This is more of a record of what happened to me so it hopefully doesn't happen to others.

The dust boot on my driver's side front ball joint got ripped (most likely from autocrossing) and I didn't know it till it started squeaking like crazy. So I decided to just get a used lower control arm with good bushings and a good ball joint still on it for $40 from a local junkyard. When I went over to my friends shop, the main bolt that threads into the subframe would not budge. We heated it up, we impacted the (insert curse here) out of it with an impact wrench, and it wouldn't budge. Finally we said screw it and grabbed a breaker bar and a 4 foot tube and slowly tried to twist it. Again the breaker bar lives up to it's name. The nut end busted right off! So we ended up just welding what was left of the threaded stud to the lower control arm and the control arm can still move freely. So now either we have to try to press out the ball joint with a portable press since the control arm is not coming off and then just replace the ball joint, or get a subframe out of the junkyard and replace that as well with the junkyard lower control arm.

Lesson here, if you need to use a 4 foot pipe on a breaker bar, the bolt is just going to snap!!!!

 

Check out my post here, when I had to remove BOTH my lower control arms. I swear, that was BY FAR, the worst (hardest) job I had to do on my tib. For one of the bolts (passenger side), just like you, I also broke the nut end of that huge bolt. And for both bolts, the sleeve was seized to the main bolt. I swore at it, and at the crappy weather we get up here in Canada (road salt is a b**ch)!

Anyway, YOU CAN remove the LCA. I'm gonna see if I have pics (not sure). But here's how you can remove it. First off, be happy that the nut end of that bolt broke off; it'll make the following easier:

- using an angle grinder, cut through on bolt and rubber portion of the bushing, until you cut through all the way around the bolt. Just wear eye protection, and be very careful with that angle grinder.

- after the LCA falls down, take some pliers and twist the remainder of the bolt whose end is still screwed onto the sub-frame.

- when you put a new bolt and LCA in, make sure to use anti-seize on that bolt and the sleeve so that next time it will come off easily

http://www.rdtiburon.com/index.php?showtop...wer+control+arm


Here are some pics:

Where to cut bolt:
[attachment=961:where_to...t_of_LCA.jpg]


LCA bolt entirely cut:
Attachment 659


Unscrew remainder of bolt using pliers (really easy):
Attachment 657


New LCA installed:
Attachment 658

 

Thanks fury but my problem wasn't with the 17mm bolt rusted to the sleeve of the bushing, it's rusted up to the subframe.

 

I really doubt that it's rusted to the subframe. Are you absolutely sure? I don't think you'd be able to tell. If it's rusted to the sleeve, like mine was, you'd think that it was rusted to the subframe 'cause it was a royal pain to get it to budge. That's because the sleeve is attached to the bushing. I used the breaker bar on both of them (passenger and driver-side LCA). On the passenger-side, like I said, the head of the bolt just broke off 'cause the sleeve was well attached to the bushing (as it should). However, when I used it on the driver-side, the head of the bolt didn't break. What happened was that the sleeve actually ripped loose from the bushing and was unbolting together with the bolt. I really doubt that it's seized to the sub-frame, but that's just my opinion - you would know best smile.gif

 

I'll have to take a second look at it this weekend. thanks.