m0ist

This is essentially what I've been doing with no luck. I may try to rent a ball joint puller or buy a heavy duty c-clamp to try to push the bolt through. Running out of options as I'm leaving for vacation this week and I'll need my car to get me to the airport.

Losiracer2

I would go to Harbor Freight, buy a 4.5" angle grinder for 22 bucks and some metal reinforced cutoff wheels and cut right through the rusty arm and bolt. 5 minutes tops and you'll have it separated. If this grinder is strong enough to cut through a solid metal 1" thick CV halfshaft on my parents Toyota Sienna when it wouldn't budge, then it'll cut through this control arm/bushing/bolt with no problems

Then take a chisel and chip away at the remaining things left. Corrosion and rust are things that can be very stubborn, the only way to blast through them is either with heat or just cutting the parts out altogether.

m0ist

Basically did this, except i only cut away the control arm. Then ground off all the remaining rubber around the metal sleeve.

It still wouldn't come off.

What i think happened:
The lock washer on the control arm cracked or bent into the slot where the head of the bolt is. Basically every time I tried to hit the bolt out, I was lodging the washer further and further into the slot. Thus preventing me from removing the bolt.

I ended up cutting the bolt off. Replaced it with SAE grade 8 bolt. This is just temporarily so I can move my car to another space to avoid being towed. It would probably be fine to drive on as the camber travel is relatively minimal.

Stereorob

seems like the suspension in general is sort of the weak link on these cars. ive got a 95 and pretty much everything on the front end is crap. it spent its first ten years in a rust belt state, and has all original parts, plus it feels kind of squrrly at times in turns. this officially has me concerned.
however,
Lexus didn't cut corners on the LS400. its one of the most over engineered and over built cars ive ever had. ive had 50s cars. they look cool and are fun to drive but truth be told, they are junk. they cut more corners in the 1950s on American cars then probably any other decade.

dicer

Rob they cut corners on that part on that or those years. They had it right on the gen 1 and made 10 steps back wards on the newer gen, go figure?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

This declaration is made on mass of empirical data and repeated observational evidence, right?

...oh wait.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Corrosion is going to have a toll on metal parts. The owner has to apply due care having to counter rust, salt and such. How many other 20+ year old cars does one regularly see in these regions of the country?

m0ist

Stress Corrosion Cracking