Rear diffuser bolts

[sirringo]

So I unbolted - but did not fully remove - the rear diffuser yesterday as part of my oil change. When reinstalling, the two middle bolts in the second-from-back row did not actually thread into anything behind the diffuser…they fully threaded through the diffuser but never reached a bracket or support structure (they just keep spinning). Does anyone know what the bracket behind these bolts is supposed to look like?

I’m referring to the two bolts circled below in red (not my original photo).

Thanks all!

 

[Time2Fly]

Those bolts didn't need to come off. They screw into a cross beam with a washer between them that is not attached to anything else.

 

[Porter]

Those bolts attach the body of the diffuser to the horizontal steel bar that provides location support between the exhaust hanger mounts. Technically that bar is part of the diffuser, and not part of the car.

You can see this by looking down through the mesh on the back of the car, that whole area is visible.

 

[Dragoon]

There are two different lengths of bolts that go into the rear diffuser. Those two bolts you show should be the longer 25mm bolts (I believe there are six in total). Whereas, all the others around the outside are 20mm. When I first took my diffuser off, I didn't realize there were two different-length bolts, and I lost one of those that goes into that middle support bracket because it wasn't long enough. I had to order a new 25mm from McMaster Carr to replace it.

 

[sirringo]

Thank you guys for the help on this.

PSA for anyone who accidentally removes those bolts as I did when doing an oil change or anything else...you will prob have to remove the entire diffuser to reattach the support brace. Found this out the hard way. If you don't think it's threaded in, it isn't!

 

[Aero]

I wouldve made the same mistake but saw Dragoons helpful video before removing diffuser for exhaust tip swap.

You actually dont need to remove the diffuser at all either as part of an oil change.