Hi I have posed it on here quite a few time. I have j body and I would like people to help me out by giving my information about the car. Instead I usually get flamed for no reason . I have a legitimate question and remember if you flame me you are a worthless piece of $hit that needs to get a real life!

Ok now to the question I am have a horrible problem I have 2005 cavalier and my engine cradle and cross member have come lose on numerous occasions . I took it to the Chevy dealer 10 times they just tightened it and sent me on my way. Well now its lose again and need to know A. were the bolts are I have to tighten and B.what the torque they are to be tightened to be I got some treat locker and i would like to try that. Thank you for any help!


darkblade j

get yourself a set of ramps/jack and stands and tighten everything you can find. anything particularly loose, use a lockwasher.



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darkblade j

I'd get a manual on the car, haynes/chiltons, or something. Itll tell you and show you what youre looking for. I dont actually know where to find what you're talking about, but the manual will show you pictures and tell you torque specs as well.

I'm also not 100% sure as to exactly which bolts you're referring to, but if it's the front subframe, that's rather worrisome.
Once you find the bolts in question, as long as it's possible, I would remove them one at a time, and apply some Loctite to the threads before re-installing. Clean the threads thoroughly with some kind of thinner or alcohol first, apply the Loctite to about the first 3-4 threads of the bolt, then install and torque to spec. I would think that Loctite 242 (blue) would be adequate, but if you really want staying power, use 271 (red). 271 is supposed to require heat for removal, so be careful if it's something that may require removal for maintenance reasons down the road. I would try 242 first and see how it goes.
A lockwasher wouldn't hurt either, as long as enough threads still engage. By adding the washer, you're effectively shortening the bolt, so make sure it can still go through at least a couple of threads past the nut or insert on the other side, if you can see where it's going.
Where I work, I assemble parts for aircraft use, and we use Loctite on all fasteners, unless they have a locking insert or a nylon lock nut. Loctite will eat many plastics over time, so be careful where it's applied, and don't use too much. I've used it on lots of automotive applications over the years if I've had trouble with something coming loose repeatedly.
Loctite is a name brand for the threadlocker I use - but others may be around that are similar if you can't find the kind I've mentioned.

I too find your problem to be troublesome. after the dealer tightened the bolts up, did you still feel some sort of vibration that might be causing them to become loose. It seems like you have an underlying problem. Its totally abnormal for those bolts to loosen on their own. also its my opinion that you don't need to know the torque specs, I would use a 1/2 inch drive socket wrench with a nice long handle, do the bolts one at a time and put the blue threadlocker on each of them. It can be had in loctite and permatex brands, and probably more. actually the car should have some of this on it from the factory. If you take a bolt out and it doesn't have some dried threadlocker crust on it, then this could have been your problem to begin with. the car is assembled by a machine, and if the threadlocker had run dry and your engine cradle was mounted before someone noticed, well, its just a hypothetical situation, but possible.

Well I got the thread locker red but i want to know what exactly they were tightning and how tight to make it. I am hoping to go on road trip soon and i wont wanna go if my car is messed up the cross member and the cradel.Please help!!


darkblade j

Get under the car and its pretty simple to figure out what bolts go to the engine cradle. Like said before remove one at a time, thread lock it, and tighten the heck outta it. I had to remove a few subframes when i worked for a ford dealer. We just tightened them up with our impact guns and didnt have a problem.