79 Mlaibu Crossmember Help

uestraven

Daily Driver
Nov 13, 2011
27
0
0
Long Island
I have a 79 Malibu 2dr. small-block v8 with a th350 trans. The old crossmember rotted and snapped in half so I bought a new one for it. The problem is i don't know how to take out the old one. there are bolts but how do i get to the nuts behind them?
 

clint

Top Fueler
Oct 10, 2008
2,503
0
0
brodheadsville,pa
transmission crossmember?there are holes in the frame rachet,ext,socket,boxed end wrench up top between frame and the floor you should be good to go...
 

uestraven

Daily Driver
Nov 13, 2011
27
0
0
Long Island
No its not like that. Theres no room between the top of the frame and the floor pan for a wrench
 

t5montecarlo

MalibuRacing Junkie
Oct 21, 2007
4,759
36
48
Lederach, PA
garage-scene.com
It sounds like you have some floor rot and body mount problems. There should be plenty of room between the bolts and the floor. Try an open-end wrench on the nuts at the top (15 mm) and a ratchet on the bolt head through the holes in the frame. Don't try and hold the wrench; let it rotate until it hits something and jams into place so you can loosen the bolts.
 

uestraven

Daily Driver
Nov 13, 2011
27
0
0
Long Island
No theres no body rot. Just very little clearance between frame rails and floor pan. I looked it up and this is normal for the model year but I am just wondering how do i get to the nuts?
 

468malibu

Frequent Racer
Sep 13, 2003
425
0
0
Binghamton NY
As mentioned above, use a wrench to hold the nut. There is room, it's tight tho. How can the crossmember rust and snap but the body/mounts are clean?? Crossmember is usually covered in grease and grime keeping it from rusting.
 

t5montecarlo

MalibuRacing Junkie
Oct 21, 2007
4,759
36
48
Lederach, PA
garage-scene.com
There shouldn't be any less clearance on a 1979 than a 1987. Where did you look up that there is not enough clearance for a 1979?

Are the bolts touching the body? Is there a lot of bolt protruding past the nut? If so, perhaps someone changed the metric hardware for SAE hardware and used bolts that are too long?

In either case, an open-end wrench will work above the crossmember.
 

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