gabzor

So.. who's good at removing boogered up/rounded bolts?
I was replacing my mom's steering rack bushing, but i cut the sway bar bracket/bushing cause the sway bar has to be moved to be able to access the bushing.. figured i'd just grab a swaybar bracket from the junkyard or something since i couldn't get the damn bolt off

anyways theres some pictures of the boogered up bolt, the last pic shows how much space i have, with a nut for comparison, i can't fit a 3/8's ratchet in there, i can barely get the socket on but its rounded so i don't know what to do





as you can see, the nut for comparison.. can't really get those special sockets on there :/


Please tell me this is the right bolt i'm supposed to remove for the bushing.. i tried at it for about 45 mins until my impact gun ran out of battery

k7q

iTrader: (37)

yes you need to remove that bolt to change that bushing. use a good breaker bar.

I think you have to drop to frame a bit to remove the sway bar D-brackets. didn't have to cut them. or maybe could have used a swivel socket.


are you replacing that bushing only?


also you have to remove the boot to install the new bushing.

gabzor

i dropped the bolts to the LCA's and loosened the subframe bolts a little bit, i'm working on jackstands and solo so removing the frame completely isn't an option

as far as the swaybar bracket, i only cut one cause i got impatient. all i had is wrenches and that rounded bolt was giving me a headache, and i just wanted to get the steering rack bushing done so i figured i can roll around without a swaybar f or a few days/weeks lol

i thought you could get by with just cutting the bushing

k7q

iTrader: (37)

If You can drop/tilt the rear sub frame a little. Should give you some room to remove the bolt on the rack. Working on the floor makes this task pretty hard.

ES and Camry racks are so common to go out. It takes me 1.5 hours to remove and install with a lift.

gabzor

thanks for the quick replies, remove only the rear subframe/lca bolts i'm guessing? and leave it hanging via front bolts?

if you have access to a lift, hell maybe i should just go over to your shop or whatever and pay you, this job is not fun

also do i need to remove the tie rod, or just the bellow/boot? and did i miss anything else to remove?
and do you know where the other bushings are located? i'm using this kit

k7q

iTrader: (37)

Don't need to touch the lca bolts. Sub frame bolt is seperate.

If the car is on Jack stands. I would use a jack under the sub frame instead of letting it hang from the bolts. Just so you can adjust more movement if needed.

The driver side of the rack is for the other bushing. 19mm bolt.

This is a difficult job on the floor. Not sure if there is room to change the driver side rack bushing. I never done it before while the rack is in the car.

You have to removed the passenger outer tie rod to remove the boot.

You should open the boot first to check if the rack is leaking. If it's leaking might a well changed the rack & pinion. If you just put the bushings it's pretty much a waste since your rack is leaking.

gabzor

somehow i got the both the drivers side and passenger side rack bolts off, it looks like the rack is leaking internally a little bit, but i already have the bushings so whatever! haha

there was no rubber left on the drivers side! i ended up cutting the metal bit somehow, and got it out.. now an even harder part, pushing a 3 piece bushing into the rack while its still on the car..

the reason i'm just doing it is, everything on the car is leaking that is power steering related, and the rack doesn't really have any play, just the bushings were shot so im hoping this will band aid it for a few years when i get rid of the car, or just overhaul the whole steering system, and reuse the bushings since they are poly..

the big circular bushing is a different size, but i guess i'll just cut it for now

thanks for your advice! now i still gotta get that damn swaybar bolt off, and figure out how the lca's and power steering bracket nuts are supposed to sit (the tabs)

and somehow figure out how to press the bushing in on the drivers side

gtstcactus

when I'm having trouble with a rounded bolt such as yours I bust out the "rounded nut / bolt extractor sockets" which I've included a picture of the brand I purchased... The set I got contained more sockets tho... They seem to work really well... there a a few different designs or styles, just google nut extractor sockets or something like that... I think it could perhaps be useful to have a variety of these as different designs may well fit different rounded sockets easier depending on the state of the bolt!

You can get them in different drive sizes (3/8 & 1/2 for sure)... I'd want to get a breaker bar in there with it but a ratchet can work as well...



I do not work for Bulldog (or whoever made the sockets pictured), I have no financial interest in them and am not sponsored by them. I purchased their sockets either on Ebay or Amazon and have found them to work really well having not failed me yet.

gabzor

i have a set of those sockets from irwin, but i don't seem to have the size i need in there, well i can deal with that later since i will leave the swaybar off till i get some bolts and another bracket from the junkyard

can you put a wrench around the bulldog ones just like the irwin ones?

my next worry is that damn power steering bushing :X

gtstcactus

Yep you can use a wrench instead of socket on the Bulldogs too (same design as Irwin in that regard).... If one of your irwin (removal) sockets is a fraction too small you can hammer it on (if poss) to get it in place and then proceed as normal and twist it off.... I've had to do that a couple of times...

I'm not sure how many sockets are in your Irwin set (I see 5 socket sets by Irwin are common) If it's of any help Craftsman seem to have larger sets than many other brands.... Some of their sets have 10, the others have 5... My Bulldog set only had 4 tho I've not needed a size outside of the 4 I have..

gabzor

i think there was 5 in em, but yeah i picked up a small mallet to work that in, gonna take off that bracket i cut off a bit more, and try at it, or maybe drop the subframe a little more only on that side.. now i just gotta figure out how the lca bolt nuts work, and finish the rest of the job tonight, at like 2 am -__-


well, somehow i got the drivers side bushing in



she aint perfect, but shes in there, and i wrestled with the rack and tighten the bolt, and i'm thinking the bushing compressed back in