crashnscar

iTrader: (7)

So I had a leak in my trunk that was somehow getting through near the spoiler so I took the spoiler off and proceded to apply some silicone gel around the edge to seal it. All went well and I was bolting everything up again. I had all the nuts tightened but went around for a last check to make sure everything was snug.
*Please note: I was using a small 5" long socket wrench*
I started the last tightening and SNAP!.... one of the bolts to hold the spoiler down snapped off. I didn't this this was possible with the amount of force I was applying and the length of the wrench I was using since it wouldn't give me much torque.

So, now I'm pissed because my perfect idea went wrong and I need to somehow fix this. I won't be able to get a bolt in there to stick through a hole if I drill the old bolt out so I'm thinking of getting a 'threaded rod' and using a nut on each side of it. I would drill out existing bolt and stick the 'threaded rod' through there. I would then put one nut on the inside of the spoiler which would act as the 'head of the bolt'. I would glue the rod in place so it wouldn't move around as I was putting the spoiler back on the trunk. I would then proceed to put the other nut on from the inside of the trunk as I normally would to put the spoiler on.

Good idea? Can anyone think of anything better to do?
If there's nothing better to do, I am going to buy the rod and nuts tomorrow and proceed to do this. Hopefully it will work.

Thank you,
Nick

yzercyber

Sounds as if you have the situation under control.

I bought a stock short spoiler for my '03 WRX Sedan off of eBay, so I installed it myself.

If I remember right that spoiler bolt is seated in some fairly substantial plastic. I'd drill two holes and a slot connecting them together.

Drill out the broken bolt leaving a hole no larger in diameter than the threaded part of a replacement machine screw and lock washer. The second hole should be the same diameter as the SAE or stainless machine screw head and lock washer that you will fit inside the hollow spoiler foot. Drill it far enough away from the first hole to maintain strength for seating the bolt. Using a linoleum knife (or some other strong razor knife or cutter)(or carefully reamed with a bit) cut a connecting slot of the same width as the first hole between the two holes. Then you can stick the machine screw head and washer through the larger hole into the spoiler foot and slide it to the end of the slot where you can line it up with your trunk lid hole. No need to glue anything inside the spoiler foot as it will all tighten up when you take up on a nut and washer under the trunk lid. I'd worry about using an adhesive without knowing more about what the spoiler is made of.

When I installed my spoiler I put some Sikaflex polyurethane sealer on both sides of the trunk mounting holes. 3M makes polyurethane sealers, too. It cures to a product that looks like soft rubber. Much better stuff than silicon sealers.

Just an idea, wish I had a disassembled spoiler to look at... and good luck.

flat broke

you've pretty much got it figgured out. But I'll pass on some advice regarding drilling out that old bolt. First off, centerpunch the bolt to give a good start for a small bit. Carefully start drilling with a smaller bit that you first think you need. Keep the bit and bolt cool with some wd40. (I don't have a wing like that on my wagon, so forgive me if I'm wrong about the construction of your setup...) The reason you'll want to do this is because as you drill that bolt, its gonna get hot; possibly hot enough to start melting the plastic that surrounds it. If this happens, your idea is going to go to hell in a hand basket because you won't have an area with good structural integrity to run your "all thread" (the proper name for threaded rod) into. I don't know what size that bolt is, but I'd guess its not all that big, maybe 8mm? Anyhow, once you've drilled down to and part way through the head of the bolt (which hopefully hasn't started spinning) repeat the procedure with a slightly larger bit. Continue this progression until you have just the head of the bolt left in the wing. Go in small steps on the drill bit sizes otherwise, the torque from the drill when the larger bit catches could cause the head of the old bolt to spin, or possibly break some of the internal plastic.

Once you've got the hole cleaned up, cut your all thread long enough to get all the way down into the bottom of the hole, and still protrude enough into the deck lid to hold a nut and waser. Once you've got the all thread cut and have cleaned it with the correct sized die so that the nut will start easily, mix up some JB weld and fill the hole in the spoiler with the mix. Now thread(not push) your section of all thread into the hole filled with JB weld. Make sure the all thread is perpendicular to the mounting surface and let it cure for 24hrs. Come back, drop your spoiler on your deck lid and tighten all your nuts... Carefully

Good luck,
Chris

yzercyber

(...it's been nearly two years since I looked at it, but that plastic at the bottom of the spoiler foot is probably 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick)

crashnscar

iTrader: (7)

Well, just did what I said I was going to try and guess what.... a bolt on the other side broke off too. These bolts are really very low quality because this one I was applying probably 1/2 of the pressure as I was with the first one that snapped. I want to just use a screw and just screw the spoiler onto the car but I can imagine that it would be difficult. I will probably put a ton of glue underneath and attemp to connect it some other way also because there's no way Im taking that spoiler off again.

Any ideas?

BTW, the way I did it for the first bolt that broke worked great, just took too much time and would be a ***** to ever take off/put in again.

yzercyber

Can't imagine why those bolts would break so easily. Were you using the original nuts?

crashnscar

iTrader: (7)

Yep, original nuts.

It doesn't look like the car came with the spoiler.... jsut because the hole in the trunk are rough so I think the guy I bought the car from might have added it himself after he bought it.

yzercyber

That could be part of the problem. If the trunk holes were not drilled in just the right spots, the bolts could have been nicked or worn by the sheet metal, or stressed by pressure. It doesn't take a lot of force to tighten down these stock spoilers. There is a thin strip of foam rubber that runs along the bottom edge of the two footings. Tightening the 4 bolts enough to squish down the foam a little is enough to hold the spoiler.

crashnscar

iTrader: (7)

Yeah... I bet it was rubbing because the bolt was coming out of a hole way too big for it but was right at the edge so that the edge of the nut would hold it down. Pretty poor install on the previous owners part. I'm not liking the previous owner too much, as the install of the GReddy Turbo Timer is messy too.... it would be simple to do a better job than he did (just with looks and the flow of things (GAPS inbetween the sides of it and the part of the car he cut out... next to the cup holder).

Anyways, enough of this... Any ways to fix it? I'm going to try to screw a screw into it tomorrow and also apply alot of silicone glue but any ideas if that doesn't work?

yzercyber

I think your idea to use screws tomorrow may work out just fine. Using the silicon glue on both sides of the trunk lid and in the oversized holes will stop those leaks. Check for leaks where the LED brakelight wires come in too. Good luck, and try to stay patient...

yzercyber

Before signing out I got another thought. Since you will be using screws to go through the trunk and anchor into the spoiler footing without nuts on the inside of the spoiler...go for a pretty hefty screw. Something like a stainless number 10 panhead for sheetmetal. These have sharp points and sharp, fairly widely-spaced theads that would do a good jop of biting into that plastic and holding it. Drill a pilot hole first, just to make sure that the plastic doesn't crack, but not too large, you'll want the screw to fit snug. It should work fine.

flat broke

Along these same lines, also make sure that as you sung up the screws you do them in a an even rotation (like you would with lug nuts). If not, you could pull one side down then have the other side see higher load trying to seat the foot of the spoiler and strip the hole. You're only going to get one shot at tightening those screws up. If you overtighten a self taping screw like that going into plastic, it will strip. Just take your time and be very careful as you come up on the snug point for the screws. Also, slicone doesn't really have the bond strength to hold those screws in case the plastic gives way, so keep that in mind as well.

Good luck,
Chris