Best Way to Fix Windshield Rollcage Nut

[dennisonwj]

I have an 88 YJ and when I was taking the rollcage out to paint the tub and cage, I noticed that the nut welded into the hole in the windshield that the front bar of the roll cage bar bolts to has rusted and ripped through the metal leaving a large hold. The bolt was never attached. LOL.

Can my fellow Jeepers give me any ideas on how to fix this. I can weld a new nut into the hols but I think the hole is too big now, I can get a piece of thick bar stock, tap it and hold it in the void with a magnet and weld that in, kinda like you fix a drywall hole, I just want this to be strong.

Thanks

 

[TerryMason]

Any chance you can post a photo of what you mean?

It sounds like you may be able to put a large washer or two in place to span the whole.

 

[dennisonwj]

Here are some pictures, I do not know how I could get large washers inside the hole with a nut to pull on the bolt from the cage. BTW, the pictures posted sideways, if you rotate them to the right once flip, that is the correct orientation. So that item with the 2 black stripes is the hood leaning against the windscreen.

 

[greg92jeepxj]

This seems like it will be as delicate as it is dedicated to successfully complete this repair. As we know , welding thin gauge sheet metal requires carefull touch since it is too easy to just blow through with a MIG or even TiG welder since heat can easily melt thin gauge material if we're not careful. I'm not a very experienced welder but know enough that this repair must be taken in with care , patience and lots of time. I agree with both you guys on how to take on this repair. As a suggestion , I would say to first tack the proper size nut to a washer that can be tacked into the hole . The nut will of course be tacked on one side of the washer which can be tacked upside down onto the windshield frame . The final result would be the washer level with flat surface of the frame to be ground flush while the nut will be below the surface and easily accessible through the washer hole to thread the bolt back in. The toughest part besides the welding would be alignment. This will present a problem since the roll bar will cover the area where the tack welding will occur making it difficult/impossible to thread the bolt and nut temporarily while tacking in place . Hopefully a smaller metal strap with holes drilled just right can be dreamed up to assist . Drilling the hole bigger to accommodate the selected washer if need be may complicate the repair alignment wise but may be necessary . I realize this way I suggested is a long and drawn out way to what should be a simple repair but I'm just taking into consideration that the roll bar along with any movement natural to the jeeps daily life will stress the repair . I'm sure we all understand that it's essential to try our hardest when faced with this kind of problem. Hope this helps and wishing much luck on this fix. Looking forward to successful results .