QUESTION is, I read up and its seems like if all else fails (see below) get new LCAs. Ok, thats possible, but wouldnt I have to mess w/ the lower hub bolt too - the other one notorious for snapping? Looks like it, just want some verification. B/c if those snap too, its gonna be no fun, considering we can't even get the one bolt out.



Yes, yet another snapped LCA bolt to the suspension thread. The VERY LAST bolt my buddy and I had to take off too, the one that holds the shock to the LCA. And everything else was done in less than 2 hours, no problems! Go figure.

Anyway, we:

1. PB blaster'd it
2. Torched it
3. Puller
4. Sledge hammer
5. Drilled, broke 4 bits and that sonab$%#! still didnt budge at all.

So we decided to sazwall the shock mount off, did that, repeated steps #1-5 nothing budged. We gave up after 4 hours of this junk. So its not even driveable now to get a shop to get this punk out.


I'm gonna give it a 2 day PB bath and pick up a 3/8" cobalt drill bit that will hopefully get all the way through. I dont have a press so I cant get new bushings in there easily. I think I've read up on everything else but if there is any "new" info on getting this bolt out let me know. Thanks, I've gotta spend $$$ driving the truck around till I get this fixed!

 

Get a repalcement bushing and have a shop do the pressing in and out or get a new one.

 

get es rear lca bushing kit

cut bolt to get the shocks off the lca

then drill into the rubber repeatedly until it's super lose and you can hammer it out
now you have just the sleeve that's around the rubber bushing. get a sawzall and make a cut through it. once you do that get a flat head screw driver and a hammer and hammer it out as well.

then grease up the new bushings and put 'em in the lca and then put the shit together.

do other side.

or get it pressed out. option 2 is easier.

 

I was actually going to go through all of this but for the price of bushing and having the new bushings pressed in and the hours of head scratching I just got omnipower lcas for 100$. The offset between the new LCAs and doing all the wrenchwork+new bushings+having them pressed in was like 30$.

 

Thanks yall. Ok, so I'm going to give it a try w/ a 3/8" cobalt bit tomorrow, if that doesnt work, I'll probably go the new LCA route. I found some Blox? LCA on ebay for 99 bucks for a set - thats not bad, and if they'll work thats great b/c this is just my budget car, I'm not auto-x'ing or anything. All that is going on there are H techs and kyb gr-2s to replace the 248,000 mile busted suspension.


Question re: LCA removal though?? If that bolt snaps too, then can I just take my sazwall on the insides of both sides respectively and just chop it off? I'm assuming the nuts then on both sides would just come off, or at least come off easier w/ a couple of hits w/ a sledge.

I'll try to post a pic of what I'm asking later, just wondering if chopping these OEM LCAs is gonna be as easy as it looks, or if I'm just asking for more trouble. thanks

 

the whole bolts isn't not threaded. so whatever isn't threaded will come off, the threaded stuff will be just as hard to remove if not harder.

redo the bushings. it's worth it.

 

When I broke the bolt off, the threaded part was still attached to the welded nut on the shock. I needed the shock so I had to cut off the bolt from the inside. I tried to get the rest out of the welded nut, but it no luck, so I had to grind it off. I just have a new nut not welded to the shock on there now.
Since you're going with new shocks that's not an issue for you. Although I would rethink the GR-2's. Mine started to rust after only one winter and leaked after about 60,000 miles-although I was using H&R OEM sports (1/2 inch lower). Biltsein HD's on there now, very happy! Stock shocks are very good also.

I was going to get the aftermarket LCA with the bushing already pressed in but the shorter length for wider tires had me worried about the camber of the rear wheel, so I just redid the stock arm with bushings.

A few years ago I did the Energy Suspension poly inserts, but I drive 50,000 miles a year and didn't like the ride quality. They did hold up pretty good though.

 

Hmmm so are the aftermarket ebay ones shorter? I thought they said they were OEM, no change except that they were made of lighter aluminum.

as for getting rid of the gr-2's I got the ENTIRE spring/shock set-up w/ less than 4K on it for $150. So I can't complain, I just need something - trust me - almost ANYTHING will be better than the suspension I had on there.

I'd press new bushings in, but that means bring the LCA to a shop to get them pressed in. And if I have to cut the LCA out as it is, then I guess I would just need new LCAs anyway.

thanks

 

I don't know if the LCA's you're looking at are shorter. All of the ones I was looking at had the comment about be able to fit wider wheels.
I didn't have to cut the LCA's at all, just the bolts that were "fozen" into the bushing. In fact I took them to a shop to have the old bushings pressed out and the new ones pressed in. Only cost me $20. Having done the removal with a drill, hammer, socket and hacksaw before for the poly inserts, I felt the $20 was well worth it. If the aluminum arms you're looking at are the correct length, then $100 for the pair is cheaper than buying the bushings seperate and having them pressed in. I'm not even sure about the difference in length whether or not it would effect anything. I run 13" wheels since I didn't like the 15" ride, plus most of my 15" wheels are alittle bent causing a shimmy that drives me nuts.

Which of the bolts are you having trouble with? Inside, middle or outside? Maybe I misunderstood the location.

 

buy a new bushing at the parts store. its listed under strut mount bushing im pretty sure. then order the bolt thru honda. i used a settling torch and blew out the rubber. then i used a lil sawzall sort of thing to cit a chunk out of it and nocked it out with a punch and a hammer. heated back up the casing and knocked out the rest of it with the punch and the hammer. i let the bushing sit in the freezer over night. the next day i heated up the lca with a torch and knocked the bushing in with a hammer and a 2x4. worked great and have no problems with it. oh, retorque after vehicle is set on the ground.