Gtpguy

My brother and I just got a dent free Kmember put into my '96 Formula. The old one had a major dent causing the driver wheel to sit 1.5" farther back than stock. Also it caused the alignment to act screwy and the cat to rub against the Kmember at a stop light.

But anyway all went relatively smoothly, just time consuming. But we couldn't get 2 bolts to go in. The subframe holes weren't aligned with the frame holes. We got 4 of them in and they are snug and tight. The ones that are missing is the short rearward bolt on the driverside and middle long bolt on the passenger side.

Am I okay, or cruisin' for a bruisin'? My gut instinct says I'll be fine and maybe as time goes on and the frame adjusts to the new Kmember, it might straighten out? Wishful thinking?

shoebox

Q: Would I drive the car with only 66% of the bolts holding the k-member to the car?
A:

OBE1 95Z28

Do you recognize just how much weight and stress is on the K member? Hope I don't end up driving near you!

95Blackhawk

You said it!

Gtpguy

Awesome, I'll try all those pointers out.

shoebox

Assuming the new k-member is not damaged... If the bolt holes on a new k-member don't line up, sounds like the car was in a wreck and needs the unibody straightened. The frame is not going to "adjust" to the k-member, no matter how much you wish it to.

OBE1 95Z28

You asked if you were crusin' for a bruisin, and when we say YES, you're unhappy with the response

Gtpguy

Well, I asked if maybe it will start to straighten out some. Like braces on teeth. Then after a little time with flexxing and all, the other 2 holes might line up? It's not even put back together yet.

seawolf06

I'm pretty sure the answer to that is a resounding no. Sorry, bro.

Gtpguy

Well, if the frame is goofy, why would only 2 of the bolts not match up? I mean 1 is the middle bolt and on the other side it's the rear bolt.

Has anyone run into this problem before? I made another post a couple weeks ago to go through the steps involved with a Kmember swap and someone mentioned that the old frame would be used to the old Kmember and when you put in another Kmember the bolts won't line up. So I guess that happened.

What should I do?

mdacton

how far off are the holes? Start all of them loose and get them all started.

nothing is going to adjust, whoever said that before does not know what they are talking about......I have been working on these cars for years....if it hasen't been wrecked before then you shouldn't have a problem

OBE1 95Z28

I've installed 3 BMR K-members on 3 different 4th Gen F-bodies, 2 of them had experienced some minor damage to the front sub frame area. All 3 K members lined up for all 6 bolts without any tweaking/settling. Sounds like your car has had more than minor impact.

Projectz28

depends... how far are the holes off? Are the threads visible and you are just barely not able to start the bolt? Or is half the bolt hole covered up by the K member?

I had to get all my bolts started first then run them in. There were 3 bolts that were oh so close to starting but just wouldnt go. I didnt want to bullet bolt it with a gun so I backed off the others and got them all started first.

If you have holes off by a lot then you have either a bent K member or a tweeked subframe.

Gtpguy

The old one was all beat up and it had the driver tire sit back 1.5" further back than the other side. We tried and tried numerous ways to get the bolts to line up and these are the only ones that were good. The 2 others are all less than 1/2 exposed.

Projectz28

then you have sub frame damage that can only be fixed by a reputable body shop. If they are off by that much then the car is bent. period. Its not safe to drive with only 4 bolts in it since the K member holds everything from the engine, to suspension and steering and brakes to the car.