im installing my new coilovers today, and the bottom strut bolt (the one connecting the fork to the swing arm) the head of the bolt broke off on both sides and the bolt is lodged or just stuck in there and i've tried everything to get it out, anyone have any suggestions or had this problem? please help

 

everybody has this problem. theyre an absolute nightmare. the head that is closer to the rear of the car is supposed to come off but the other one is welded on. i tried to spray it with lube for a while and they still broke. since both sides are broken try an air chisel. that didnt work for me either. u can cut one of the strut forks and try to go from there or u can work the bolt free of the strut and pull the control arm down and go from there. if u still cant get the bolt free what i did was torch the whole bushing. it usually doesnt have to get to that point but it did for me. then i replaced the bushings with some energy suspensions ones... NYCE RIDE!!! n good luck.

 

Less likely in CA where it is dryer and water damage ie: rust/corrosion/seizing does not play a factor.

You have to drill dude, there's a way to do it w/a special tool that will pull the broken piece out w/it.

 

hit it with a hammer an use a flat head screw driver.. try that.. it might work..

 

well how about u give him the name of that special tpp;?????? also hes not in california. what i told him were things i had to deal with and thats all but i bet if u ask people in cali or not if theyve had this prob the majority would say yas especially on an older car

 

i tried all those "special tools" and they didnt work when i was replacing susp. on my 97 integ.. the bolts were seized and rusted on the rear LCA's.. i had to cut the very bottom of the shocks to get the LCA's out.. Then I tossed everything out and replaced them.. GL BRO!!

 

I was responding to your generalization dude. If I knew the name of the tool I would have told him. I'm not a dick like that. There is threads on here about this issue. If he does the search he should come up w/some answers. Your probably right to some degree on having issues w/an older car, but how much older? 10yrs.? 20yrs? My brother and I just did the struts on his 96 and this is a CA car 100%. After spraying w/some wd40, the bolts came out w/no problem.
In 1999 I tried to lower a 1996 Integra in the state of LA and guess what? That shit broke.

 

If down time isn't a problem, you can pick up a set of aftermarket LCA's pretty cheap. You might just do this anyway & get a new bolt.

http://www.undergroundracingusa.com/...roduct_Count=5

$119. Not bad if you ask me. I haven't done any research on theese, but im sure they'd help in your situation.