Need help/advice putting back rear strut brace (R33 GTR)

[N155@N]

Hi all,

 

So i went ahead and replaced my battery. I took of the big silver bolt holding the stock rear strut brace as the batteries were to large.

My problem now is that, when attempting to bolt back the brace, the bracket holes don't align well with the brace. Making it impossible to fit back on.

The brace is about 2mm off from the bracket holes. I can put the bolt through the brace, but once it reaches the side it can't thread itself in.

Iv'e tried removing both bolts in an attempt to fit the brace on evenly from both sides. No luck. I can only fit one side, as the other side becomes of center.

 

Any help will be much appreciated, thanks.

[GTSBoy]

Jack one corner of the car.  Change corners if it doesn't make it work.  If that doesn't work, jack under the diff and let the wheels hang - this should open the rear of the car up a bit.

Edited December 9, 2017 by GTSBoy

[N155@N]

19 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

Jack one corner of the car.  Change corners if it doesn't make it work.  If that doesn't work, jack under the diff and let the wheels hang - this should open the rear of the car up a bit.

Thanks for the reply bro. Already tried lifting from either side, no success. Jacked from diff, wheels off the ground, made no difference. Didn't think it would be this difficult to re-install a brace lol. Anyone else have any ideas?

I can tighten one side and have the bolt in the other, though that bolt doesn't reach the thread/nut, since its unaligned. 

[hardsteppa]

You're talking about the stock rear brace that has an adjusting thread in the middle, that lengthens/shortens it....?

[N155@N]

1 hour ago, hardsteppa said:

You're talking about the stock rear brace that has an adjusting thread in the middle, that lengthens/shortens it....?

Yep stock brace. Ah so is that what the middle bit is for? I'm not gonna lie, i'm not very mechanically minded, but if that's the case, how do I adjust the length? 

Just spin the middle nut? Will it mess up anything?

 

[Duncan]

no it surely will not mess anything up. spin away. It's probably got locking nuts at either end of the middle part that you need to loosen off first, fg you aren't sure post up a pic

[hardsteppa]

50 minutes ago, N155@N said:

Yep stock brace. Ah so is that what the middle bit is for? I'm not gonna lie, i'm not very mechanically minded, but if that's the case, how do I adjust the length? 

Just spin the middle nut? Will it mess up anything?

 

you get a spanner, hold the middle nut in place. Undo the 2 nuts either side of it, but one of them has a reverse thread....so you need to not put massive amount of pressure on, as in so much that it strips the thread. Just undo one side, then under the other side in the reverse direction. One both nuts are undone, turn the middle nut and it will lengthen or shorten, turn it the other way and it will do the opposite. Adjust it to the length you need, fit it to the car, tighten up both side nuts to lock it in place.