Front lower control arm bolts

[63roundbody]

Hello all,
Getting ready to replace the front lower control arms on my 84. Do these bolts usually get stuck in place? If so any tips on how to get them out?

Many thanks.
Tom

[wraithracing]

It is not uncommon to have to hammer the bolts out if they are original and have never been removed. Rust, crude, etc. can essentially lock them in place. The way the front control arm bushings are designed it can put everything in a bind once installed. I have had to drive one bolt out and then use a long metal/brass drift to drive the other bolt out by going through the open bolt hole. An air hammer is your friend in this situation. Sometimes jacking the car high enough up so the control arm can swing all the way to point at the floor can help to relieve any binding. Hope that helps and good luck!

[Sask84gt]

Good to know as I will be soon doing this job on my 84.

[63roundbody]

Thank you very much, I'll let you know how it goes. I believe a sawzall blade will fit if needed.

Thanks again.
Tom

[wraithracing]

Thank you very much, I'll let you know how it goes. I believe a sawzall blade will fit if needed.

Thanks again.
Tom

I have never had to cut the control arm bolts, but then again I have never lived up north and had to deal with the rust issues that you may have. I have dealt with the deep south near the gulf rust issues, but again not generally as bad as the winter salted roads, mag chloride, etc. Good Luck!

[gr79]

Did mine 5/2001 took 8 hours ideal conditions in a new garage.
Air tools, jacks, jack stands, extra tools but no hoist.
Car had 200K of Mich climate daily driving work and play used like any regular car.

After compressing, secured the springs for removal with nylon tow straps.
No issues other than forgetting which way to turn bolts when working upside down.
Direct access with extension or tool clearance at the big bushing nuts are far from ideal with an impact.
Actually backed out one bolt by the head. Thought socket was on the nut end.
Spray parts before hand with good penetrating spray.

Wish i would have kept the old arms to rebuild and not have to buy another set.

Next time, going to pay a shop to do them. Excuse= am 20 years older.
Unless a hoist is available. Kneeling or laying on ground makes most jobs harder than they should be.
Heavy repair is interesting the first time around or in the mood. Would rather watch most of the time.
Will use the time saved to do something new, cleaner, make up the added expense elsewhere.
As long as the work is done equal or better, as fast or faster, at a fair price, than a quality DIY 'free' job.

Is good practice when the time comes to do rear control arms...

[stangPlus2Birds]

Imho, in MD, they bolts may come right out, you may be able bang the bolts out, or you may be able to use an air punch to punch the bolts out.

In Canada, there's a good chance that you're mega screwed! I know. :-(
But, the bolts may also come out, similar to as I mentioned above. There are a ton of factors.

When various metals rust, they can form a bond that can not be broken. It can be a bond stronger then welding. So, in other words, those two pieces of metal are Never Ever Ever coming apart. Yea, you can break metal. That's not the same as separating pieces of metal. :-)

Yea, yea, yea, the meme below is the exact opposite of what I wanted.
Too bad. It's one of my favorite memes!




Also, you may not be able torch very rusted bolts out. For one thing, the rubber bushings catch on fire and produce lovely noxious deadly fumes. Yes, I verified that part. :-|

So...., I still have nightmares of going through, seemly endless, sawsall blades.
I will mention, wear eye protection, and no matter what, do not use cheap blades! Cheap blades snap, fly apart, and end up being very dangerous.

My Mustang was a daily driver, even during the winter, for ~10 years.
Here in New England, we use so much salt on the roads during the winter, I'm convinced that we contract space aliens to bring us about 6 Earth-sized pure-salt planets, for us to use on our roads each month during the winter.
All of that slat and slush, does very nasty things to metal. :-P


As I've mentioned before, in New England, in older cars (more than ~15 years), it's not that uncommon that replacing one bad caliper or brake cylinder can result in replacing all/most of the brake lines and calipers/brake cylinders.

Even with neato Induction Heaters, and torches, if a brake fitting is rusted to a caliper or brake cylinder, those two may be together for another ~5 billion years - when Earth likely gets engulfed by the sun going nova.

Maniacal laughter - ha, ha, ha!
I will have the last laugh on you two that mocked me!




Good Luck!

[63roundbody]

I'm hoping I'm not going to cut them either. I haven't had any problems with any other bolts on the car and I've been soaking them in Kroil.

