Now that I finally have a day off I decided to crawl under my 96 ex and replace the rear lca, strut, and spring. I soaked the three bolts with pb blaster. The inner one (nearest to the gastank) loosened up nicely. The one that attaches the strut to the lca came off after a bit. I am using an impact wrench set at 400 ft/lb. The outside one (nearest to the rear brake assembly) is being a bitch. I've tried letting it soak more. I've turned the settings down and up hitting it with different power at different intervals.

I'm stuck. Not sure what to do. I want to avoid snapping the head off. Any ideas?

 

PB Blaster is not the best stuff.
Try Soak with 50/50 Acetone and ATF fluid as liquid wrench.

If not careful, 400lb/ft impact will snap bolts.

 

That's the one that snaps. Mine did that a few weeks ago. Have drill standing by because it's either gonna come out or it will break.

 

Since I'm replacing the whole lca anyways should I wrench on it a little bit more then just drill her out? I dont need the car right away so I can call up Honda and get a replacement bolt. I can't see really well in there. Is there anything that can be damaged while drilling?

 

Nope. Nothing to damage really. But there is a welded nut on the other side. I cut that off and used a normal nut. Don't know why they didn't do that in the first place.

I'd try that acetone mixture first. I went through 3 drill bits to get that bolt tip out.

 

Cool. I'll give it a try!

 

+1 I've had that welded nut strip internally on me. Poor design imo.

 

Short quick burts, don't just grab the trigger and go nuts.


Short pops will normally pop them free.


Look into areokoil, this **** is the ****!

 

try tightening it a bit before loosening then rock it back and forth with the gun . or heat the hell out of it if your changing the lca anyway you don't have to worry about the bushing burning

 

Forgot to add that, if you have the ability, get that bish red hot,

 

Heat works good . Also if u can use the gun to snap off the welding nut u might be able to try hitting it out from the pointy side. I did this once burned off the whole bushing till I see the metal then heat the living hell out if it get some really good vise grips, grip that bitch good and use ur gun to get it out u will be there for a while but beats the whole drilling method idea

 

i cut mine off then just used new bolt and nut

 

I usually just cut them off. The bolt rusts to the inside of the bushing. That's why they get stuck. The problem is that heating it doesn't always work since the bolt's not just stuck at the nut.

I cut the bolt on either side of the LCA. Then I just zap the welded nut off of the trailing arm using either an impact gun of air chisel. Drilling takes too damn long.

When re-assembling, I would suggest using anti-sieze compound on the bolt thread and the shaft of the bolt that passes thru the bushing. I would torque them to spec...and make sure you clock your bushings.

I would suggest ordering a new set of OEM arms or atleast aftermarket arms with polyurethane bushings instead of rubber. The rubber used in aftermarket arms' bushings tends to be the worst rubber ever made. Old pencil erasers? Who knows. Bushings tear within a few months whether they're clocked or not.

 

Like everyone has air tools in their garage. Or even has a garage. Mine didn't rust to the bushing. It rusted to the welded nut.

 

heat it up if that doesn't work burn the bushingout and cut the bolt out hopefully you have new bolts ($15 each at honda)

 

When I was removing mine for the first time since it was assembled. (Uuubber rusted) I broke my bolts at the heads. I had to drill the bolts out, and then cut the remaining bits out. I suggest a trip to the dealership for a new set of bolts. There should be 6 total that are exactly the same size. IE: (Strut to LCA, LCA to Knucle, LCA to Subframe). Got 6 fresh bolts, coated with anti seize lube. And torqued to factory spec.

Gl

 

That isn't typical. Nearly every time I've dealt with this the bolt seizes in the bushing. A little heat can go a long way sometimes.

Also, if you don't use an impact gun (an electric impact is fine here) then expect them to break off. An impact gun will tend to break up a lot of the rust, a breaker bar will just snap the heads off.

 

 

Life is hard up in the ghetto.

 

Good for you then.

 

Well if your bolt if frozen to the nut and not the bushing then heat that sucker up real good and then use your air gun really slow to loosen it up

 

y not just take a trip to the local harware store for nuts and bolts? they sell the same sizes for 1/4 the cost or even less.

 

For those of us without access to air tools, and without access to the cash it takes to get a proper air setup, go to your local Sears (or the Craftsman website) and pick up a battery impact gun. You can get the basic setup for <$150, and it's a great investment if you plan on turning wrenches more than once on your (or your friends') car.

 

Those suspension bolts are grade 8 bolts, and the shoulders are splined so they don't seize in the bushings (ironic I know) You usually can't get something that's particularly comparable at a hardware store.

For this kind of stuff you want a corded gun if you're going electric impact I'd say. Battery powered impacts are great for a lot of other things though, even if you do have air.

 

I don't think corded is a necessity. My new impact is rated up to 200 ft/lbs, and runs on a 19.2V battery. I managed to disassemble my entire front suspension on one full charge. Are there ANY bolts on a Honda that require more than 200 ft/lbs? I've never come across any, and if it takes more than that to get something off, hit it with a butane torch from your local hardware store (what are they now, like $15?)

If you already have a 19.2V battery and charger, the impact gun runs $90 straight from Craftsman. If you need the battery and charger as well, you can get the package for $170. With web coupons and other deals available, I think it belongs in the toolbox of everyone who doesn't have access to air tools.