Ummm... rusted real good...

[ahbeyra]

In the process of changing cv joints i ran into a slight problem. the bolt on the bottom of the strut arm(i guess thats what its called) that goes through both sides of the forks is rust-welded on and no amount of penetrating oil is helping... nor is a sawz-all... or drill.... or air hammer.... or sledge and punch.... NOTHING... its broken off on both ends inside of the bushing and in one side of the forks... HOW the hell do i get that out... nothing works, its super hardened or something because i cant cut or drill it and the air hammer's punch was actually dulled by it.

[NXRacer]

damn. sounds like you're in a big of a pinch. what kind of penetrating oil have you used? Marvel works wonders on things that seem to be permanently rusted.

If both ends of the bolts are broken off, i think your best bet is to get a good STRONG drill and a nice strong drill bit and go from there. thats my only suggestion.

[ahbeyra]

That seems to take a few years to complete.... i had the good strong drill going on it and it didnt even bite into the bolt... just kinda too litttttttllllle ity bitty shavings out of it... and i melted a sawz-all blade tring to cut it out as well... its not normal... to any extent. its wrong. very wrong.

-Kelley

[Vanilla Sky]

replace the whole knuckle

[HondaBoy]

i'd say go to the junk yard and get what ever it is and what its connected to. thats what i'd do. what the hell did they make that thing out of!?!? that sux, hope you get it fixed soon.

[88accordalltheway]

have you tried a dremel?

[HondaBoy]

i'd think if the sawz-all didnt work, then the dremel aint gonna do shit. i'd give the saw one more try with a heavy duty blade. maybe the blades are expensive? i dunno.

[ahbeyra]

It was a heavy duty blade... i tried 3 actually... a regular metal blade, a turbo metal blade, and a fire and rescue blade which by all means should really cut through anything. i was back on it with the sledge and i got it out of the other side of the fork, its just a matter of getting the oil to penetrate the bushing now. and on the junk yard idea, it came up, and i started to remove the whole knuckle... but there were three other bolts stuck just like this one that i didnt feel like ripping off. so, its just a waiting game now. KAHSRUOKHWEROIJ:FJGHLKASDNHFJKhawiuerhgnladrgjkl; HJ OHIUAHIGHAfjlwerjk V TY&A&S&AS&^&^S*@#I N(( @* d ahkfjahsd sorry, had to express that feeling.

[NXRacer]

heh heh i know the feeling. if you have a good strong sharp drill bit you should be able to go through anything thats on the car. There arent any parts that i know of that a good metal drill bit couldnt penetrate. Rust doesnt make the metal harder as a metal, it just makes it hard as hell to break free.

good luck!

[keruhas184]

i feel for you man, me and my dad had the same problem when replacing them axels. We'd just spray it, try again. One of them we got out by bringing the whole car down on the bolt... but that was at midnight when we needed the car next day and we were willing to do anything to get that sucker off.... those were the times

[ahbeyra]

Yeah, it definitly sucked, the cvs came out in less than 15 minutes. and then i was stupid enough to say... well, this should be done in less than an hour... and WHAM instant problem. i love life. woohoo.

-Kelley

[johnwc723]

is that a part that you can heat up a bit safely, i cant remember if there is any rubber around there, if you can heat it up just take an oxy mapp torch to it (~$40 total) it has saved my life from rusted bolts more than once and its just fun as hell to melt ANYTHING with it

[ahbeyra]

Yeah, the only part it is stuck now is inside of the bushing, which i may just burn out and get a new one... i dont know, im ready for round two though. this otta be fun.

-Kelley

[rdn]

hmm..i know how you feel man...
however, the cv joints can be replaced without removing the fork....just take them appart at the inner cv joint and that's it!...(reversse procedure to put them back)

[SteveDX89]

I had the same problem. I removed the lower control arm with the fork and took them to a machine shop. They were even having trouble using a press. Best thing to do is get new bushings for the lower arms, pull them off, and take them to a machine shop and have the new bushings pressed in. You will need new bolts and a new nut. When you put them back together, make sure you use some anti-seize on the bolt.

[Dncdesign]

I believe I know which bolt your speaking of. It's a bitch to remove if rusted.

ANY bolt can be removed if you have the part in your hand. Even if the bolt, and in this case I thinks it's simular to a shoulder bolt, is case hardened. The material is most likely an A2 or D2 tool steel. Only the first 1/16" of the outside diameter is hard. So a GOOD machine shop can set it up in a Bridgeport and drill thru the center.

It can be removed.

I know, I've broken MANY TAPS.

Hope this helps

Dnc

[ahbeyra]

OK, tell me... how does rust withstand ten tons on it... i brought it to a machine shop to get it pressed out and they couldnt do it... they put slightly over ten tons on it and it wouldnt budge... what are the chances of torching it out? seems challenging, but its possible i suppose. because no drill is getting through it.

-Kelley

[Dncdesign]

ahbeyra,

A carbide cutter will go thru titanium. If you wish another option use an 'end mill'. Mill it out by coming directly down onto the 'rusted' shank. The 'end' (not radius) of the end mill should cut it. Any good tool & die maker can get it out.

http://www.efunda.com/processes/mach...ll_types_1.gif

ADDED INFO:

if the bolt is 10mm (0.393) try this 3/16" end mill from MSC.

http://www.mscdirect.com/

item # 87381596
Qty/Add To Cart Quantity
Your Price $31.28
In Stock Check Stock
Brand
Description Standard - Double End Mills Size: 3/16 Length of Cut: 1/2 Overall Length: 3-1/4 Material: HSS Finish/Coating: Bright Rotation: Left Hand Number of Flutes: 4
Manufacturer Part Number C43351
Material HSS
Size (Inch) 3/16
Shank Diameter (Inch) 3/8
Length of Cut (Inch) 1/2
Overall Length (Inch) 3-1/4
Number of Flutes 4
Rotation Left Hand
Style Non-Centercutting
Finish/Coating Bright
Product Image
MSC Big Book Page 365 View Product in Catalog




I hope this helps ya out.....

Dnc