I recently had the opportunity to test run a new product from Rodney Dickman. These brackets will fix the spinning cradle bolt problem common on many Fieros, especially ones that reside in the rust belt. My first impression of the product is that it is very high quality. The angles, shape and hole locations match up identically on the pair. The welds are very impressive. All the included hardware is high quality and exactly what is needed. The directions that came with the kit are simple, straight forward, easy to follow and quite well written. the only suggestion I had was to include standard dimensions for the hole that needs cut as everyone may not have a way to measure in metric. In short this kit is nothing less than what you would expect from a Rodney Dickman product, high quality, perfectly engineered and the best fix for the problem! Now on to the how to.
Step one involves measuring out the flap that needs cut open to access the inside of the frame rail. The flap will be 130mm by 50mm as indicated by Mr. Dickmans instructions. You'll notice the po of my car had already removed the cradle so there is already a hole in my frame rail. Please ignore it.
Here I measured 65mm left of the center of the cradle bolt:
Next I measured the 130mm from the first mark:
The final mark is made 50mm up from the bottom of the frame rail itself. This is a bit tricky as there is a seam that sticks down past this point.
At this point I used a grease pencil and a straight edge to mark where the cuts will be made:
Now use your favorite available method to cut along the lines. I chose a pneumatic cut-off wheel: (Please remember safety glasses)
After completing the cut carefully pry down the flap to expose the offending nut.
At this point you can grab the nut with vice grips to remove your cradle bolt. Then if you cant get the original nut out hit it with a BFH and a drift:
What you are left with is some rusted metal that is welded to the "nut pad"
This all has to be removed via the method you deem most appropriate. I opted for my air chisel:
Now you need to make the "nut pad" as smooth and flat as possible. I accomplished this with a die grinder:
We are working on the driver side frame rail. At this point when install the special bolt supplied by Rodney to the bottom side of the Passenger side bracket. Like so:
Then you position the passenger side bracket upside down on the bottom of the frame rail. Align the edges of the bracket parallel to the edges of the frame and mark the centers of the two large holes:
Using a hammer and punch, punch the marks you have made so that your drill will not wander.
A fresh 5/16 drill bit will put the exact size holes you need:
Now would be the best point to clean up and paint/rustproof the inside of the frame rail and the two new holes. I'm have not done this yet as I'm in the middle of a project and this will all be taken care of later.
Now we install the driver side bracket into the frame rail. The bolts will be assembled like this:
After being installed and tightened down, this is the result. Note this new system is allowed to float around just as the factory nut could. this will make it easier to install your cradle or any other cradle should you ever need to switch.
Here is the final pic with the cradle installed:
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To finish up you would fold the flap back up and weld it shut then grind it smooth and repaint.
In conclusion, if you have spinning cradle bolts this is the best method I've seen to cure it, hands down.
My brackets were painted. I have been informed by Mr. Dickman that the final product will be zinc plated, so rust should never be an issue. Another thing he mentioned is possibly including new cradle bolts. I think this would be a great addition to the kit as my bolts, as I'm sure most cars with this problem are, were fairly well rusted, though still usable after I rad a die down them.
Thanks for reading and good luck with yours,
~Tyler
