problem installing coilovers on s14 HELP

[devonkyle77]

tryed removing my current shock/spring setup lastnight to put my coilovers on, and was running into problems with the 17mm and 19mm bolt/nut combo at the bottom of the shock tower. i wasw able to get the 19mm nuts off, but i used a breaker bar and everything on that 17mm bolt and started rounding off the heads, the things wouldnt budge at all. anyone have any advice?
thanks!

[projectRDM]

Beat it out with a hammer. Sometimes enough corrosion will seize it in, a few good hits will free it up.

[aznpoopy]

hammer works good... lol. also propane torch. heat it up a bit.

if the heads are rounded off already, get craftsman bolt out

the #10 (largest in the set) fits a 19mm bolt

dont forget to get a new bolt afterwards

[theicecreamdan]

I was helping my friend replace his, and that bolt had Seized on, we had to take it to a shop that could torch it out.

[sncs14]

soak it with pb blaster. use a torch and heat the nut/threaded end of the bolt. hit it semi hard to break up any corrosion. if it still won't budge get creative with a saw and/or drill

[Drunk Bastard]

make sure you are using 6 point sockets and that you have a good connection between the socket and the nut.

[vik]

if it all fails, like a lot of times, cut the head of the bolt off
i had to do this on mine it sucked.

[Lucivar619]

Well, after my experience with the brake bolts, anytime I encounter a "stuck" bolt, I'm going to try reversing the direction I'm trying to loosen it in. I don't know what bolts this applies to, but it's worth looking into. :(

:duh: :rl:

[SR240DET]

forget all that... use your vice grips... the heavy duty ones...if your cheap/poor/ work on your car at night and need it in the morning but no stores are open... just use vice grips... thats what i use on all my rounded nuts that i have gotten in the past...

[projectRDM]

forget all that... use your vice grips... the heavy duty ones...if your cheap/poor/ work on your car at night and need it in the morning but no stores are open... just use vice grips... thats what i use on all my rounded nuts that i have gotten in the past...

Vicegrips won't do anything. The problem is not that it's rounded so badly that a socket/wrench won't grip it, it's seized in the spindle. Twisting it won't break it loose.

[theicecreamdan]

I snapped two sockets on the bolt I was trying to remove that had seized, I completely ruined the threads on the bolt beating the shit out of it with my biggest hammer.

[redsuns3838]

it took me a 2 foot braker bar on each sid eto get it off and i had to make sure i had a great connectiong with the bolt and socket. and make sure u get new bolts ! DONT BE CHEAP get a homie to drive u to a bolt shop and bring the bolt with u to show what size u need. otherwise ur gonna be kicking urself when u try to get those bitches back on.

[devonkyle77]

update. ive tryed 3 times since i originally posted this, using impact gun, breaker bar, and a lot of pb blaster.hit the bolt with a sledge and everything.
got the bolt to spin now, but it doesnt back out of the strut.hit it while we had it spinning and still nothing. any additional advice?

[sdtouge]

soak with liquid wrench or pb blaster
take off caliper and rotor to get better angles
heat it up
pee on it

[OptionZero]

Wiggle the coilover and the spindle. Could be the weight of it all is causing too much tension for it to come out.

[theicecreamdan]

torch it .

[Omarius Maximus]

Is there any play with the bolt? if so then the thread for the bolt may be mangled up. and just spinning freely in which case you have no option but to cut.

[Slidin240Wayz]

Which bolt is it? The upper one, or the lower one of the two? It might be cause by the sway bar being bolted up. It was putting so much pressure on the shock tower that I couldn't get the bolt out until I figured it out somehow. So yea, unbolt the sway bar, see if it is any different.

[kenversusryu]

i had the same problem. Try this.


After you jack the car on jackstands, try jacking up your hub assembly by the knuckle or anywhere else solid. by jacking up your hub assembly you're relieving the combination of pressure and weight by the springs and hub.

Place jackstand somewhere on hub. NOT YOUR ROTOR OR ANYTHERE PART OF THE BRAKES. NOT YOUR TIE RODS OR THE ARMS EITHER. you have been warned.
have your helper jack a little bit at a time and at the same time have yourself try to pull or push on the screw with your hand. You do this simultaneously.
keep pulling and jacking until it comes right out. don't jack anymore

You don't want to overjack it either. If you do, you'll have the same problem.

I'm 100 percent sure this will work as long as you place your jack on the right place.

p.s. on my car the hub just dropped towards the ground kind of violently... so watch your knees and hands. But then again.. on the other side of the car it was a-ok.. oh well.

[devonkyle77]

ive dont all of these things to no avail...(except torching, dont have the equipment)

[infinitexsound]

a propane torch kit at a hardware store is like 30 bucks.... its really not that expensive

[projectRDM]

Cut one end off, either the nut or the bolt head, then hammer it out with a punch. That's the quickest and easiest way right now. Afterwards, sand out the spindle holes well and spray a liberal amount of WD in them to keep the moisture down, then buy new OE bolts, spraying them as well. Maybe even put a light coat of lithium grease right at the ends to keep out water.

[psychoblue23]

soak it with pb blaster. use a torch and heat the nut/threaded end of the bolt. hit it semi hard to break up any corrosion. if it still won't budge get creative with a saw and/or drill

PB Blaster can be soooooo helpful. I love that stuff. Especially with a 36 year old car ^_^

Make sure before you cut ot torch anything, that its something that can be easily replaced haha.