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trouble removing bolt from rubber bushings


joey b

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as title says. The bolts that hold the front of the trailing arms to the body will not budge from the bushings. I've tried pounding as much as I can, but it is just bending the bracket on the opposite side. I would heat it but it is the metal within the rubber bushing so I don't see that being of much use. Thanks in advance.

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Use a grinder with a cutting disc and cut the bolt on both sides of the bushing. Then go and buy new stainless bolts. Thats what I did.

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unfortunately the bolt is stuck in the bushing so that the bolt head is flush with the mount and the mount is also flush with the bushing so there is no room to get a cutoff wheel in there. I'm gonna try to heat the bolt head and see where that gets me. I may end up having to grind the bolt. What a PITA this is.

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Its the same as when a control arm bolt is stuck.... heating the head will most likely yield nothing. I assume you are doing it at home and have no access to a cutting torch. I usually use the cutting torch to cut a slot out of the bushing, then melt out all the rubber (graphite impregnated rubber is toxic when burned). the sleeve will be left around the bolt. Heat the sleeve up directly, or use a chisel to open the sleeve up at its seam. A propane torch will work if you can get a slot chopped out of the link....

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  • 1 month later...

yep, after tediously removing the outer metal and the rubber bushing with a grinder I was left with the metal bushing. I put 2 pair of visegrips and it still slipped around them. Had to grind down some flat areas of the bushing so that the visegrips would refrain from slipping. Got them on there.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and then the head snapped off of the bolt. Lesson:

 

If I ever have to do it again I will repeatedly loosen and tighten the hell ouf of it until the head snaps.

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when i did it on my dad's car, i literally just cut the head off the bolt and also the nut off, then the ears spread enough and it came right out. Replaced it with a new class 10.9 bolt and off we went

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when i did it on my dad's car, i literally just cut the head off the bolt and also the nut off, then the ears spread enough and it came right out. Replaced it with a new class 10.9 bolt and off we went

 

That's probably the best way, just cut fucking everything and be done with it.

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once the head snapped the problem was solved since it was no longer held in. I was really too timid to try to get a cutting wheel between the bushing and the thin piece of metal that keeps it intact. BTW, the car drives very nice now.

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