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

[Petros]

there is a rubber plug right below where this nut is located, pull it out and you can see the nut from underneath. That is, if this is the welded nut I think you are talking about (the lower arm inner bushing bolt). both of mine spin free, and need to be removed since I can hear this bolt shifting with a click or clunk when I do slow turns on uneven ground. I tried soaking in penetrating oil (through that hole the rubber plug is in), and than used an impact wrench, no such luck. the hole is large enough that with a special made tool you might be able to get a home made wrench on the flats to hold it while I hit it with the impact wrench, but I have not gotten that far. The tool I envision would be kind of a bent fork, that puts a thickness of metal on either side of the nut, holding it in place between the inside of the frame and the nut flats (I hope that makes sense).

I think you can actually cut a hole large enough to get a grip on this square nut without harm, particularly if you weld it over when you are done. Or better perhaps would be to make a removable cover plate for the hole, in case you need to get access to this nut in the future. I thought if there was concern for strength it would be easy to make a brace that is like the strut tower brace, but runs from this bolt, under the engine, to the one on the other side. It should stiffen the lower suspension pick up point considerably.

[dlb]

the problem with accessing the nut is that it is not welded directly to the frame. instead, it is held in place by a casing which is welded to the frame. so you can't get a grip on the nut without first getting the casing off, and that's impossible to do through the access hole.

turns out i will not be dealing with this problem. the car is being sold to a guy who will be fixing it up so i'll keep in touch with him to see what he does, or better yet, i'll get him to join the forum and post his solution here.

[marlinh]

Hi David,
Did you ever find out how your friend got that nut off for the lower control arm? I have one here that is doing the same thing.

[Petros]

I have decided on mine, which still needs to be fixed, I will be cutting off the head of the bolt and driving it back into the frame to get the lower control arm out. And than try and fish out the rusted on nut and bolt shank out of the frame (or leave it if I can not get it out). Than I will be installing a new large heavy duty bolt and nut that I can put a box end wrench on it.

[dlb]

i can't remember the guy's name or username right now but he joined the forum here shortly after he bought the car, and i think he did manage to fix it pretty easily. pretty sure he mentioned it on here but i just did a search for 'control arm' and 'nut' and can't find the post. i'll look again and let you know if i can find it.