airfalcon

Hey guys, I lowerd the front of my new car and I tried lowering the back and the screw beetween the bushings is stuck my buddy told me that there seasd is there any way you know I can use to losen them up with out braking them?

P.S. I know my spelling is **** so don't remind me...

imported_BoOsTd

those bolts are a bitch in the back... you dont have many options other than cutting the nut off the bottem of the strut, and then punch the bolt out... try lots of liquid wrench, and a strong impact gun... but if u hammer on it to much the head of the bolt will snap... also try some heat, but watch the strut ith the heat...

imported_kane2k

You could try using Liquid Wrench on it. That might soften it up and allow you to crank it off. If it its seized badly then I would say take it to a shop and let them use some air tools on it.

airfalcon

well I know Paul at SplitFire Performance, and he wants $150 to do the back for me, $150 is a bit buch so... I am trying to find a cheeper way, if you know any one that can give me a better deal let me know, or if you know any other easy ways.

imported_D dot T

$150 is typically for all 4 corners to be done
it should be at least half price since ur doing back only

imported_BoOsTd

go to midas, pay them 10 bucks to loosen the bolt out for you...have them put anti size on the bolt, put it back in (about 30-35 lbs of torque on the bolt will get you home, and a socket should get it out after...

00Civic

Spray WD40 on the nut, heat it up with a torch. Then try and losen the nut. Do not go for the bolt you will never get it.

punkindrublic

what you can do is just unbolt the lca bolt on the body and near hte brakes... it will drop the entire assembly down... although if your changing shocks then get a drill or a torch

imported_Joker

PM loudsubz maybe he can help for a small fee

imported_loudsubz

hey, sorry to hear about the rear, its very typical, of all the cars ive done I have been able to do all 4 corners BUT
everytime i do them almost everytime the cars LCA bolt for the shock is sezied and no amount of wd-40 or liquid wrench is getting them out if their seized.

The only way is to cut the bushing and bolt and go buy a new set from honda.

You can try what Punkindrublic mentioned but I have also run into a few cars with that bolt stuck as well, the LCA bolt that connects to the rear trailing arm, sometimes its stuck, like it was on my car, what fun trying to grind it off and put in a new bushing and bolt lol.

if its sezied the wd-40 and liquid wrench are useless, if there just rusted its a diff story.

But your case is typical when lowering a civic, its by nature of the design.

Even an impact gun wont help, it will most likely just rip the head off the bolt like ive done a few times.

00Civic

I beg to differ I used to lower cars for a living. Ever second car I would do was seized. And that's how I got the nut off. I am not saying every time. Sometimes I did have to cut the bolt off. Try it first and use a impact gun. If that don't work. Cut if off. Get new bolts.

imported_loudsubz

why are you spraying wd-40 on it? It does nothing. Its a lubricant. If you look how the assembly is put together, how is the wd-40 going to work?

You can penetrate the wd-40 into the inside of the bushing between the LCA bolt and the walls of the bushing, you can only spray it on the end of the nut and the other end where the partial thread is of the LCA bolt is sticking out from the welded nut, but those are never seized its the metal on metal inside the bushing that seize together.

If there sezied you need to cut them, the only thing wd-40 will do is help lubricate the LCA bolt to get it out if it is NOT seized, but even then your not spraying the lubricant to where the 2 pieces of metal are sezied.

imported_BoOsTd

BRAVO! loudsubz knows what hes talking about, listen to him


00Civic, the thing you have to understand here is that civic rear strut to control arm bolts use a welded nut to the strut... If this wernt so than yah the nut could spinn off then punch the bolt out of the bushing... The bolts have splines down them that sink into the bushing over time, in turn not allowing them to spin, this was for saftey reasons i suppose, allong with the welded nut...

so your left with option A: fry the bushing with a torch(ive never attemted this) and try to spin it all together... or option B: torch/ or dremel the welded nut off the strut, off the bolt and punch it out... new bolt new bushing

imported_loudsubz

Good points Zex, I should try that punching the bolt out after taking off the 19mm welded on NUT soemtime, Ive tooken some of them off before by grinding off the welds but I feel it degrades safety if they can move around a bit.

This should be a sticky as i think this question is adressed alot in the civics case, keep up the good points I like learning things all the time

punkindrublic

or drill and re tap

thats what i had to do last weekend on my rear license plate bolts which snapped off

imported_BoOsTd

loudsubz, how do you cut the bushing and bolt out? like what tool do you use.. do you cut the head off the bolt first?

imported_loudsubz

Zex: Here goes (copied from my other post)

I'll try and explain to the best of my ability

When you look at the LCA you will see there is rubber surrounding a snaller metal cylinder in the centre where the LCA bolt goes through.

Well torch the rubber around that cylinder and push it out and hammer the middle cylinder untill it pops out and the rubber goes with it too.

Once your done that there is still a metal "collar" left that goes around the inside of the LCA opening.

You can use a air chisel if you have air tools to hammer that metal ring out, or get a sawsall or jigsal and cut the ring in half so its not under pressure anymore, then it will just pop out.

Once thats out clean up the inside and put the new bushing it.

To install new bushing lube up the outer ring, slide into place and get a block out wood with a snall hole cut out in it to allow the middle cylinder to fit inside, so the wood is just pushing down on the outside of the bushing where its safe.

Hammer the wood untill the bushing pops into place and your set.

Good luck.


This is just the version I use to get ti out.

A good 4 1/2" Grinder is amazing I swear I use that thing so much its the best tool I ever bought, aside from my compressor.

Its gonna be messey and your still stuck with the last piece of bolt thats stuck in the welded on NUT IF the bushign that is stuck os one on the outside or inside of the car and NOT the shock one.

Biggy

when me and my friend lowered my car, both the rears were seized so bad. so we took the whole shock lca assembly out put it on the ground and used a grinder to cut where the shock mounts to the lca around the bolt which got the shock off the lca then we punched out the center of the bushing leaving that little sleve in, we cut that with a hack saw and pressed a new bushing in, mind u we only had to replace the bushing on 1 side since we finally were able to hammer the other bolt out, but this worked fine for us, my shocks were blown so i didnt wanna keep em ne ways

imported_BoOsTd

cool, very reasoursful we should make a sticky thread or archive, with all these procedures, because some require different tools ect, than say the way i do it... Then the person can decide which one is best by which tools are available to them... seems to be at least one person every few weeks that asks this question...

00Civic

I have lowered a car or 2 in my life and that's how I got the back undone. Works for me. Maybe it's worse in the east and nothing will get them un done. Or maybe we are not on the same page here.