89 240sx: Seat Bolts

[BlackHat]

I just recently removed my seats so I could replace my carpet. Everything is going back in great except for one of the bolts that holds the seat down (the rear outer on the passenger seat). I thought it had been stripped but now I don't think so. It's loose enough to pull out by hand after putting it in. Obviously this won't fly (unless I've got someone riding with me I don't like). Since the carpet is already down I can't even look to see what could be happening. Does anyone have the carpet out on their s13? Am I not hitting the right bolt hole? (The other 3 are in fine)

I'm kind of at a loss at what to do. I even double checked the bolt thinking they were different sizes and couldn't see a difference.

[Red coupe]

why do you think its not stripped?When I took my seat out it seemed pretty obvious were the holes were, and I didnt see any other ones near by...

[Ottomatic]

The bolt may not be striped, however the bolt hole may be. Try taking one of the other bolts and threading it into the mounting hole you are having problems with, if it turns freely then you have a striped hole. There are ways to retap holes that are striped, if thats the case then you need to head over to a hardware store and ask them how to do it. But just so you know, its not going to be as sturdy as it once was. Goodluck.

[BlackHat]

Well, I guess the hole could be striped, but the bolt is perfectly fine and pretty loose in the hole... I didn't struggle to get the bolt out or back in... Just didn't really "feel" like a stripped hole to me. I'll double check it.

Side question: I removed my back seat and some of the bolts that held it in were in holes that went completely through the body. I'm not going to be putting the back seat back in. Does anyone have a suggestion on what I should use to seal the hole back up?

[spyro187]

Nothing a little JB weld can't fix.

[180fan]

wouldn't suggest that for something as important as seat belts...

[BlackHat]

Well, I feel kinda dumb now. I was too afraid to cut the new carpet where the bolts were because I thought I'd cut too much. I had to cut the carpet to do repairs on the bolt that I had problems with. Turns out I wasn't lining up the bolt right. Everything is fine (other than the first couple threads of the bolt were messed up).

Thanks for the advice though. Now I know what to do if I do mess up a bolt hole.