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Can anyone point to a part number for the bolts (M6 I believe) that screw into the outermost corners of the front turbo nose panel (screwing into the front corner of the fenders)? I found the PET page with the nose panel, but it doesn't show the hardware.
Alternatively, does anyone have a picture of that bolt? I know if has a 10mm hex head, like a standard M6 bolt, but I've seen everything from sheet metal threads, to standard M6 x 1.0 threads, to those the threads had thread-chaser grooves in them? My bolts are missing (and the threads on one side just spin) so I'm trying to figure out for sure what the factory actually used.... TIA
In any case, I do not like the use of sheet metal/self-tapping screws in such applications. If one of yours is spinning, you either need to figure out the best method to replace the speed nut that the screw taps into, or do the unthinkable and jam a larger-diameter self-tapping screw in there
Chris A.
---'86 944 Turbo track rat
---'90 944S2 Cab daily/touring car
---'73 BMW 2002tii road rally car
---'81 Alfa Romeo GTV6 GT car/Copart special
---'99 BMW Z3 Coupe daily driver/dog car
---'74 Jensen-Healey roadster
---other stuff
Wow, great find, thank you! I actually ordered some M6 #3 screws on Amazon, arriving tomorrow, since that was my best recollection of what was in there. I suspect the speed nut is gone though. Any idea if you can put a new speed nut in there without removing the fender? If not, I may need to get creative....
gruhsy wrote: Mon May 01, 2023 7:10 am
The outer screw on mine are not sheet metal screws
They are threaded
The inner tabs with clips are the sheet metal screws.
Any chance the speed nuts fell out (as they do) and someone self-tapped M6 machine screws into the sheet metal? That seems to be a common fix for missing speed nuts. Never say never with PET, but it shows this same diagram with the metric 6.3 x 19 sheet metal screw and a speed nut for all years.
944-nose-panel-front-coner-bolt-pet-composite-image.gif (112.45 KiB) Viewed 920 times
I also found my original bolt, and show it here next to the 6.3 x 20 flanged bolt I found on Amazon. The Amazon bolts are perfect replacements, honestly, and because they are flanged heads you don't have to worry about dropping the washer.
header-panel-bolts.gif (255.66 KiB) Viewed 920 times
My car has been repaired in the front driver corner and the speed nut has long been missing. Someone had put JB weld or something in the hole and tried to use the original 6.3 bolt to self tap. The bolt would stay in place, but not tighten up. So rather than just leave well enough alone, I of course obsessed on it and came up with this fix. I would have worked to figure out how to replace the factory speed nut, but the corner has some damage and there is nothing left to put the speed nut on.
Soooo.... I tried a 3D printed speed nut, but it couldn't hold the torque. Likewise, screwing the bolt into a piece of sheet metal stripped much too easily. So, I got out the TIG welder and made a little lump on the sheet metal, then drilled a 5.5mm hole in it, and used one of the Amazon bolts to 'tap' the hole. With the weld lump, the hole is a good 4 or 5mm thick, so holds as much torque as seemed necessary (maybe 6 ft. lbs). I then cut it into a shape I could slip behind the bolt hole. Then painted it to match the car (I'm not an animal) but when all installed, you can't even see it, as it rotated up and out of view when tightening.
weldwart.gif (450.85 KiB) Viewed 920 times
weldhole.gif (204.69 KiB) Viewed 920 times
weldholered.gif (255.26 KiB) Viewed 920 times
Honestly, I'm not entirely sure I could have slipped my insert in place if that corner hadn't been repaired. There was a little gap I could slide it in, but whether that gap exists on all cars, I don't really know. I also found that a flat 1/4" speed nut like the one shown below (from Ace Hardware) works well with the factory 6.3 screw, but unless you attach something to it or get creative, there's no way to get it behind the hole...
gruhsy wrote: Tue May 02, 2023 8:08 am
Now I am second guessing myself.
It’s been a while since I pulled all the cars apart.
I might be thinking of the front of the fenders on the inside.
I will have to go digging through photos
Have tons to search through
If you reach a conclusion, please do post it. You aren't the first to say it's an M6 machine screw, so would be nice to know if some cars/years actually varied (despite PET).
