How would I go about extracting Control Arm-To-Body Bolt

[Tercel__jon]

the lower control arm bolt on the drivers side? Mine has somehow stripped the threads. I can turn it maybe 3/4 of a turn and then "POP" its back where it was. Maybe get a pry bar and try pressing on the end of it through the little access hole while turning it?

I do have a new (to me) lower control arm and bolt...so worse case scenario I guess I can grind it all out, but Id rather not do that.

Gotta replace the bushing, otherwise I wouldnt bother with it.

[Petros]

Not sure what bolt you are talking about, both end of the lower arm are easy to get to both sides. Cross member bolts?

Either way you might soak it in ATF (best penetrating oil yet), and see if you can grab the "nut" from behind to keep it from turning. If you have access to an impact wrench it might help, but you need to get some penetrating oil on it.

[Tercel__jon]

Ok, you know where the lower control arm connects to the body? Thats the one. The bolt turns, the "nut" on the other end does not. (just like its supposed to) however the bolt turns 3/4 of a turn and then POP and your back where you started. Stripped threads I would assume... and normally Id cut the nut off...but its up in a hole and welded to the body.

#11 is the bushing Im replacing. If that helps visualize what Im talking about.

[dlb]

use a tap and die set to clean up the threads on both the nut and the bolt.

edit: sorry, i'm an idiot. i thought you had it apart and couldn't get it back together. my bad.

[rer233]

sounds like the bolt has rusted itself to the inner steel sleeve in the control arm bushing. you can try heating the bushing with a torch (which will probably melt the rubber and set it on fire.) it may come loose that way, otherwise, you'll be relegated to cutting the control arm and splitting the inner steel sleeve. good thing you've got a "new to me" control arm. helps to plan ahead. good luck!

[ARCHINSTL]

A BIG problem here is that, to me , it sounds like the threads in the captive nut are stripped.
This is welded inside the body and is not visible. If that is the case, the body will have to be opened up, the nut "unwelded" and a new one installed. Also, if its threads are stripped, I don't see how a tap can be inserted with the nut in situ.
Do a Search - this was covered a couple of years ago by someone who had a similar situation, albeit exacerbated by dramatic rust.
See https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... rm+bushing There are a couple of good links in this thread as well.
Also https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... rm+bushing
I'm sure you did it, but - did you release all tension on the arm before attempting to loosen it?
Tom M.

[Petros]

cut the head off and drive out the shank? Can you get a drive pin on the back of the bolt? If so perhaps you can drive it out.

It may be the threads of the bolt are just stripped out, so you might be able to salvage the welded nut on the body. Can you get a drill on the back side of the bolt and drill out the stripped part?

Try getting a pry bar on the underside of the head of the bolt and pry the head out (like pulling a larger nail) at the same time you are turning the bolt. that almost always works for bolts with stripped threads.

If that fails, and you are replacing the bushing anyway, I would use a high quality metal cutting blade in a Sawzall type reciprocating saw, and cut the bolt on either side of the lower control arm. You will be cutting through the old bushing, rubber and metal, but the control arm should be fine and just fall out. You will than have to remove the end of the bolt from the nut on the frame, but you can drill that out and than clean it up with the proper sized tap and chase the threads. Make sure you use a lot of cutting oil on the tape. You will obviously need a new bolt, but it sounds like the old one is shot anyway.

Good luck.

[Tercel__jon]

Oddly enough that was my thread from last year when I had the same problem. I had forgotten about it till the bushing deteriorated to the point it is now. Ill try prying it out while turning it. Im not afraid of opening up the body and re-welding in a new nut if it comes to it.

honestly, no clue if I tried loosening it originally with or without tension on the arm.

Thanks for the links fellas. Ill try it tomorrow. The bushings in the new to me arms are practically brand new so no pressing required.

[arbskynxnex]

If worse comes to worse you can try cutting the bolt off close to the body and then drilling the center out with progressively larger bits.

[Tercel__jon]

Finally got some time to look into it... turns out the captive nut inside...is no longer captive. That is to say, its turning with the bolt. The problem is that theres this weird little cross thing in that way that I would presume held the nut at one time. I think I can get a 6013 rod in there and weld the nut to the body, I guess the only thing is to try it.

Gonna try to get that cross thing out first, than either get a wrench on the nut, (hopefully) or just weld the nut to the frame/body or whatever. Its coming out today...whether or not it likes it.

Edit- It looks exactly like the 5/16th-18 one on the top left in this picture.


My problem, is the sides of the captive part, have bent outwards letting the nut turn freely. I took a hammer and flathead screwdriver and bent it back together. First turn of it bent the little flap out again.

[dlb]

my friend now has this problem on both of his control arms and i'm at a loss as to what we can do about it. jon, did you ever get this sorted out?

about the only thing i can think of is grinding an access hole in the frame, using a regular nut and holding it with a wrench while doing up the control arm bolt, and then welding the access hole panel back into place, but that's obviously less than ideal.

any other ideas on this would be really appreciated.

[dlb]

i have a new slightly different game plan but still hoping that others will give me their thoughts on this situation.

now thinking about essentially doing the same thing (cutting the frame for access, welding the access panels back in afterward) except re-welding the captive nuts back in place so that the panels will not need to be cut out anytime the control arm needs to be removed in the future. i can't imagine this car having that much more life in it that it's going to see numerous control arm R&R's but it seems like best practice to me.

my biggest concern is structural integrity, and whether cutting access panels in the frame and welding the panels back in will significantly weaken the frame. i don't imagine so but i also don't have any experience with this sort of thing.

[ARCHINSTL]

Scrll down to marlinh's post & pix from last year. It was on the sway bar-to-Xmember, but perhaps it could work here as well. Note the use of a really high quality cutter!
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10458&hilit=hole+saw
Tom M.

[dlb]

oh right, i forgot about that. that's basically exactly what i'm thinking of doing, except i'm concerned about compromising the strength of the frame by the control arm. although i guess the control arm really just gets pushed left and right, with no twisting motions or anything like that which would put severe strain on the area. i'm leaning towards cutting and welding in the area being fine at this point.

[marlinh]

If you can find a location to get access to that nut and drill a small hole so it can be welded, I don't think there will be any problem with structural integrity. The tool I used to drill into the sub frame worked awesome. Well worth borrowing one or renting. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow mine from work.