Anyone whos changed their own suspension knows how hard the lower strut bolt is to get out. I've gone at it with wd40, liquid wrench, rachet/cheater bar, and an impact gun at 115-120psi and tapped it with a hammer to hopefully loosen the deathgrip on it. NO LUCK. I've been trying for 2 days now!!!. And besides that schucks rented me a faulty pittman arm puller and now the bottom 2 threads where the castle nut mates with are bent a little. Im hoping I can get it back on by using a brand new castle nut to reshape the threads since they were only a little bent. But what can I do to get the lower bolt free. I need my car for work and cant have it being out of commission like this. ::streeeessssssseeeddddd::

 

just got a kit to rethread it from a friend today, so ill get that taken care of, but has anyone ever tried using a blowtorch to heat up the nut on the bottom of the strut?

 

Cut the bolt and get a new one.

 

my stepdad just bought a bosch sawzall today and i picked up some bi-metal cutting blades so I think im going to take the cuttin approach and just replace the bolts. Im guessing the best place to get the blade in is between the mounting tab and the rubber bushing?

Has anyone else ever had to cut the bolt? I have no clue why im having such a hard time. Im not a complete noob. I mean i've swapped a motor on my mk3 supra and did a brake swap and changed the susp. on that but this car has been such a PITA.

 

hey I had the same exact problem.. it took me and my friend about 7 hours to do it.. we kept spraying it with penetrator and WD40 and what not.. and I kept using the impact gun and kept banging at it. when it finally came out.. the bolt was so corroded. goodluck.

 

my stepbrother's on his way over this weekend to help. He's a diesel mechanic and has newer, better quality air tools so Im gonna give it another try before cutting the bolt.

Has anyone ever rethreaded the bolt that holds the upper control arm and steering nuckle together? Like i said in my first post the bottom 2 threads are "wavy" now due to the bolt on the arm puller slipping and smudging them. I tried to use a vise grip on the section where the threads end to hold it from spinning and rethreading it by forcing the nut back on but it really didnt do anything except strip the nut. Well i ordered a nut and picked up a thread file and Im going to retry this weekend.

When i had the vise grip on it, i noticed 2 small gashes from the teeth (on the round area right above the threads). Will this weaken it? Should I just buy a new upper control arm (538$ from lexus of bellevue) or do you guys think its still salvagable.

What are peoples thoughts on cutting off the bottom 2 threads with a cutting wheel? OH MAN my supra was 7 years older and not even 1/4th as much of a PITA to work on.