allright well i was lowering the car i got the front struts and sprigns on easly.
but while putting the rear one on i had some difficulty
like i unbolted the strut on top and bottom and i couldnt slide it out.
so i figured have to take the lower control arm off. u can either take it off like in the middle of the chasis or right by the brakes.
well i tried to take it off by the brakes it is a bolt that goes through a bushing and on the other side is a welded nut. Well the head snaped right off the bolt, and its stuck in the bushing.
first questions is
-is it safe to drive?
-how can i get it fixed? do i have to take it to a shop and drill it out - am i still going to be able to use my control arm or do i hafta by another, cause i cant affored oneL?
-and last is how the HELL are u supposed to get the rear strut off without breaking so - so i dont break the other side
please help me cause my front is lowered 2.5 and my rear is stock - looks alittle flameish
ttt
i need help fast so i can get this fixed
how would that get the bolt out though if it is seized in the bushing? cause thas what i heard happens
isnt it like “welded” in there now cause of all teh dirt and grime?
ok well its the nut that is furthest on the left on the lower conotrol arm (Not the one w/ a box around it) the head just snaped and the whole bolt is in the bushing and the threaded part is stilll in there as well what could i do?
if pic dosent show link is this:
http://www.crxsi.com/resources/classified/pics/hyperflex/rb5.jpg
I had a similar problem on my gf’s '91 civic…
right side rear, but the bolt that gave me the problems was the one at the bottom of the damper. It was seized to the bushing too, but the bushing could turn inside the control arm for some reason, so when i turned the bolt it bent the fork on the bottom of the damper (pushed the threaded side out) and then the bolt broke. I ended up having to take the entire control arm AND the damper assembly off together and then using a torch to cut the bolt in two places. Then I had to replace the bushing and the bolt. What a pain!
Anyways for your situation, if the ENTIRE bolt is still in tact, but JUST the head is broken off, it should be driveable right? I mean, just enough to get it to a shop? Otherwise you’ll have to take the whole assembly off (damper assembly, control arm, trailing arm?) to really do anything with it. like cut the bolt so you can get everything apart, and remove the threaded part from the welded nut, and then replace the bushing and bolt. But to replace the bushing you’ll need a press.
That sounded really confusing, didn’t it? sigh
no i actually undestood something for onceL
so i HAFTA buy a new bushing correct?
if i take it to a shop how much do you think it would cost me all together for parts and labor?
and how much just for bushing and nut?
also is there any easier way to take it off so i dont go through the same problem w. the other side
yes, you’ll need a new bushing. I don’t think you’ll be able to seperate the bolt from the bushing and even if you did, the bushing’s probably not in very good shape. Bushings on the rear control arms are about $30 CDN each i think. so probably about $17-20 USD? Bolt will probably be $6 or something.
You could get a polyurethane aftermarket bushing too, but they might tell you you need to get the kit for the whole control arm (all 3 bushings). <shrugs> up to you.
as for labour, I’m not sure. shouldn’t take them more than 1/2 hour to sort everything out if the whole assembly’s off the car already. If you’re driving it to the shop and getting them to do it on the car, it would probably be an hour I would think.
As for an easier way? not that I know of. I had problems with one side and not the other on my car. Maybe see if the shop can loosen the bolt on the other side while it’s there? if they can, you can just do the rest of the work yourself…
good luck!
K I know you can’t afford it, but consider your already down there, and it doesn’t cost much.
Cut the welded nut off.
Bang out whats left of the bolt inside the bushing.
Then just get a nut and bolt to replace the old bolt and welded nut.
And If you damaged the control arm don’t bother getting a new bushing pressed in, it will cost almost the same as getting a hole new arm from acura with new bushings already pressed in.
Why would it cost so much to get a new bushing pressed in? It took me 10 minutes on mine. Shop shouldn’t charge more than $10 labour for something like that. And the bushing won’t cost a lot either. A new arm with 3 new bushings would probably be $150+ (USD)?
Originally posted by InstantRamen
The broken bolt can be replaced with a new one from the dealer.
Is the dealer the only place to get those bolts? Cause I’m gonna be lowering my car this week/weekend and I want to have extra bolts on hand for each corner just incase.
Sack
It cost me about 100 bucks each. Canadian. Acura dealership. This is compared to having all three bushings pressed and the time it was going to take me to sandblast them and repaint them.
My situation was slightly different(wanting to replace all 3) but I recommend it as well. The nut and bolt that fit I beleive are the same as the inner one on the rear control arm. It would be tough finding it elsewhere because of the ribbing on the bolt shaft.
It’s sort of like the situation when you have to change a rear bearing. You just buy the whole bearing/hub assembly. It’s just easier.
And you’ll have six new bushings, no worry for another 10 years.
my .02 cents