[Plodder]

Well one step forward two steps back!
Prior to delivery of new front roll bar rubbers on my 91 416 I decided to check that the bolts could be freed off easily. Lots of penetrating oil seemed to do the trick.
However undoing the last bolt it appears the captive nut inside the rear front sub frame has broken away from the sub-frame itself and I can hear it rotating inside. The bolt currently can neither be retightened or removed.

My question is, is this repairable and how have people repaired it in the past. Can a good repair be done on the car .
Otherwise I guess it could be another sub-form but I guess there is no guarantee that another sub frame will not suffer the same fate.
I'll contact a company that has previously done work on the car tomorrow but it would be good to have an idea of what solutions have been tried.
Many thanks in advance.

[961tat]

The issue with the subframe is they rust from inside honda I fine the worst on R8 I normally I would take that off the car and see why and put it right which would involve opening up the mounting point of the roll bar get it blasted then work out if it can be saved funny i binned 3 of these yestaday that were splitting in half on the front corner 8 ins up from were the front arm bolts on always passenger side .

But on the car I would hacksaw of the bolt head ( I have spare roll bar brackets) and see if i could weld it and drill.and tap but if its rotten inside then that wont work .rivet nuts but that again depends on what behind hopefully it just bad spot weld .

Mot guys say you cant weld the subframe .
But if done right better than new they were only spot welded .

Maybe Rover maybe should have drilled a drain hole in them but they lasted along time to be fair same issue on 1.4 and 1.6 subframes .

[Plodder]

Thanks for that info , it gives me an idea where I’m heading.
Welding is beyond my capabilities and my garage has limited facilities so I will ask the company that’s already done work for me to have a look it.
The subframe has previously been welded and never failed an MOT. It has been noted by the MOT guys. I think they just keep a eye on the state of the repair.
I’ll see what fix the garage suggest but in the long term I might start looking for a replacement that I can refurbishready to replace in the future.
Thanks again

[Plodder]

Can someone tell me what the part number is for the front and rear-front sub frames for a Rover 416 with Honda DOHC engine with power steering. Not sure if its important that it’s an automatic.
Would be nice to know the numbers so I can look out for parts if I’m unable to get a repair sorted.
I believe from another post that it’s possible to use other sub frames from the later engine types but that mounting have to be moved

[Plodder]

Booked the car in a garage I’ve used previously so the welding guy can have a look at it. Unfortunately the guy is on holiday for 2 weeks so there will be a bot of a wait but at least I will find out whether it can be safely repaired.

[SteveB]

For the 1600 with power steering it looks like the front beam is KGC10191 and the rear is KGC10084 (1989-92). For later cars (92-96), the front beam for the four door is KGC10250 and the rear is the same, so it looks like the rear beam from a later car should fit, but it would be good to get feedback from somebody who's got practical experience.