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Stuck lower control arms...

Adam96

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Omaha, NE
I wish I could go back to '96, before time and rust and all that good stuff set in on all of my bolts...So I'm putting my lift on tonight, it's a RE 3.5" kit w/ rear leafs. I started on the front and went to take the lower control arms off but the end that attaches to the frame is horribly frozen. I'm pretty sure that the bolt is stuck on the bushings because it will not come out. If anybody else has dealt with this what did you do to get past it? I tried to sawzall through the bolts but can't get in at the right angle and I'm cutting through the metal that hugs the bushings, looks like reinforcement, and I'm sure that cutting through that would be bad.
Also, the studs on the bottom of the sway bar links that take the torx head are stuck too. I'm not sure if those are supposed to unscrew out of there or if they just pound out. Somebody has to have had these problems before, help!
 
Also, the studs on the bottom of the sway bar links that take the torx head are stuck too. I'm not sure if those are supposed to unscrew out of there or if they just pound out. Somebody has to have had these problems before, help!

Use a pipe wrench for these bolts, and for your axle side UCA bolts. the torx really isn't a strong enough bit for these... the pipe wrench grabs the head very well. ...at least it worked when I did mine.
 
mikeforte said:
P B BLASTER! ! ! ! !

This could help but does not neccessarily always work, especially on bolts that are seized to the inner metal sleeve of the bushings. I ran into this problem yesterday with the rear leaf spring bolts. I had to cut the leaf spring, cut through teh bushing, and then cut and crack open the metal sleeve that's inside the bushing just to get the bolt out. It's alot of work but sometimes it's the only way. You can try heating that bolt till it's red and then taking a hammer and wacking it really hard to break it loose. Or you can try using a ball joint press and press it out.
 
I had the exact problem with my control arms.. wouldn't come out even when it was heated up, those bolts take long to cut when you are upsidedown... but yea, had to cut the head off and cut the extra thread off, on the outsides of the bracket. i cant remember how many blades it took.... and bent the control arm bracket a little bit to get it out. then bend it back.. worked for me.
 
On the rear I used a bic C clamp and a short piece of 1.5" pipe to press mine out. But it soaked for a couple of days in P B Blaster too. Good Luck.
 
If you got it to move, try to get a open end wrench between the bolt an the metal.. Then when you hit it with your air wrench you can pry it out while it is spinning..... HTH
 
scottmcneal said:
If you got it to move, try to get a open end wrench between the bolt an the metal.. Then when you hit it with your air wrench you can pry it out while it is spinning..... HTH

or a crowbar... probably safer...
 
tayman said:
Use a pipe wrench for these bolts, and for your axle side UCA bolts. the torx really isn't a strong enough bit for these... the pipe wrench grabs the head very well. ...at least it worked when I did mine.

Just a heads up a pipe wrench won't work on the sway bar bolts. That torx head is just for looks. Those bastards are pressed in like a wheelstud. I used an air chissel to get mine out.

Whoever that asshole is that put torx heads on those needs to be beaten with a stick Hasta
 
I prefer to keep the torx bolt in there. From my experiences, using regular bolts to hold the sway bar never really worked. They always worked themselves loose and wiggled/rattled. The torx stays put.
 
muddeprived said:
I prefer to keep the torx bolt in there. From my experiences, using regular bolts to hold the sway bar never really worked. They always worked themselves loose and wiggled/rattled. The torx stays put.

Torx are evil, and must be eliminated...

Robert
 
muddeprived said:
I prefer to keep the torx bolt in there. From my experiences, using regular bolts to hold the sway bar never really worked. They always worked themselves loose and wiggled/rattled. The torx stays put.
It's not that it's a Torx; it has a kind of knurled bit of shaft that holds it put.
 
Robert 771 said:
Torx are evil, and must be eliminated...

Robert
Man, if I had room in my sig...that quote would be going in.
 
BlueCuda said:
Just a heads up a pipe wrench won't work on the sway bar bolts. That torx head is just for looks. Those bastards are pressed in like a wheelstud. I used an air chissel to get mine out.

Whoever that asshole is that put torx heads on those needs to be beaten with a stick Hasta
Thanks, I didn't realize that they were pressed in... my sway bar's been off so long that I didn't know that.

as far as the crowbar goes..... I was kinda thinking one of these...

sm%20Crowbar.jpg


sm%20Crowbar.jpg
 
muddeprived said:
I prefer to keep the torx bolt in there. From my experiences, using regular bolts to hold the sway bar never really worked. They always worked themselves loose and wiggled/rattled. The torx stays put.

My JKS quicker dicos replace them.
 
even better yet.....
 
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