[63roundbody]

Imho, in MD, they bolts may come right out, you may be able bang the bolts out, out you may be able to use an air punch to punch the bolts out.

In Canada, there's a good chance that you're mega screwed! I know. :-(
But, the bolts may also come out, similar to as I mentioned above. There are a ton of factors.

When various metals rust, they can form a bond that can not be broken. It can be a bond stronger then welding. So, in other words, those two pieces of metal are Never Ever Ever Ever coming apart. Yea, you can break metal. That's not the same as separating pieces of metal. :-)

Also, you may not be able torch very rusted bolts out. For one thing, the rubber bushings catch on fire and produce lovely noxious deadly fumes. Yes, I verified that part. :-|

So...., I still have nightmares of going through, seemly endless, sawsall blades.
I will mention, wear eye protection, and no matter what, do not use cheap blades! Cheap blades snap, fly apart, and end up being very dangerous.

My Mustang was a daily driver, even during the winter, for ~10 years.
Here in New England, we use so much salt on the roads during the winter, I'm convinced that we contract space aliens to bring us about 6 Earth-sized pure-salt planets, for us to use on our roads.
All of that slat and slush, does very nasty things to metal. :-P


As I've mentioned before, in New England, in older cars (more than ~15 years), it's not that uncommon that replacing one bad caliper or brake cylinder can result in replacing all/most of the brake lines and calipers/brake cylinders.

Even with neato Induction Heaters, and torches, if a brake fitting is rusted to a caliper or brake cylinder, those two may be together for another ~5 billion years - when Earth likely gets engulfed by the sun going nova.

Maniacal laughter - ha, ha, ha! I will have the last laugh on you two that mocked me!




Good Luck!

Thanks for the tips. The car hasn't been driven in the rain in over ten years. I have cobalt tipped blades on standby. I'll let everyone know how it turns out. I'll be doing next Saturday and will be soaking them all week.

Thanks again
Tom

[stangPlus2Birds]

From my "fun adventure". I did both sides.
On the driver's side, the coil spring rusted-forever to the FCA, and broke. Yes, that also happens all too often in New England, especially with rear coil springs. So, I needed to replace the FCA and spring.

From reading the various posts over the years, it seems like using an air punch is the easiest, fastest, and most successful way for most people.
Imho, make sure you have good mechanics gloves if you go that route.





Good Luck!

[63roundbody]

Thanks, I'll et you know how it goes.

Tom

[ccurtin]

Some tips from doing it recently
- remove the rack. Loosing the bolts helps some, but I kept hitting the boot and eventually tore it
- get a long pipe, like 4-5 ft that fits over your breaker bar. Physics is your friend here. Even a few feet in the air, every inch at the end of the lever (the pipe) the better
- once the nut is off, use the jack to relieve some of the pressure on the lower control arm. Even with the spring out there can be some binding, especially if the lower arm hit something sometime in the last 35 years and is bent.
- if you have young children now is a great time for them to learn some new words.

Chris

[plumkrazy]

LOL at the pile of saw blades. Not a uncommon sight to see the spring broken.

[63roundbody]

Some tips from doing it recently
- remove the rack. Loosing the bolts helps some, but I kept hitting the boot and eventually tore it
- get a long pipe, like 4-5 ft that fits over your breaker bar. Physics is your friend here. Even a few feet in the air, every inch at the end of the lever (the pipe) the better
- once the nut is off, use the jack to relieve some of the pressure on the lower control arm. Even with the spring out there can be some binding, especially if the lower arm hit something sometime in the last 35 years and is bent.
- if you have young children now is a great time for them to learn some new words.

Chris

Lol. New words.

[dynodon64]

The nuts on the bolt in the lower control arm are extremely tight. I could not get mine loose with an impact gun at all. Had to use brute strength with a breaker bar and both feet. A bar extension is advised here.

[teal95]

Every one I've done the drivers front had to be cut out and the pass rear always came out nicely. The others varied depending on condition. For cutting them out normal saw blades won't touch them as the bolts are hardened. I have used carbide grit coated blades to great success. However have several available as when they get hot they will melt the rubber in the bushings and then they get stuck. Just roatate through them letting them cool off while you cut with another.

[63roundbody]

Hello all,
This is a follow up to my thread about stuck or frozen lower control arm bolts. Tackled the job today and was pleasantly surprised. All of the bolts came out with no issues and control arms have been replaced.

Thanks to all who responded.

Tom