Control Arm Bolts Stuck

B

backformore

New member
On the 2000 Civic Si, I've got a couple of bolts that have rusted themselves into the metal sleeve in the bushings. Any brilliant ideas on how to free/remove these without destroying the bushings?

Thanks

PS I have tried some heat but not enough to damage the bushings. I've tried dry ice on the bolts in an attempt to shrink them and thermally shock the rust, and of course, I spray them with penetrating oil every so often when I am in the garage and it is on the lift.
 
I had this problem with bolts in the rear arms on my Nissan. The way I fixed it was to cut off both the head and threaded end of the bolt flush with the mounts, and pry the mounting ears apart enough to get arms out. Once the arms were out, I used a 10-ton press to drive the remains of the bolts out of the sleeves. And one of the bolts was so badly stuck that I damaged the bushing anyway. It may be easier to just use whatever means you need (more heat, brute force, or whatever) to get the bolts out, then just plan to replace the bushings.
 
I've pretty much conceded this meant it was time to do poly bushings but I thought I would make sure I wasn't missing something. Thanks for the input.
 
An air hammer (or air chisel with flattened punch) works wonders. I leave the nut on part way as a centering point.

Be careful with the BFH method. I actually bent the sheet metal where the head of the bolt sits by driving the sleeve against it. The air hammer gave me no such issue.
 
so many of the bolts on the LCA of the EM1/EJ/EK civics (and their earlier siblings and integras) are captive nuts that cannot be accessed, at least not by hammer / chisel. if it is well and truly stuck to the bushing sleeve your BEST option is to cut the bolt and replace bolt and sleeve. trying to force it runs the chance of dislocating the captive nut, and that's a further PIA you don't want to deal with as the fix often involves cutting access hole(s) into the subframe and whatnot. that can be done without hurting the strength of the thing, but it's just hassle you don't need.
 
Yeah Chip. That's one of them. Rear compensator arm. I've determined that the bolts that are frozen are turning in their respective captive nuts which is actually a positive result since I was afraid that compensator arm captive nut might have needed replacing. Like you noted, I could not see how it was not gonna be a big PIA if that was required.

Just ordered poly bushing for the car. Wish sphericals were in the budget, but the current prep level of the car, in addition to my talent level (or lack there of) make them not the wisest use of dollars at this point.
 
I have been earning a living working on cars for over 20 years. What I have discovered in all that time is the parts are worth way less than my time. Unless you can not buy new parts for it, just heat or cut. Do it quick and throw them away and start new. Add a little grease or oil to the parts to prevent corrosion all over again.
 
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