Snapped bolt in rear lower control arm. How can I get it out?
11-15-2003, 11:00 PM
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Snapped bolt in rear lower control arm. How can I get it out?
The bolt that holds the shock fork and the lower control arm on my civic snapped when we tried to remove it... it was all rusted and stuff. now i've got like half of the bolt still in there with no way to extract it. we tried drilling it out with cobalt drill bits but after 10 bits we're still not able to get it out. we've made some decent progress but need some suggestions on what else we can try. anyone have any ideas? would a screw extractor work on it? is drilling it out the right way to do it? thanks..
11-15-2003, 11:48 PM
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Re: Snapped bolt in rear lower control arm. How can I get it out? (RoyFokker)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RoyFokker »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">get new lca</TD></TR></TABLE>
uhhh, why in the world would he need a new lca when the only thing that is a problem is the bolt?
and yes drilling is the correct way. not too sure if a screw extractor would work on such a bolt. when this happened to my buddy's car, we went out to the hardware store and bought a bit that is used to drill through concrete and it worked. hth and good luck.
uhhh, why in the world would he need a new lca when the only thing that is a problem is the bolt?
and yes drilling is the correct way. not too sure if a screw extractor would work on such a bolt. when this happened to my buddy's car, we went out to the hardware store and bought a bit that is used to drill through concrete and it worked. hth and good luck.
11-15-2003, 11:54 PM
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Re: Snapped bolt in rear lower control arm. How can I get it out? (whoDAT)
yeah.. new lower control arm seems a bit excessive. how many of those bits did you have to use? just 1? what size did you use? i'm using 1/4" thanks!
11-15-2003, 11:59 PM
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Re: Snapped bolt in rear lower control arm. How can I get it out? (Campee)
Torch the bushing and/or a drill press. Or, get a new LCA.
To give an idea of how strong the bonding is, on my del Sol's I ground off the shock nut, sheared the head off, blow torched it a little bit, tried drilling it out, pounded it excesively with a hammer and punch, got in an accident, and it didn't even budge.
To say the least, it's a PITA. I was actually going to order new LCAs and bushings when I got into the accident.
To give an idea of how strong the bonding is, on my del Sol's I ground off the shock nut, sheared the head off, blow torched it a little bit, tried drilling it out, pounded it excesively with a hammer and punch, got in an accident, and it didn't even budge.
To say the least, it's a PITA. I was actually going to order new LCAs and bushings when I got into the accident.
11-16-2003, 12:05 AM
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Your wayy better off buying a new lower control arm. You can usually pick em up pretty cheap. I froze my upper control arm bolt where it connects to the rear trailing arm, i snapped it clean off. Tried drilling it out, extracting it, everything, nothing worked, tried to have it pressed out, didnt work. Just buy a new lca, it will save alot of headaches.
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11-16-2003, 12:16 AM
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Re: (Atheist)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Atheist »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How mucha re they? I think I broke my front one</TD></TR></TABLE>
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/
11-16-2003, 01:04 AM
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Hmm the front lower arm doesnt look like what I want. I broke the arm peice of my car that connects to the break and is in sort of a triangle and has 2 ball joints, its actually 2 peices conencted by bolts. What is this called
11-16-2003, 09:59 AM
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Re: (1ntensiveVTECivic)
It's sunday and I need something will work today.. parts is closed today. Anyone have any ideas on how to get it out of there? I Guess we'll just keep drilling. What's up witht this guy that said he used "A" concrete bit to get through? We've gone through 8 cobalt high speed steel drilling bits so far and we're pretty close to being finished.. should we just keep going and punch through to the other side and hollow the inside of it out and put a bolt in it's place? Do we need to use a Honda bolt? We got a control arm bolt from pep boys that should be the same strength. What happens if it breaks while the car is moving? I plan to replace everything on like Mon or Tues right now I just need a way home. WE need suggestions.. thanks.
11-16-2003, 10:04 AM
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Re: (Campee)
Another problem is that the bolt that holds the LCA to the knuckle is frozen and I REALLY don't want to break that one too, then I'd really be screwed. So, messing with the LCA is not really an option right now. I guess drilling is our only option.
