while I was removing the lower control arm, I found a few surprises. What I thought would be a simple and quick job, turned out to be a b*tch!

First, the nuts on sway bar links were so rusted that I just rounded the ones close to the rubber seal as I was trying to hold them while unbolting. I had to angle grind it and chisel them out.

Then, the nut on the ball joint (which holds it to the knuckle) was seized with rust too. I had to drill into it and chisel it out. Then the ball joint wouldn't come off of the the knuckle (with the bolt removed). Not even hammering it downwards, removed it.

Finally, the main 17mm lower control arm bolt (the huge one that goes right through the front bushing) is causing me major problems, and that's where I'm stuck:

It seems that when I try to unbolt it, instead of the bolt coming out through its hole, it's pushing/bending the metal (on the chasis) out towards the front of the car. What I think is happening is that the steel round piece which is inside the front bushing, must have seized to the bolt, so as the bolt is coming out, it's bringing that metal piece with it too. I'm not sure if that's the case, but I'm almost certain.

Has anyone removed the lower control arm? Did this happen to you? Is there a specific way to remove that bolt? I tried raising that bushing with my hydraulic jack (I was thinking that maybe the bolt needed to align with the hole before unbolting, but that didn't help).

Please, any help would be appreciated as I have no ideas on this one and right now I can't drive the car until I get that bolt out out so that I put in the new lower control arm!

 

From your post, it sounds like you know what you are doing, and yes, I agree that the bolt has most likely siezed to the sleeve that is inside the bushing mounted in the front of the control arm.

The first thing I would try (you may have already done so), is to get some good quality penetrating oil (deep creep or PB Blaster) and continue to spray it onto the sleeve or threaded end of the bolt. Then tap the threaded end of the bolt (with the nut still on the end but not tight - this will prevent you from damaging the threads) with a hammer to try and break it loose from the sleeve.

Are there mounting bolts that go up into the unibody that you can remove that hold the control arm up and in position? I think either the front or rear inside mounting points for the control arm have bolts like this that can be removed. May be the rear though.

If the penetrating oil and tapping with a hammer is unsuccessful, then you may attempt to cut the bolt head off with a cut-off wheel and get it out that way to possibly press the shaft of the bolt out of the sleeve with a shop press or punch on a vice. If it comes to that, make sure you press against the sleeve and not just the bushing because the bushing will rip right out.

Good luck.

 

thanks for the suggestions, man! Much appreciated!!

Ok, to answer your question:

<QUOTE>
Are there mounting bolts that go up into the unibody that you can remove that hold the control arm up and in position? I think either the front or rear inside mounting points for the control arm have bolts like this that can be removed. May be the rear though.
</QUOTE>

yeah, there are 3; 2 nuts and 1 bolt. I removed those without ANY problems. Those were the easiest. They're at the rear (behind the front bushing).

I'm gonna try the penetrating oil and tapping on that damn bolt with a hammer. If that doesn't work, yeah, I'll try cutting the head of the bolt. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll let you know how it goes, tonight. I'm leaving, right now, to the dealer to pick up that bolt (in case I have to cut through mine).

 

Hmm I don't see how cutting the head off that bolt would help taking things apart. It would still be screwed in on the other side of the bushing.

You could get a very long cheater bar and force it off.. I hope the bushing won't break and still have a part seized to the bolt though..

 

First off, what's the reason for removing the lower control arm? If it's to replace the ball joints, then you've gone too far laugh.gif

Anyways, if I were you, I'd have probably gotten impatient with it and broken out the torch to free the sleeve from its rusty grip on that bolt. That, in turn, would have destroyed the control arm bushings and I'd have yet again found another reason to put a new part on my car!

Apparently Tiburons have a problem with rust, or so my studies have found. Every damn bolt on my car has just enough rust on it to thoroughly piss me off, whether it be suspension, exhaust, or just some little stupid bolt somewhere that is exposed to weather. My ball joint stud froze as well, so that was a good excuse to get new ball joints, but then again, I found the passenger side had play in it, so it was quite justified.

If you don't want to replace the bushings, soak it overnight with some rust penetrant like PB blaster. Go back every hour or so to add another squirt, and do this until you go to bed. Wake up and marvel in the wonderfulness of PB as your bolt slides right out... possibly with a small whack of a big hammer.

 

Hes probably replacing the whole assembly with all the bushings. I would get the torch if you have one. It sounds like you have a decent tool selection so you may have one. That would be your best bet. Otherwise look forward to swearing at it and getting very pissed at your car before getting anywhere. It is for sure locked to the sleeve and that is a real b****.

Here is what I do to prevent rust. I work at a shop and have access to a lift so this is real easy. I spray the bottom and the entire engine with seafoam every once in a while. Before winter I undercoat it. No matter what kind of car Im driving thats always done. Antisieze on everything I ever take out that it can be used on. These things save me so much time when I go to work on something.

 

PB blaster all the way... Just spray some on, tap the metal to get it to work in more and let it sit for 15 minutes. Don't just spray it on, tap the metal to get it to vibrate. It makes the PB blaster work into the rust. Before working under my car ANYWHERE i spray that stuff on a few days prior, then use it just like I described while doing the job. It makes everything so much easier.

 

my car isnt that hard to work on. most every nut and bolt on the thing was easy to take off and put back on. at most i would need a breaker bar but nothing wild. hell i just swaped a whole motor with hand tools nana.gif

 

Here is a stupid question? When removing the lower control arm, you have the car raised I assume. (you can do it without raising it) The question... Do you also have the lower control arm supported with a jack, blocks, etc? If not, that can cause unwanted twist on the bushing and actually make the sleeve feel like it is frozen. Also, I wouldn't reccomend you using a torch to burn the bushing/sleeve. If you heat the LCA to much, you can cause it to lose strength. Might as well end up replacing the thing. If you get it off great. Just make sure that when you replace the LCA, that you do support it. Bolt everything together, but before you tighten everything, especially the bolt through the bushing, support the LCA to the ride height, or lower the car and then tighten everything.If not, everytime you kit a bump, your car will walk from side to side, and destory the bushing.

Hell, you may know all of this, I just thought I would add to the conversation

 

Those bolts are made of different metal which does not rust and it's easier to access the bolts with long breaker bars. Suspension components are all rusty all over.