removing rear shock without LCA/ stuck bolts
- Thread starter 98ej7HX
- Start date
are you just gonna have the other ones cut off then?
98ej7HX
Poor College Kid
Sorry to bring this up again. So my bolts from majestic and my f7 LCA's came in today. Do you think it's worth it for me to take the car to a shop and have them deal with all the cutting of the bolts? Realistically, the only tool I have available to me for cutting is a sawzall, and a hacksaw. I don't have good torches or an angle grinder. How much of a hassle is it to cut all six bolts in two places, so 12 cuts all together, in order to drop the lca out. And then there's still the hassle of getting the other part of the bolt our of the welded nut. What do you think, attempt myself, or shop? If shop, how much do you think it would run me, probably about 300 bucks?
Being an ASE certified former Honda Tech, I avoid paying for labor whenever possible. Come to think of it, aside from getting tires mounted/balanced, I couldn't tell you the last time I paid for labor... I am going to have to pay for an alignment soon though :banghead:
To answer your question though, no, I wouldn't take it to a shop. If you honestly think you're in over your head, and may do more harm than good, then yea, take it in. Why don't you post up some pics, and let us see what you're dealing with.
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To answer your question though, no, I wouldn't take it to a shop. If you honestly think you're in over your head, and may do more harm than good, then yea, take it in. Why don't you post up some pics, and let us see what you're dealing with.
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98ej7HX
Poor College Kid
Here's some pics...Basically, I would have to cut through the bushing to cut the bolt, and I would have to make 12 cuts to get both LCAs out, because there are 6 bolts. Then, I would have to get the remaining piece of the bolt out of the welded nut, and hope to god that it isn't siezed in there. If it is, I would have to use an easy out or something (which I don't have) to get that piece of bolt out. This is why I'm considering taking it to a shop. Also, I have heard people say it took them 2 hours and 3 sawzall blades to take out one bolt, and since I've got to do that six time....well... that's not really my idea of a fun time.
get new shocks and just chop of everything it will make it much easier, and do you have a electric cut off wheel? if not buy a cheapo one and cut off each bolt. You would have more control over it than a sawzall
Here's my concern with cutting them out; the two inside bolts that go through the lca and into the subframe have "internal nuts" and if you jack those up, you're going to be in a world of s**t...
I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but have you soaked them in penetrating oil? I've been seeing more and more posts lately about stuck bolts, and I just don't get it. Maybe is cause I don't live in a "snow state" but I've never found a nut or bolt I couldn't remove...
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I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but have you soaked them in penetrating oil? I've been seeing more and more posts lately about stuck bolts, and I just don't get it. Maybe is cause I don't live in a "snow state" but I've never found a nut or bolt I couldn't remove...
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98ej7HX
Poor College Kid
I've got new shocks, new LCAs, and new bolts.. that was the whole point of this thread, I was trying to put my suspension on and ran into this problem. ...With a cutoff wheel, how long do you think it'll take to do the job? And I don't have one, part of the reason I was considering taking it in
If you're just going to cut the heads off the bolts, and you have a decent sized air tank/electric cutoff wheel, I can't see it taking more than 2 hours. That's 20 minutes a bolt, easily doable. Personally, I'd just go ape-s**t, and have them out in an hour, but that's me...
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You ARE using a 6 point socket, right?
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I hope to god. I absolutely hate people who use the 12 point sockets on 6 point heads
This dumb b***h in my shop remade our deployment tool box and only put in 12 points like a f**king retard.
98ej7HX
Poor College Kid
Yeah, I am. I'm not 'stupid' when it comes to mechanics, I just don't have a whole lot of experience. I don't think you can talk about a stuck bolt until you live in MN, ME, or Canada... but anyhow, I soaked them all in PB for a week and then tried them again, and they're still stuck as hell. And what do you mean 'if you jack those up, you're going to be in a world of s**t'? I tried so many things it's unbelievable. Tried impacting it, then took two wrenches hooked them together and tried that, then took a 24" pipe, put it on the wrench and stood on it and bounced up and down, didn't budge. Then tried hitting it with a sledgehammer as hard as I possibly could, etc etc we tried a lot more than that too...
I never called you stupid, I just know some people have a limited selection of tools, and try to make due with what they have rather than use the proper tool for the job. What I meant by being in a world of s**t, is that if you mess up/break off the welded nuts on the back side of the subframe, you're gonna make A LOT more work for yourself.
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I've had some pretty stuck bolts on my coupe that lived in ohio for most of its life.
Did you soak both sides? I know that some people with little experience only do the head side.
Just trying to help you
98ej7HX
Poor College Kid
No I know 
sorry, I just thought it was a bit obvious that I should use 6 point sockets...annyway, yes I did soak both sides. But the problems fixed now, I went to a local shop and he let me use some of his tools for 20$ an hour while he took an 'extended' lunch break today. 750ft/lb impact wrench and a little torching took the bolts right out, took me about 15 minutes to do all of them...guess this is what happens when you Don't have sufficient tools. Anyway, thanks for all the help guys, will post pics when my car is all finished
sorry, I just thought it was a bit obvious that I should use 6 point sockets...annyway, yes I did soak both sides. But the problems fixed now, I went to a local shop and he let me use some of his tools for 20$ an hour while he took an 'extended' lunch break today. 750ft/lb impact wrench and a little torching took the bolts right out, took me about 15 minutes to do all of them...guess this is what happens when you Don't have sufficient tools. Anyway, thanks for all the help guys, will post pics when my car is all finished
looks nice man, i kinda like the wheels. And yay for another milano red civic