11-16-2003, 10:46 AM
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Re: (Campee)
Knowing that this was a common problem, I definately ordered aftermarket LCA's for my car before doing my suspension. Good thing, too, because my knuckle and shock bolt both siezed on the passenger side of the car and it ended up taking me quite a while before I grabbed my nuts and cut the stock control arm in half with a sawzall. It worked, but I already had everything in place to compensate the loss.
In your case, I'd suggest an air chissle (I used it to blow the welded nut off the backside of the LCA when that bolt froze). You do realize that your LCA bushings are shot to hell and you should get them replaced, right? That's the main reason I bought new LCA's: they come with easilly-replaceable polyurethane bushings, swaybar endlink holes, are lighter, are stronger and look better.
Good luck with your ****.
In your case, I'd suggest an air chissle (I used it to blow the welded nut off the backside of the LCA when that bolt froze). You do realize that your LCA bushings are shot to hell and you should get them replaced, right? That's the main reason I bought new LCA's: they come with easilly-replaceable polyurethane bushings, swaybar endlink holes, are lighter, are stronger and look better.
Good luck with your ****.
11-16-2003, 11:49 AM
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Re: Snapped bolt in rear lower control arm. How can I get it out? (Campee)
if the bolt breaks the shock will drop about 2 cm and rest on the lca. i just towed a car home, and when i got it up on jack stands i relized that i had towed it with no bolt on the bottom of the right rear shock 
11-16-2003, 04:17 PM
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Re: Snapped bolt in rear lower control arm. How can I get it out? (u0f)
Well, we were able to drill a hole through it. Unfortunately, the hole came through on the other side of the LCA and went through the shock fork. We used a bolt to hold it all together, and I was able to drive 150 miles home on it. It was scary as f*ck though, I thought my car would spin out of control or something. I'm going to have the shock and bushing replaced tomorrow, I'm sure that'll cost me a fortune.
11-16-2003, 04:34 PM
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Re: Snapped bolt in rear lower control arm. How can I get it out? (u0f)
i just cut the shock off and had soemone press an new bushing in cost me 10$ plus 20$ for bushing just my opinion though cause i put on new shocks too!
11-16-2003, 04:37 PM
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Re: Snapped bolt in rear lower control arm. How can I get it out? (blackccoupe)
I bought a new shock too. Yeah, I need to replace the bushing, the bolt, and have them remove/replace my shock. They can swap out the spring too, I'm replacing my stock DX springs w/ ITR springs. The problem is that the other bolt connecting the LCA is frozen also, so I don't dare try to remove the shock myself, or I'd have an all new problem. I'm just going to take it to a shop and let them deal with this headache. Hopefully I'll be able to make it to the shop tomorrow without a wheel falling off or something. How much you think it's gonna run me to replace a shock + rebush an LCA?
11-16-2003, 04:39 PM
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Since your going to replace them anyway you might want to check out SRR LCA's.. they're the blingin' purple ones some people have... I remember seeing them for pretty cheap.. probably not much more than stock.
11-16-2003, 04:51 PM
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Re: (Campee)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Campee »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm not replacing the LCA, just the bushing.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Sweet idea, dude: that way, when another of the bolts breaks, you get to have another bushing pressed and put your car out of comission for another period of time. It is to your benefit to do more than the bear minimum when it comes to your suspension, even if it costs a little more. When you decide that you need a swaybar in the back to counter the horrible understeer you'll be experiencing, you'll be happy that you've already got endlink holes for them.
Or you can stick with half-assed and hope you never have another broken bolt.
Your call.
Sweet idea, dude: that way, when another of the bolts breaks, you get to have another bushing pressed and put your car out of comission for another period of time. It is to your benefit to do more than the bear minimum when it comes to your suspension, even if it costs a little more. When you decide that you need a swaybar in the back to counter the horrible understeer you'll be experiencing, you'll be happy that you've already got endlink holes for them.
Or you can stick with half-assed and hope you never have another broken bolt.
Your call.
11-16-2003, 04:56 PM
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Re: (Archidictus)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Archidictus »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Sweet idea, dude: that way, when another of the bolts breaks, you get to have another bushing pressed and put your car out of comission for another period of time. It is to your benefit to do more than the bear minimum when it comes to your suspension, even if it costs a little more. When you decide that you need a swaybar in the back to counter the horrible understeer you'll be experiencing, you'll be happy that you've already got endlink holes for them.
