rusted bolt

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96mark8

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Hey all, i am doing an air ride conversion but have ran into a problem. the lower bolt on the front air strut is frozen into place i have spent the last 30 mins trying to get it out, does anyone have any tricks in how to get it out without torching it? because i don't want to destroy the lower control arm an the same time?
 
I wound up breaking the tab on the one side of the bolt and getting it out from that side...after hammering on the thing for over an hour with no luck when I converted my father's old 95 to coils.
 
PB Blaster - it is amazing. It's like the professional version of WD-40. You have to be very careful around your eyes....

It's the secret weapon against O2 sensors, ....etc
 
I just hit the bolt with an impact and they always come right out...

I really like CRC Freeze Off lube...
 
I'll second PB Blaster.

However, the trick is to hit the bolts a few days before you tackle the job. If you let it soak (and re-apply every day) the bolts will just turn right off.

I had frozen bolts on the project car and sprayed them every day for a week.

3/8 inch ratchet turned them both right off. Of course, I had a helluva time getting the bolts out of the strut, but the nut turned right off.....:)

'Course, if you are in the job and need it done, then as big a breaker bar as you can get on that bolt is the next best answer.
 
96mark8 said:
Hey all, i am doing an air ride conversion but have ran into a problem. the lower bolt on the front air strut is frozen into place i have spent the last 30 mins trying to get it out, does anyone have any tricks in how to get it out without torching it? because i don't want to destroy the lower control arm an the same time?
Click to expand...

The main this is to be sure you have both sides of the front end on jack stands. I ran into this, until I went and raised the other side up that freed the cross tension that was holding the bolt from breaking loose.:)
 
i just ended up replacing the LCA. tried to press it out with a ball joint press and about pushed the sleeve through the shock then said fukk it!
 
turn_on68 said:
The main this is to be sure you have both sides of the front end on jack stands. I ran into this, until I went and raised the other side up that freed the cross tension that was holding the bolt from breaking loose.:)
Click to expand...

This is sound advice.

The issue with that bolt is not getting it loose, rather extracting it. Breaker bars and impacts help with a frozen bolt that won't turn, but beyond that, the harder part is getting it out of the hole, and they won't help with that job.

I believe after getting the nut free on mine, I screwed it back on the end a few turns (so as not to mess up the end of the bolt) and whaled on it with a hammer a few times. After it started to move I was able to grab it with vice grips and extract it. At great length....
 
luxuryrules said:
This is sound advice.

The issue with that bolt is not getting it loose, rather extracting it. Breaker bars and impacts help with a frozen bolt that won't turn, but beyond that, the harder part is getting it out of the hole, and they won't help with that job.

I believe after getting the nut free on mine, I screwed it back on the end a few turns (so as not to mess up the end of the bolt) and whaled on it with a hammer a few times. After it started to move I was able to grab it with vice grips and extract it. At great length....
Click to expand...

I had to pry the strut up with a screwdriver while I yanked on the other end with channel locks.

It took me 30 seconds to free the nut, and 15 minutes to figure out how to get the bolt out of the strut mount.

Luckily when I was a child, my father taught me all the words that I needed to use to help get the job done properly. ;)
 
Last edited:
Imapct hammer will zip 'em out quick usually, just watch you don't kill the end of it and put the nut on like the others mentioned to protect it :)
 
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