HELP im lowering my car and i came across a problem

ok this is the problem im lowering my 95 gsr, i lowered the front with np. so then i start on the back. (by the way im at my friends shop doing this) i get 2 the rear strut and i try 2 unlossen the the bolt that is on the strut,( the bolt that is at the bottom) well nothing works. i tried wd40, power tools, air tools, hand tools, my teeth j/k. well so i thought well if i disconnect the lower arm that holds the strut and rotor so it can drop the supension on that side mayb i can just decompress the strut while its on the arm. well the nut on top wont budge either. so basicly my car looks like this. the front is lowered and rear is stock height still. ya it looks coo, because my seems coo 2 me, lol. but thats not the look i wanted. anyways this is the idea i have thought of but not yet done it

  1. cut the welded nut of the strut that has the bolt going though it so i can poud the bolt and then cut the top of the strut so i can take the spring out and use the boot on top (dont worry i have replacement struts already, tokico blues heheh got them for 40 bucks and there only a month old adn still good.)

  2. go2 a muffler shop and have them cut it off with a torch or welder and have them poud it out and put a bolt there temporaryly so i can go2 the shop and change it out with the new strut.

if any of guys have gone though this please give me some advice. a friend of mine has already gone though it and gave me some advice (which was my first idea) about this situation

Take a propane(or mapp) torch and heat the bolt, and soak the crap out of it with liquid wrench,wd40 etc and get youself a balz bar to put some extra torque on it . Thats what I would do anyhow . Could also grind the nut off and punch the bolt out . I’m not too sure what the 95 setup is .

I had the exact same problem with the lower control arm when I lowered my rear. My friend and I ended up stripping the bolt head off! Try using a torch and/or a reversal screw tap thingy. It’s hard to explain that, but basically you drill a hole through the screw. You then take an appropriate sized reversal screw thingy and actually screw it in reverse. Therefore, you now have something to turn the screw again.

If that doesn’t help, drill the other side and try tapping it out with a hammer. In our case though, the bolt was completely fused with the control arm! So, what we ended up doing is completely drill the f(ck out of the bolt, so all that’s left are metal bits lying on the floor:D Hey, it worked, it might work for you.

Regards,

Oz

BIG problem with hondas, that lower bolt. My car, I had to take it to a shop where one mechanic went at it with an air hammer while the other one went at it with the gun just tryin to get the bolt off (both at the same time)…only able to budge ONE side.

damn u guys stories said scary. i hope me cutting the welded botl will make it come right out. cause this guy i know did it adn it came out fine. also i think my lower control arm isnt that much different from u guys. i mean i have a different setup but i think its that much of a difference

Ok, first off, are you on the bolt or the nut? The nut on the stock struts is tack welded to the strut. Its real hard to loosen, but it can be broke loose even though its not supposed to (found this out the hard way, broke a socket to realize it). Make sure your on the bolt not the nut!!!

Originally posted by shenrie
Ok, first off, are you on the bolt or the nut?

Yah…thats what I was wondering?
Been there done that.:smiley:

if you are talking about the lower control arm bolt that goes parallel w/ the car, and it doesn’t budge, i would recommend NOT torching it and getting it outta there, the bushing has been ‘welded’ to the bolt (after years of whatever…salt dirt grime who cares it’s gone) so take out those 2 14’s that are going into the car that you mess w/ to do a camber kit. try taking those out and pushign down…

BUT if you are talking about the actual bolt that goes through the shock…hmm…i dunno. im tired and i couldn’t really understand which bolt you were talking about, but hope that might help anyone else.

yea the rear has like a bolt shaped area the a bolt goes into. its welded to the arm and won’t come off.make sure this is not the side you’re trying to take off. dropped plenty of hondas, its all the same.:wink:

NO NO

let me explain this again

im thinking about cutting the “nut” on the strut. the “nut” that is welded on the “strut” the “bolt” that goes though the strut will not move at all. that is y i have 2 cut the welded nut off the strut. if i cut the welded nut off there will b no teeth holding the bolt. therefore i can pound the bolt out. i hope that made better sense.