possum
07-03-2004, 06:06 PM
Today I replaced rear struts and lower strut Bushings.
The Bolts were seized to the Bushing's inner steel collar.
This is how I resolved the problem.
1. Jacked up rear corner, secured with Jack stands, and soaked bolt, bushing, and the nut welded to the lower strut with PB Blaster penetrating oil.
2. Placed a socket over the bolt and gave it a few good wacks with a dead blow hammer. Gave the Strut nut a few blows too.
3. Carefully worked bolt by rocking back and forth with a 17mm socket on a breaker bar until the new the bolt was not seized into the nut any longer. (Because the bolt was seized into the collar of the bushing, the only way to back the bolt out from the strut nut is to tear the collar loose from the rest of the bushing. This destroys the bushing, but is the only way to solve problem.)
4. Used folding hacksaw and dremel with cut off wheel, cut away the strut lower fork on the Bolt head side of fork. Once this cut was complete, I could back the bolt out and away from the nut, taking the bushing center with it.
5. Removed 2 upper nuts and removed strut assembly from vehicle.
6. Used acetylene torch to heat bushing collar until bolt came free from collar. (skip this step if you bought new bolts, I didnt.)
7. Hack sawed the old bushing shell with a single slice and removed it using a punch with hammer.
8. Cleaned up punch nicks and rust from old bushing using dremel and sanding wheel assessory.
9. Used a dead blow hammer and a socket the same diameter as the bushing shell, hammered in the new bushing into the knuckle.
10. After changing out strut assembly using a spring compresser, installed new strut back into car. (used anti seize compound on lower strut bolt.)
11. Repeated for other side.
Total time spent, about 6.0 hours. (I could have done it quicker if I had used an air powered cut off wheel.)
The Bolts were seized to the Bushing's inner steel collar.
This is how I resolved the problem.
1. Jacked up rear corner, secured with Jack stands, and soaked bolt, bushing, and the nut welded to the lower strut with PB Blaster penetrating oil.
2. Placed a socket over the bolt and gave it a few good wacks with a dead blow hammer. Gave the Strut nut a few blows too.
3. Carefully worked bolt by rocking back and forth with a 17mm socket on a breaker bar until the new the bolt was not seized into the nut any longer. (Because the bolt was seized into the collar of the bushing, the only way to back the bolt out from the strut nut is to tear the collar loose from the rest of the bushing. This destroys the bushing, but is the only way to solve problem.)
4. Used folding hacksaw and dremel with cut off wheel, cut away the strut lower fork on the Bolt head side of fork. Once this cut was complete, I could back the bolt out and away from the nut, taking the bushing center with it.
5. Removed 2 upper nuts and removed strut assembly from vehicle.
6. Used acetylene torch to heat bushing collar until bolt came free from collar. (skip this step if you bought new bolts, I didnt.)
7. Hack sawed the old bushing shell with a single slice and removed it using a punch with hammer.
8. Cleaned up punch nicks and rust from old bushing using dremel and sanding wheel assessory.
9. Used a dead blow hammer and a socket the same diameter as the bushing shell, hammered in the new bushing into the knuckle.
10. After changing out strut assembly using a spring compresser, installed new strut back into car. (used anti seize compound on lower strut bolt.)
11. Repeated for other side.
Total time spent, about 6.0 hours. (I could have done it quicker if I had used an air powered cut off wheel.)