What
do you do if the bolt is rusted and it won't come out
Dear
Backyard Mechanic,
Don't
worry, it happens all the time. That one bolt can make this seemingly easy job
into a nitemare! I have had several bolts do this to me and have had good luck
with a few things. Try these first.
IMPORTANT
NOTE
WHATEVER
YOU DO…DON'T HEAT THE BOLT WITH A TORCH!!
If you have already done this,
well, you might as well go buy yourself a lower control arm now, because the lower
bolt slides through a metal sleeve and the sleeve is made into the rubber. If
you get the bolt/sleeve too hot, it may damage or melt the rubber, requiring a
lower control arm replacement.
"STUFF"
TO TRY
#1) If you have
time to wait, the safe bet is to let a good rust penetrant(like PB Blaster) do
the work for you. If you are at the point where you need to accelerate the process
a little, soaking down the bolt while tapping the bolt head may help.
#2)
The bottom lower hole on some struts is smaller than others. In other words, the
hole will actually act as a nut because the bolt must be "unscrewed"
out. This would require popping the "flag" off that is pressed on the
head of the bolt. (This "flag" is only
there to speed assembly at the factory) Now, use a 6 point socket
on the bolt and try to unscrew it.
#3)
If the bolt does not want to turn, you can put the 21mm nut on backwards and screw
it on to its flush with the end of the bolt, then hit it with a good size hammer.
The reasoning for the nut on backwards, is so that if you do mess up the threads
on the bolt, you can straighten them out some with the nut when the nut comes
off.
REMEMBER:
If all else fails, its easier and cheaper to replace the nut and bolt than to
replace the lower control arm, so tear up the bolt if you have too….just get it
off!
