*?!@#! Control Arm Bolts Just Spin - AARGH!

[SweetwaterJoe]

Hi folks,

Went to the junk yard yesterday (in snow) and found a low mile (89,xxx) Tercel 4WD. What looked good is the bushings at the control arm / sway bar junction. I figured that might mean the sway bar and control arms weren't making contact with one antoehr adn I could remove as a set. I got all the bolts off except the Control Arm long bolts to the body. They turn and I could reach in behind and feel the nut was NOT turning. One bolt comes out about a 1/2" and the other spins easily but is still flush. Trying to pry the one off that is ouyt 1/2" was impossible.

As you know there isn't much room under there and this thing is only off the ground about a foot. I tried a pry bar behind the one that is sticking out but to no avail. Just to darn hard to get something to leverage against. I finally gave up and sprayed the heck out of them with WD40.

Any ideas on how to get these control arm bolts out? I'd like to go back and get them beofre someone comes along and benefits from my work with a tool or the smarts to get them out.

Thanks, Joe

[ARCHINSTL]

Boy - about the only suggestion I could make is to get a battery-operated Dremel-type tool and LOTS of the fiber-reinforced little cutoff wheels and remove the front "flange" of the body mounting, behind the bolt head. Then cut off the head of the bolt. Then, with the swaybar disconnected from the 2 mounting points on the X-member, you should be able to wiggle the control arm off the bolts.
I don't think any of us have encountered stripped control arm bolts before.
I think this will take quite a while - better bring extra batteries or a car charger adaptor. I guess it would be possible to get a bigger tool in there, like a full-fledged cut-off tool, but dunno; obviously that would be better and a heck of a lot quicker.
Tom M.

[dlb]

joe, if you just need the bushings at the control arm/sway bar junction, you don't need to remove the control arms. check out my guide on sway bar removal here:

https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7481

if you still want to get the control arms out for whatever reason, try relieving any pressure on them so that the hole through the body lines up properly with the hole in the control arm bushing. the bolt is probably just binding because these holes are not lined up. then apply a pulling pressure to the bolt while you thread it out. i just had to do this to remove one the other day. bit of a PITA but no biggie.

[Highlander]

It sounds like you don't have anything on the nut -They aren't welded nuts. Try this link to where Tom points out where the nut access holes are:
https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7217

[SweetwaterJoe]

O.K., guys. Thanks. After a bout of stomach flu I went back to the salvage yard today. Taking tension off the control arms really helped. I was able to get a good quality sway bar AND control arms. Now it's time to put it all back together.

I have everything disconnected. Control arms (with old ball joints still attached) and sway bar. I am ready to reassemble and install. I have two new ball joints. I looked at the archives and it seems some folks don't use a ball joint puller. I have never replaced ball joints before. heck, I didn't even know what a puller was. Since the control arms are off it seems like I can just whack the ball joint after undoing the cotter pin and nut, right? Do I need the equivalent of a ball joint puller (like a press) to put in the new ball joints?

For reassembly I was going to put the control arms with new ball joints attached and put that on first and then attached the sway bar to the control arms and then the opposite end of the sway bar to the body (two us shaped bushings and brackets). Concur?

[Petros]

I have found that several sharp blows with a hammer to the collar of the tapers will pop them off, I have never needed a puller, even for very large taper shanks on trucks (just a larger hammer!). They go on when you tighten the nut down, no need for a puller to install them.

Your assembly sequence is about correct, make sure the arms are in the correct "neutral" position before you tighten the inner bolts holding the bushings. the bushing sleeve has teeth that lock into the bracket when you tighten the bolt, the neutral position is where they normally ride when the car is on its wheels. Most important they both be at the same angle, or the different bushing preload will occur and the car might not sit level.

[SweetwaterJoe]

Thanks, Petros. When you refer to the using inner bolts holding the bushing sleeve are you referring to the end of the control arm where it attaches to the body or the nut at the end of the sway bar? I'm guessing the latter...

I am excited to get out at first light and break those ball joints loose...

[dlb]

joe, i believe petros is talking about the control arms when he says to make sure they're in the neutral position when you tighten the bolt. i actually hadn't thought of it before but it makes sense.

i use a puller to remove ball joints normally but i find just a hammer is fine if i have it on the bench, with the control arm out with the ball joint still attached to it. just be careful when using the hammer that you don't hit and split open the rubber boot on the ball joint or else you'll have to replace it.

when i do use a puller, it looks something like this:



if you use it, make sure the hooks have lots to grip and that it doesn't get cock-eyed as you tighten the point down on the stud of the ball joint. tighten it until the ball joint either pops out or until it's snug. if it comes up snug but the stud doesn't pop out of the control arm, take a hammer and whack the side of the control arm where the stud passes through. this will momentarily deform the hole the stud sits in and, paired with the pressure from the puller, the ball joint will pop out.

[Jarf]

SWJ - your getting great advice here.

Good policy is to put the retaining nut back onto the stud, so that the top of the nut is flush with the top of the stud.
Saves damaging the threads form hammer blows or deforming (mushrooming) the top of the stud from puller point-load distortion.

The best method to separate joints is the 2 hammer method, hold a big one against the back side and use a good FORD hammer for the "front side".
The hammer on the back side is critical for EASY separation.
Shouldn't tale more than 1-2 whacks though I have had some particularly stubborn ones that required 5-6.
Having tension on the joint helps a great deal.

The idea here is to have a load applied to the joint in the direction you want it to move (separate).
Then the hammer blow is there to make the hole around the stud flex just enough to momentarily "let go" of the stud.
Same goes for the puller method, put some tension on the pin and give it a whack.
You do want to avoid cranking hard on the puller, just load it up a little and give it a whack.
The point of having the 2nd (same size or larger) hammer on the backside, is to absorb the blow and reflect it back into the joint, it will make life a LOT easier.

NEVER, EVER use a "pickle fork" unless you are planning on replacing the joint as they ALWAYS split the boot.
Also, care must be taken with that FORD hammer, as you don't want to destroy anything else in the process, backing plates always seem to jump into the way for some reason.

PS: a FORD hammer is the biggest one in your tool box, you're looking for something on the order of at least 1lb.