akdrag

Hi,

I started to change my suspension and snapped the far right rear lower control arm bolt head off. Now I need to find out how to remove the rest of it... and would it be possible to cut the welded on nut off... and replace this with a nut??? or would this not be wise?... any suggestions are appreciated? Thanks a lot


Please post if pics aren't working

kyorishin

two things you can do now
cut off the nut on the other side and use a new bolt and nut or wd40 the ****, weld another bolt to it and crank it out

akdrag

thanks man... I was talking to a noob at my local honda dealership.. and they said it would cause me problems if I just put a new nut on after cutting the old one off... they said it would be unsafe...? Also how could I weld another bolt to it and crank it out? I don't really understand that part...

kyorishin

only reason being they would say it would be unsafe is if you dont tighten it enough the nut could rattle lose as to when the nut is welded on to it, and when i say weld i meant jbweld, or if you have a mini torch heat on another bolt and try to spin it out, hope that cleared some stuff up

akdrag

thanks man... so I've been trying to cut it, using a grinder with a cut off wheel... and it's making a huge mess because I don't have enough clearance... Not really sure what else to use to try and cut it off with.. any advice appreciated

JRTegman987

we used a cutoff wheel and a saws all to cut the nut off the back of the LCA it was a bitch and the saws all got kinda dangerous at times cuz it will get caught and jerk around

doubleoazn03

or you can just do it the smart way and drill it out, duh. I did it when my alternator bolt broke off.

slvrcvc93

Drilling might Take a while but it can be done but the other end has minor spot weld with a dremel you can cut them and re weld it back after it fixed but **** is definitely not gonna be easy

addiction2bass

either way ya have some pretty good work ahead of you...

and yes just cut the nut/bolt.... and also go buy a new bushing because the bolt/nut is not the problem, the bushing/bolt is what the problem is!
after you remove the LCA youll have to press the old bearing out and press the new one in.

JUST REMEMBER when reinstaling everything........ use plenty of ANTISEIZE all over the bolt, threads and bolt shaft fully.... these dam LCA bolts almost always seize on the bushing!

cuting the nut off is no problem at all. just buy a new HARDENED BOLT thats long enough to go out the other side long enough so you can always use a simple JAM NUT to hold it tight. or if ya got a friend with alittle welder just tack weld the sucker on there later on..

GOOD LUCK! ive dealt with quite a few seized bolt/bushings. a total of 7 to be exact in the last year..... NOT FUN! but at least i got the tools to replace them.
a smal cut off wheel is your best friend in this job! as well as a welder.

1CaMw0nDeR

why not just use a tap & dye set and drill into that beast than remove it outta there..??

akdrag

Thanks for all the advice guys... what I ended up doing is grinding the nut off which took a long time, because I had to be careful not to wreck the trailing arm sides or my brakes... After that I went to take the bolt off from the shock and snapped that too... And I SWEAR I was so careful... put lots of liquid wrench on and tried heating with a blow torch then used a breaker bar, and the little bastard still snapped.

However I was able to drop the strut still attached with the LCA, so Im looking for a way to detach the broken bolt from the strut housing without damaging the strut.. I don't care about the LCA or the bushing... but I need the strut to be safe... any help is appreciated... and I will post pics later, Thanks

hard_boiled_EG

just do the same thing over again to the strut

akdrag

akdrag

I can't harm the strut or Im screwed I need to keep the strut safe... any ideas??? I was thinking sawzall but Im not sure if the blade is strong enough to cut the bolt

deadline

i had a integra that had the same problem..i just took out the whole lca springs struts and replaced it with a used one from a local salvage yard...drilling and cutting will take a long time.

hard_boiled_EG

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by akdrag &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I can't harm the strut or Im screwed I need to keep the strut safe... any ideas??? I was thinking sawzall but Im not sure if the blade is strong enough to cut the bolt</TD></TR></TABLE>

you won't harm the strut if u use a grinder like u did to take the lca off, u have about 2 to 3 inch clearance before u even touch the strut...a cutoff wheel would work better than a grinder or go buy a thin grinding disc...

akdrag

Alright Im gonna giv'er hell today... I'll let you know how it goes.. Thanks a lot!!!

JRTegman987

yea dont use the saws all if u need to keep stuff not damaged sucked jumps around and cuts everything lol

luckily i was replacing LCA and coilovers too so we just had to cut it out to get it outta the way

akdrag

so I have a new problem... I snapped the bolt off on the lca connected to the trailing arm. My plan was to grind it down like the other one... because I don't care about the lca... but I can't fit the grinder in anymore, so Im looking for ideas???

instrument

man that sucks.
take it to a shop and have em torch that thing to pieces.
salt/snow sucks.

evosix

using a tap to turn the bolt loose does not work, especially on a older cars; the bolt gets rusted into the bushing, and almost becomes a part of it, it just wont turn..

Its had work but you have to drill the bolt out and use a rotary toll to cut the welded in nuts off.

HeikDiesel

Press out the old bushing, press in new ones.

akdrag

obviously I can't press out the bushing if I can't remove the LCA from the car!!! Lol and as I said above I don't give a rats *** about the LCA I have new ones... any smart ideas?

akdrag

My problems just keep on comin'... so I managed to get in there with the grinder and cut the bolt off... but in the process ended up cutting though the back of my brake drum...(brutal luck) and I also made a mess on the other side so some welding is in order... DEAR LORD I AM NEVER BUYING AN OLD WINTER DRIVEN CAR AGAIN!!!