im planing on getting basic coilovers/ adj shocks w/ springs come this fall. a few buddies and i were planning on doing it all ourselves (we can all scrounge up all needed materials)......well to make a long story short, the same guys were doing new springs on a '00 Civic Si and a bolt (i wanna say lower control arm) was snapped off big time due to rust...they the guy ended up shelling out $400 for a shop to get out the bolt, fix the control arm and put on the springs/shocks....since this is MI (salt capitol of the winter), im REALLY worried about busting up more than just a few bolts while doing my own install when the car has seen 10 years of corrosion......

My question is:

To all of you who put on new springs/shocks (or any other susp work) and live in the snow belt, how did u avoid busting **** up due parts rusting together???

 

It have it happen and friends also. If the bolt is seized, snap the head of with a breaker bar. Cut the other side off the bolt with a zaw-zaw. Free the shock, take the control arm off. Put the control arm on a press, press out the old bushing. Buy a new one from honda press in the new one. Also buy the bolt from honda. When installing the new bolt use antizeise.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by primo8998 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Put the control arm on a press, press out the old bushing. Buy a new one from honda press in the new one. Also buy the bolt from honda. When installing the new bolt use antizeise.</TD></TR></TABLE>

so if a bolt is siezed, im gonna need a new control arm no matter what??.....how much do they run for???

is there anyone to super heat the bolt to get it off w/o ruining the integrity of the surrounding metal????

id REALLY rather do this myself, cause i enjoy working on my car, and i dont wanna shell out more money......anybody else got helpful hints?

 

YOu do not need a new control arm. You just need a new bushing in the control arm. You need to take the control arm off and get the old bushing pressed out. You can still do it yourself, you just need to run over somewhere to has a press. The bushings form honda are like 25 bux and the bolt is 5 bux.

 

Mapp gas and lots of it.

6 point sockets and tons of WD40/Thrust/LiquedWrench


Use mapp gas to get the bolt red hot, then turn the gas off and quickly spray the lubricant on the bolt, it will not catch on fire they have a higher flash point that that, the heat will draw the lubricant down into the threads. Then use a bigass breaker bar or a impact gun, just make god damn sure you use a 6 point socket.

 

as dumb as it sounds, im not much of an expert when it comes to tool names.....whats "Mapp gas"???.....and 6pt socket???, isnt that what all standard socket wrenches are???

 

Honostly if you are replacing the shocks and springs it shouldnt matter if you break the bolt....i just recently broke the bolt on the lower part of the rear strut and i have to saw off the fork at the bottom to get it off... i'm sure there are other ways but this is the easiest for me i used almost a whole can of wd-40 and let it soak and then coated it 2 more times and then went at it and it still broke the damn head off...i was like WTF!!!!

 

actually it does matter.....if u bust the head of the bolt on ur control arm, u cant get the shock free from the assembly, and therefore u cant change the shock.......

 

6pt socket looks like this:

a regular cheapo 12 pt looks like this:

By using the 6pt you reduce the chance of you rounding off the bolt.

Mapp(methylacetylene-propadiene) is an all-purpose industrial fuel having the high-flame temperature of acetylene but has the handling characteristics of propane.

you can get a bottle like this at home depot:

 

thanks.....im assuming that gas can be used w/ a standard torch???......i think we can get ahold of one of those to.....b4 i decide what to do, ill talk to my mechanic about it when i go to get my tuneup this spring.....as well as my buddy whose got most of the stuff (spring compressor, impact wrench, breakerbar, torches, etc.)

 

It sounds like maybe it might be cheaper and quicker for you to just have your mechanic install the suspension for you.

 

well......we've all got plenty of experience w/ working on cars.....and we already have all the tools needed......mechanics charge a **** load for that kinda work....610 for the coilvers (Apex'i WS from HT sponsor) + 150ish for camber kit +$90/hour for instalation = $1k......i dun have that money......

 

Hey, how do you know your lower bolts are even seized? Why dont you try to take them out first. Jack the car up and see if they loosen up? You can do it yourself in a day if they are seized. If they are seized, you will find a way out, or make a post, or listen to the suggestions you have been given. Good luck!

 

Bump upto accord94. Those 12 point sockets may be cheap for air tools.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by primo8998 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hey, how do you know your lower bolts are even seized? Why dont you try to take them out first. Jack the car up and see if they loosen up? You can do it yourself in a day if they are seized. If they are seized, you will find a way out, or make a post, or listen to the suggestions you have been given. Good luck!</TD></TR></TABLE>

I am willing to bet my first born child and my wife that pops him out that they are seized. Salt = Natures Loc-tite

i am referring to the rears, the fronts usually come out ok.


Modified by Accord94DX at 10:50 PM 3/11/2004

 

Well i live in Ky, some are siezed and some are not. I think he should check first. My encounters have always been with the rear. Never had a front seized up. Take like 15 min to check if they are seized, check and replay back.

 

she is a good cook, japanese but she speaks english, teaches english and japanese at a high school in osaka.........and you have a snowballs chance in hell of getting those bolts out without torch or a bigass impact gun

 

hook a makita up to a nuclear power plant, and you might have a chance...

mike

 

lol.....thanks all u guys.....i would check, but i dont have jacks at my house....in fact ive got **** at my house, so i never work over here (kinda sucks)......to those of you who DO live in the snow belt, did you go through any of the above procedures, or did u have a shop do it??

 

mapp gas works for me 90% of the time.

 

Im in the process of replacing the rear trailing and I have replaced the rear shocks before that. I am in IL and I just broke the bolt connecting the rear trailing to the LCA. Very much sucks. All my stuff is rusted.

Honda will charge you for an LCA if they torch the bolt off, at least they do here, because they want to "make sure they didnt melt it" So it was going to be 900$ to replace and LCA and rear trailing arm. I said **** you and left, but not after someone busted the driver side window on my car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fw190bvi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thanks.....im assuming that gas can be used w/ a standard torch???......i think we can get ahold of one of those to.....</TD></TR></TABLE>

No. You need to buy a torch head designed for MAPP gas. If you use a Propane torch with MAPP gas, you will melt it. It's not expensive, you can buy the can with the torch for about $30 I think.