few plug welds to re attach nut to plate. Then hopefully take bolt out, and check
threads ( may be reason I had to torque so much) . I may also try cranking it down
A Little more. We'll se how far its in, and will it be safe when secured.

Thats on a good day, we shall see.

[mikey531]

It would seem to me that the whole piece is turning as the nut is too big to turn in the bracket. I would think you could drill one small hole near the bolt and stop the bracket from turning which in turn should keep the nut from turning. Maybe I am missing something.