Ok, well im in the middle of my KYB agx, skunk2 coilovers and 22mm rear sway bar install.

On the rear, the bolt that attaches the shock fork to the LCA is fused in there... i've tried heating it and then losening it and so on, it just spins. I've tried a BFH, no luck, i tried 260 ft/lb from air tools, didn't do a damn thing.

I've gone through about 4 saw bits from my jig saw to cut it out of the bushing and im 1/2 way through... is there a trick to this or something? oh yeah and the car's previous (miserable) life was in new jersey, where is accumulated its fare share of jersey dirt (rust)

-Ryan

 

no one replies unless there's a picture... on me

 

use some pb blaster, or some other kind of liquid penetrant, just to break up the rust. Uh, don't know what else to say. Good luck

 

well i tried all of taht... the 260ft/lb broke most of the rust out... I'm now half way through cutting out the bushing and bolt... any more suggestions?

 

18 jig saw bits and several pieces of metal imbedded in my arms/face and i have gotten little progress on cutting this thing out.

there HAS To be a way to get this ******* bolt out!

 

put your car on jack stands and use a floor jack on the LCA to relive some of the pressure off the bolt. this might help.

 

Ironic. The same thing happened to me today on my install with intekragsr. We got the two fronts on (GC's and Koni Yellows) but when we tried to remove the two rears, it was impossible. We used WD40 to loosen before we attempted and it was no luck. I think the guys who installed my sportlines torqued with the impact gun wayy too tight. So right now, I'm running the GC's and Konis up front and Sportlines/Stock Strut in the rear.

Ahhh. I was waiting for the entire transition but oh well. I also didnt have the correct drill bit for my ITR rear sway install so I have no sway bar on at the moment

I'm gonna go to a shop hopefully tomorrow to see if they can remove it. Good luck with that bolt tegasaurus

 

Impact tools own you

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by P1mpSlap &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Impact tools own you</TD></TR></TABLE>


i have them - they are worthless on this ******

I'm going to try heating the bastard up again, if that doesn't work im going to remove the LCA and entire strut housing and take it to a shop to see if they can't cut it out with something better then my ghetto *** jigg saw.

-ryan

 

If youve already begun cutting it, youve pretty much chosen that path and are stuck with it.

First thing to do with these SOB's is to soak it in WD40. Second thing is to make sure you can get a good amount of pressure on it as was mentioned above. Third, get a huge pipe and slide it over a ratchet...longer the better. Then go to town. It should either loosen or break, whatever works.

You can always drive to a shop beforehand as well and give the guy $10 to put the car on the lift, loosen the bolts and handtighten them for you.

At this point, either keep cutting it or take it to a machine shop and tell them to get it the hell out.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by P1mpSlap &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Impact tools own you</TD></TR></TABLE>
My air tools just broke the head of the bolt off. I had to drill BOTH out. And but off the tack welded nut on the stock shocks because I drilled into them. Then used new nuts and bolts.

 

I sprayed mine with WD40 and liquid wrench a few times then used my torque wrench to break it loose. Don't use constant pressure because that will most likely make it snap, use a series of strong pulses.

 

torch, near the gas tank? :/

 

We ended up having to cut the bolts into 3 pieces, removing the shock, and throwing away the LCA's (I think we threw them away).

Same thing with the outer LCA bolts.

Jig saw blades are useless. They're too small and the teeth are too fine for cutting metal. It's better to use a sawzall with some heavy duty blades from Sears.

 

borrow a jackhammer; thatll get that tough little sucker out of there.

 

its probably just spinning the metal sleeve inside the bushing...they freeze all the time...cut off wheel is your best bet....im so used to them breaking off in the back, i can usually repair them in about 15-20 min. but you gotta buy new bolts, and youre better off with energy suspension rear bushings, you dont gotta press them in...its a lot easier to work with.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by philafelman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its probably just spinning the metal sleeve inside the bushing...they freeze all the time...cut off wheel is your best bet....im so used to them breaking off in the back, i can usually repair them in about 15-20 min. but you gotta buy new bolts, and youre better off with energy suspension rear bushings, you dont gotta press them in...its a lot easier to work with.</TD></TR></TABLE>

YES! that's EXACTLY what's happening, its' spinning the little metal thing inside the bushing. Where can i get the energy suspension ones as mine are already shot to bajesus.

-ryan

 

great... now the abs line is stuck inbetween the LCA and shock and i can't get it out

this is ******* bullshit.

 

alright, well i just bought a grinder that adapts to my buddy's air tools that are over here and cut the bolt/bushing.

So now the dilema is over, the shock assmebly is disconnected from the LCA... now, how do i get the bushing (or what's left of it) out of the LCA hole?

 

IM a pro at that, I replaced all bushings with ES ones.
Burn out what you can with a torch, take a sawzall, and to marks into the bushings shell. and take a screw driver, and pry them out.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ragejed &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">IM a pro at that, I replaced all bushings with ES ones.
Burn out what you can with a torch, take a sawzall, and to marks into the bushings shell. and take a screw driver, and pry them out.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Nice, i totally forgot about my friend, the torch.

Well guys thanks for all your support... 25000rpm of cutting fury and an hour later and i have both LCA/Shock assemblies freed up. Anyone know of a local place in AZ that will have ES bushings?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by VTECorona &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...used my torque wrench to break it loose. </TD></TR></TABLE>

WTF?!?!

I'd higly recommend investing in a large breaker bar. You've most likely thrown the calibration off on the torque wrench by using it such way. They are not ment to be used like that.

My Snap-on breaker bar only cost like $70 bux it's 24" long and is longer than all the craftsman ones. I recently bought a 18" bar on ebay for like $40 bux, surprisingly it was hardly used. They are well worth the money and I use them for everything.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by P1mpSlap &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

WTF?!?!

I'd higly recommend investing in a large breaker bar. You've most likely thrown the calibration off on the torque wrench by using it such way. They are not ment to be used like that.

My Snap-on breaker bar only cost like $70 bux it's 24" long and is longer than all the craftsman ones. I recently bought a 18" bar on ebay for like $40 bux, surprisingly it was hardly used. They are well worth the money and I use them for everything.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

I just use the bar from my floor jack on the end of my craftsman wrenchs.... f^*&er is about 3 1/2 feet long

 

i just use a press to get the old bushings out...you can get energy susp. bushings from just about any performance store, but most likely they will need to be ordered...just make sure you get the right ones, cuz the control arm bushings (the 2 on the ends) are diff. from the lower strut bushing (middle). i learned that the hard way.

 

suspension.com
VERY fast shipping, great prices!. I reccomend them to ANYONE!. I bought all my prothane and es bushings from them.