Or you can stick with half-assed and hope you never have another broken bolt.
Your call.</TD></TR></TABLE>
The other bolt isn't broken and I don't see how it would break. There is nothing wrong with the LCA, it's totally fine. Just the bushing in it is messed up. Are you saying I should buy an aftermarket one to adjust for camber?
Sweet idea, dude: that way, when another of the bolts breaks, you get to have another bushing pressed and put your car out of comission for another period of time. It is to your benefit to do more than the bear minimum when it comes to your suspension, even if it costs a little more. When you decide that you need a swaybar in the back to counter the horrible understeer you'll be experiencing, you'll be happy that you've already got endlink holes for them.
Or you can stick with half-assed and hope you never have another broken bolt.
Your call.</TD></TR></TABLE>
The other bolt isn't broken and I don't see how it would break. There is nothing wrong with the LCA, it's totally fine. Just the bushing in it is messed up. Are you saying I should buy an aftermarket one to adjust for camber?
11-16-2003, 05:01 PM
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Re: (Archidictus)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Archidictus »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Sweet idea, dude: that way, when another of the bolts breaks, you get to have another bushing pressed and put your car out of comission for another period of time. It is to your benefit to do more than the bear minimum when it comes to your suspension, even if it costs a little more. When you decide that you need a swaybar in the back to counter the horrible understeer you'll be experiencing, you'll be happy that you've already got endlink holes for them.
Or you can stick with half-assed and hope you never have another broken bolt.
Your call.</TD></TR></TABLE>
even if he replaces it with an aftermarket lca, won't that one be just as likely to seize as the stock, given the same amount of time? how will an aftermarket one reduce the possibility of siezing? i fail to see how....
Sweet idea, dude: that way, when another of the bolts breaks, you get to have another bushing pressed and put your car out of comission for another period of time. It is to your benefit to do more than the bear minimum when it comes to your suspension, even if it costs a little more. When you decide that you need a swaybar in the back to counter the horrible understeer you'll be experiencing, you'll be happy that you've already got endlink holes for them.
Or you can stick with half-assed and hope you never have another broken bolt.
Your call.</TD></TR></TABLE>
even if he replaces it with an aftermarket lca, won't that one be just as likely to seize as the stock, given the same amount of time? how will an aftermarket one reduce the possibility of siezing? i fail to see how....
11-16-2003, 05:39 PM
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Re: (pdiggitydogg)
i didn't drop my car very much, i used ITR springs in a DX. i don't think that understeer will be much of an issue. the springs are very stiff and not that much of a change in ride height. i think that any bolts that I put in there will be just as likely to seize regardless of what LCA I am using. The LCA I have is not damaged and does not need to be replaced.
11-16-2003, 05:57 PM
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Re: (jwn7)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jwn7 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">even if he replaces it with an aftermarket lca, won't that one be just as likely to seize as the stock, given the same amount of time? how will an aftermarket one reduce the possibility of siezing? i fail to see how....</TD></TR></TABLE>
Because the polyurethane bushings will have stainless sleeves and they'll be removable in the event that the bolts manage to bind again. I can use an Alan Key to take any of the bushings out of my LCA's if I need to.
I really couldn't give two ***** how you spend your money. I'm just giving you advice based on what has happened on almost every Honda suspension install I've ever done and the best (IMO) way to get around said issues. If stock LCA's with 10-year-old shot bushings are going to work for your setup, that's fine. If you don't ever plan on putting anything else on your rear, the stock LCA's will suffice.
Good luck gleaning any benefit from your suspension setup
.
Because the polyurethane bushings will have stainless sleeves and they'll be removable in the event that the bolts manage to bind again. I can use an Alan Key to take any of the bushings out of my LCA's if I need to.
I really couldn't give two ***** how you spend your money. I'm just giving you advice based on what has happened on almost every Honda suspension install I've ever done and the best (IMO) way to get around said issues. If stock LCA's with 10-year-old shot bushings are going to work for your setup, that's fine. If you don't ever plan on putting anything else on your rear, the stock LCA's will suffice.
Good luck gleaning any benefit from your suspension setup
.