I snapped the head off the middle rear lca bolt (goes through the strut lower bracket). I tried pounding it out with a hammer and punch. No go. So I tried loosening the nut so I could pound it out the other way. The bolt snapped on the nut side too. So now I have a threadless, headless bolt stuck in the lca and it won't budge. I beat the thing with a big hammer as hard as I could for 30 minutes and I'm just denting it. I have a press but I don't want to try to crack the other 2 lca bolts. Is there such a thing as a "portable press" like a C-clamp with an open end to allow the bolt to pass through as you tighten it? Any other ideas?

No, I didn't search. I should have left for work 10 minutes ago.

 

Drill and left hand drill bit.Then an extractor.

 

There's no threads anymore my friend.

 

heat it up. use a torch and get it really hot. the hole will expand. then try adn pound it out. if it still wont come out, there has to be somthing else holding it in. good luck

 

^No, that bolt is notorious for rusting to the bushing sleeve and then breaking when you try to remove it. The only way I have ever been able to fix it, is to burn the bushing or press it out , then cut the sleeve for the bushing and knock it out. Then its as simple as replacing the bushing and installing a new bolt.

The other 2 bolts should come out with relative ease, just dont crank on it to hard if it feels frozen. Be patient, work them back and forth and use plenty of lube...sounds kinda dirty,lol

 

Dang, good suggestions but they both seem last resort. I really don't want to touch the other two bolts. I think I'm just going to drill it out and replace. Goodbye drill bits!

 

lol that bolt is welded to the strut, im surprised you got it to break off without ruining the strut. anyways..you are most likely going to ruin the bushing in the process so you might as well pull the lca off and have the bushing pressed out and a new one pressed in.

 

What do you need threads for?? You use a left hand drill bit to drill into the bolt then an extractor to pull the bolt out.

 

What type of extractor? The only ones I've seen/been suggested at auto stores were these which would do nothing but spin the bolt:

^Already broke one of those actually.

 

you're not getting it. The bolt has chemically welded itself to the sleeve inside the bushing. Its not gonna come out. Just break down and put a new bushing in it. This is a VERY common problem.

 

I get it, it's pretty easy to understand but I'm going to do all I can do to before I go your route. I'd even drill the bolt to nothing before wrenching on the other 2 bolts or burning the bushing.

 

So you already drilled into the bolt??

 

Yes, it was the first thing I tried.

 

go to autozone or whatever and get a balljoint remover.
it's a big *** square thread clamp with an assortment of sleeves. just forget the sleeves and find some sort of rod to push it.
you will have a hard time with it if you don't have air though.