How to get rusted A-arm pivot bolts out?

[csxtra]

I'm redoing the suspension in my CSX, upgrading to an 89 dual-pivot stamped setup with poly bushings, and 3 of the pivot bolts (both rears and one front) won't come out of the K frame/A arms.

The right-side front came out with a big breaker bar, but when I put the breaker on the left side, the bolt and nut broke off on the front. Now it appears that it is rust-welded to the inner sleeve, because it won't come out of the sleeve, even with a sledge and a big punch.

And I can't get the rears to break loose. I've tried PB Blaster, impact, breaker bar, a bit of heat from the MAPP gas torch, but they won't break loose.

Any tips on how to get these d@mn things out?

[cordes]

I had a very similar situation with the 600 I have and our Neon also. I picked up a different K frame for the 600 and I used a sawzall to cut the bolts out in the Neon. That took forever.

[Pat]

I sawzalled the bolts out of one...then beat the bushings out. Total pain in the --- to do.

[black86glhs]

You can use a torch and burn the bushings out. This will give you more room to get at the bolts. Down side is that the bolt will be able to move around and you would have to pry on it while cutting it out.

[cordes]

You can use a torch and burn the bushings out. This will give you more room to get at the bolts. Down side is that the bolt will be able to move around and you would have to pry on it while cutting it out.

That's a great point. I should point out that I did use a map gas torch while doing the Neon. I set some things on fire which I wish hadn't caught fire. Nothing I couldn't repair though. It did make all the difference with the extra wiggle room. I actually used a die grinder to finish off one of the bolts. That steel is hard and ate through the saw blades like nobodies business.

[csxtra]

Thanks for all the ideas...I figured this was going to be a pita, I just didn't think it would be this difficult.

I did some research and supposedly the Milwaukee Torch sawzall blades are made to last longer cutting through thick metal, and they have a diamond model that supposedly lasts even longer.

I'll head up to Home Depot in the morning and pick up some 9" torch blades and try cutting the bolts.

["Top Fuel" Bender]

Thanks for all the ideas...I figured this was going to be a pita, I just didn't think it would be this difficult.

I did some research and supposedly the Milwaukee Torch sawzall blades are made to last longer cutting through thick metal, and they have a diamond model that supposedly lasts even longer.

I'll head up to Home Depot in the morning and pick up some 9" torch blades and try cutting the bolts.

Torch blades work great , I haven't used the diamond ones on anything but cast yet
try and cut away whatever rubber you can around the bushing with a crap blade 1st
you'd be surprised how much rubber can kill a good blade plus the friction really puts a strain on the tool , especially on cordless

[RoadWarrior222]

I took a couple of days to get 'em off an '89 parts van... just wanted everything possible undamaged... brute force and ignorance finally won... just kept soaking it with penetrant... had to hammer sockets on the front bolt head though, it was rusted a little undersize. Clean as much thread off as you can see with a small wire brush though.

But wait a sec, if you're upgrading, you have new A arms and K frame right? You don't need these A arms off, just pull the K frame off and toss the whole kaboodle aside.

[cordes]

Thanks for all the ideas...I figured this was going to be a pita, I just didn't think it would be this difficult.

I did some research and supposedly the Milwaukee Torch sawzall blades are made to last longer cutting through thick metal, and they have a diamond model that supposedly lasts even longer.

I'll head up to Home Depot in the morning and pick up some 9" torch blades and try cutting the bolts.

Pick up a bunch of them. I went through a lot of them when I did mine.

[moparman76_69]

Those blades are badass. I'd heat the nut to red-orange then let it cool and try and remove it as soon as it stops glowing. That heat forces the rust bond to break.

[csxtra]

Update:

The bolt that the nut had broken off of is out! About 20 minutes with one of these:



and the front of both A-arms are free.

I'm going to try the heat method on the rear bolts before I try just cutting them out.

Thanks again for all the tips!