I am replacing my OEM rearstruts (220,000 miles) and I am having difficulty with the lower mounting bolts, on both the left and right struts. The impact wrench isn't doing any good whatsoever, and I am using PB Blaster on the bolts. Would the next best thing to do in my situation be to use a torch to get those bolts out?

Thank you!

Nicholas

 

search for "lower control arm bolts" on this site and you'll find you have come across a very common problem...

 

no matter what u do, u'll break the bolt. with 220k miles, that sucker is def frozen in there and will not come out without a fight.

 

What a pain! I wanted to save money by doing the job myself but with these seized LCA bolts it definitely makes the job a lot harder, and not so much worth it!

 

even if you have to buy all new bolts and bushings you'll still probably come out ahead compared to paying a shop...

 

Well, I'm glad you said that. That makes me feel a lot better. The more I read about the Honda LCA bolt, the more I hate it. I can't let it get the better of me. The good thing about the bolt is that I finally puchased an impact wrench, and air compressor and a torch. I don't see how anyone cannot have those things among their necessary tool collection! They're a must have!

 

Yes they do come in handy, especially when your removing rear lower control arm bolts! HAHA

Once you do get them out, I recommend you to buy new LCA bolts and grease is your friend!Grease the heck out of them so next time you have to remove the bolts it shouldn't be near as bad! Im thinkingit was something like $40 for a LCA bushing when I priced it from Advance Auto Parts.

 

I gave up. I couldn't even manage to drill through the bolt so I'm going to take the car in to the shop.

 

wel the center bushing is only like 22bucks at the dealership....

what i did with mine is i pulled the outter bolts on the LCA and they came out easy and i took my control arms and struts out together over and sawed the bolts off, and then pressed out the bushings..... its easier to just cut them off that way BUT IF EITHER OF THE OUTTER bushing/bolts are seized as well then you got big problems


just be sure to lather that sucker up good with some ANTISEIZE lubricant....
the threads arent the problem... its the shaft sticking to the bushing itself


been thier done that. luckely ive either worked around seized bushings or had bushings easy to swap out cause i have the right tools...
ive never torched a bolt out tho cause my dad wouldnt let me do it out in the shop.... said the smoke would be insaine and he didnt want that crap in his shop.LOL

 

new shock-mount bolts: $12 at a dealership
polyurethane shock mount bushing (Energy Suspension bought at Summit Racing: $22
(since you're going to end up pulling the LCA's anyway, you might as well get new LCA bushings)
polyurethane LCA bushings (ES bought at Summit): $32
(I doubt they'll be seized, but) new LCA bolts: $24 at a dealership

I did a DIY writeup on replacing the bushings, but I really don't feel like searching for it... use the search function and I'm sure you'll find it.

*edit: oh, and torching out the bushings is kinda fun. (Then again, I'm a slight pyro lol...) it doesn't make much smoke, but it sure does stink up the place.