Hyundai Tucson 06 seat buckles help

[Jsullivan1985]

I have recently bought some replacement buckles as the ones I had were broken. I removed one set absolutely fine but when I came to attaching the replacements the bold seemed to just get cross threaded. I tried the original bolt first and then the one that came with the replacements and the exact same thing happened. Is it possible the thread on the actual car for the bolt is damaged, and is there anything I can do as I don't want the car to essentially be written off over one bolt.

Many thanks in advance for any help offered

[Dave54]

Have you looked at the thread "in the car" to see if it's damaged?
Are the threads on the old / new bolts the same?

[Jsullivan1985]

I have tried but it's a little dark and I don't have a decent light source. The two bolts are identical but I have a feeling the thread on the car is damaged although I wouldn't know how. I will have a look tomorrow when there is better light but if it is damaged is there any options?

[ayjay]

I have tried but it's a little dark and I don't have a decent light source. The two bolts are identical but I have a feeling the thread on the car is damaged although I wouldn't know how. I will have a look tomorrow when there is better light but if it is damaged is there any options?

I'm guessing you don't have a tap of the correct size, so you could try cutting a longitudinal slot (right through the thread) in the original bolt and winding that back in to tidy up the thread in the bolt.

No guarantees, but it could help, as would some lube.

[Jsullivan1985]

I'll have a look at what I can do tomorrow and hopefully will get somewhere. Could cutting a slot in the bolt be done with a dremel? Never done anything like that before so guessing youtube is my friend on that one haha.

Thank you very much by the way I appreciate the help

[Dave54]

Ayjay's idea is a good start as long as the thread isn't stripped out.

Not being funny, but are you absolutely sure the threads are identical? Same pitch? (with metric it's given as mm per thread) Same "form" (the shape of the thread)
Compare the two bolts together side by side, with the threads together. Manufacturers do use "odd" sizes for safety stuff like seat belts to stop people putting in ordinary bolts. They may even be non-metric thread.

There are various ways of repairing internal threads, you'd have to find someone who knows what's a suitable solution for a seat belt mounting though.

I'd use a torque wrench and tighten the bolts to the correct setting when replacing.

[Jsullivan1985]

Ayjay's idea is a good start as long as the thread isn't stripped out.

Not being funny, but are you absolutely sure the threads are identical? Same pitch? (with metric it's given as mm per thread) Same "form" (the shape of the thread)
Compare the two bolts together side by side, with the threads together. Manufacturers do use "odd" sizes for safety stuff like seat belts to stop people putting in ordinary bolts. They may even be non-metric thread.

There are various ways of repairing internal threads, you'd have to find someone who knows what's a suitable solution for a seat belt mounting though.

I'd use a torque wrench and tighten the bolts to the correct setting when replacing.

Yeah the two bolts are the same, they're from the exact same model car and for the exact same set of buckles. I did use the original bolt to be safe first time round but it made no difference. If the thread is stripped out am I stuck with no options?

[Jsullivan1985]

I have checked the thread on the car the best I can and it looks fine, I tried the idea of cutting a line through the thread like suggested to no avail. The bolts all seem to get chewed up in the same spot so I can only assume it's the thread in the car that's the problem. As I'm trying to turn the bolt in very shortly after it bites the bolt seems to push to one side and pop back out. Any idea on how I would work out the needed tap size to re-cut the thread?

[mikew1972]

Can you post a photo?
Have you tried removing the seat for better access?

[Jsullivan1985]

Sorry I've not been on to reply, had a few busy days with the kids etc. I've managed to sort it out finally. I had already removed the seats for access so that wasn't too much of a problem, but what I finally did was use my home made tap and attached my ratchet end to my drill and go crazy on the thing and spray tonnes of wd40 in to flush it all out. Honestly it didn't seem to do much other than destroy my bolt but I decided after a few minutes to try one of my other bolts I had previously used but by hand. It only went and worked didn't it!!

Thanks to you Mike, Dave and Ayjay my car is no longer an expensive paper weight, I really appreciate the help

TLDR: You guys are awesome!!