Draven8795

The bushing that goes between the lower strut connecton to the lower control arm is shot and I had to cut the bolt out because it welded itself to the inner metal part of the bushing.

I plan on getting the full car energy suspension bushing kit and replacing all of the bushings on the the lower control arms up front and start moving around the car as time provideds.

Before I do this I'm wondering if it's worth the hassle on a 16 year old car?

I'd rather not break any bolts that will be hard to replace such as the ones connecting the lower control arm to the sub frame.

Are these common to break? Any tips on breaking these loose?

Mazdaholic

iTrader: (1)

is it worth it, that all depends on how you feel about it, but be prepared for a possibility of breaking/stripping some bolts, if they have never been removed before and the car has seen snow and salt.

before you remove the bolts, let them soak in wd40 (or even better: kerosine) overnight, then heat them up nicely and put a good 1/2in impact to it, and hopefully they come out. if not, cut and drill it out.

816m3s

+1 on the soaking, helped me a lot

Draven8795

Well I have the plan of ice racing this car this winter every once and awhile. And almost all of the bushing on the car are cracked and should probably be replaced. Plus my steering is really sloppy.

I guess the only bolts I'm really worried about are the ones that have the nut welded to the frame and you can't see. Does parts lube or heat work on such bolts?

I've broken bolts on the cars suspension before but I was able to cut them off easily and just replace them with grade 8 bolts.

tercel95

I would definitely be prepared for at least one bolt to break... I did mine last weekend and broke the head off the bolt that goes through the LCA and the hub... I also couldn't get the bolts out of the shock body with an impact gun and probably would have broke those but since I was replacing the LCAs and shocks I just dropped them out still connected...

I soaked them all in PBBlaster overnight and it definitely helped but there is always the potential for the bolts to break...

I used a sawz all to get the LCA off, then drilled out part of the bolt and used vice grips to eventually get the rest of the bolt out...

Draven8795

By soaking you just mean spraying the **** out of them and just letting the stuff do its magic overnight correct.

I guess my plan will be to spray them wait a day put some heat to it and see if I can break them loose with an impact if that doesn't work I'll probably just replace the bushing i toasted when I was trying to get the strut off the LCA.

I already broke the bolt that held the shock to the LCA. What are you talking about the bolt from the LCA to the hub. Isn't that a ball joint?

BryanM.

iTrader: (1)

This is the best penetrating oil I have ever used. Very handy if you need to pull apart
a bunch of rusty hardware. Hard to find but it's worth it. I have only seen it for sale on
the internet.

SiliKroil by Kano Labs.

tercel95

I think I am talking rear and you are talking front...

Scott53092

Kroil works really good. I soaked mine in PB for a few days lol. I had bought all new bolts, had Blox lca ready to go, I expected to snap every single bolt since I have bad luck with bolts in my car. 1/2" impact took every bolt out no problem. Couldn't believe not a single one broke. Better to be prepared though.

Draven8795

Yea I'm talking front.

One of the bolts is attached to a welded on nut inside the subframe. Thats the one that makes me nervous. there are two tiny small holes I can see through and see the bolt so I plan on spraying that with the straw at the end of the PB and sticking it through the hole.

I think I can also get some heat in there as well by just making sure the torch goes through one of the holes.

On other suggestions for the front? If it doesn't break loose with the impact don't go any further?