Help...Rear lower shock bolt stuck!

[deviant]

This one:



Won't undo...Won't do up. Just spins.

It is not loose enough to spin with bare fingers. There is no access to the other end of it to be able to get anything from that end though you can wriggle a finger inside the wishbone and just touch the end of the bolt and feel it spinning....this would suggest that it is a few turns in to the thread it is supposed to be in.

Any ideas on getting this thing out?

[NitroDann]

It has a encapsulated nut at the other end.

Sposed to be in a sheet metal cage to stop it spinning.

There are 2 realistic fixes.

Cut a small rectangle to access the nut, use an angle grinder or a dremel with cutting disk if you are patient.

The other is to cut the hell out of it, and replace the arm.

I opted to cut a small slot and replace with a new nut, then tack weld the new nut in place.

Dann

[geofiz]

James,

Nice looking coilovers

Cut a slot to gain access to the nut. If you totally trash the arm, grab anotehr from my stock pile.

Russell.

[deviant]

Haha yeah they are pretty spiffy looking

The fronts were so rediculously easy to fit. Everyone should have coilovers, serioulsy 15 minutes a side to do!

I am guessing I just widen the hole that is underneath where the bottom of the shock slightly pokes through?

I have a dremel but I also have an angle grinder so I have two opitions for destroying everything!

Thanks guys.

[deviant]

Okie dokie...

The nut / cage were not spinning freely but the long bolt or nut are stripped so the bolt just spins and wont go in or out.

No idea how it got stripped so easily, I had just spun the bolt in by hand and barely nipped it up until I was ready to torque everything up. As soon as I started to tighten it properly the thing just carried on spinning.

Anyway I have had pretty much every tool out of the shed to try and do something without resorting to destroying the wishbone but no joy.

I have cut the bottom of the wishbone open and I will use the angle grinder to cut the end of the bolt / nut off. I am out of cutting wheel though so it can wait for a few days now.

Looks like I will be raiding the shed of geofiz again...might grab a right hand one to just in case!!

[Sailor]

I'd be trying a G clamp with a smaller bolt to push against your long bolt while you turn it and tighten the G clamp.
You'll probably find that the nut is damaged but...that's life.

[deviant]

Thanks Sailor. I had just opened up access with the angle grinder just enough to get the pry bar on the end of the bolt and even with some serious pressure on the end of the bolt it would not bite and undo.

Looks like Geofiz is fresh out of wishbones...anyone?

[NitroDann]

I got some.

If you have to.

Dann