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How to remove a bent long bolt in rear suspension?

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#1
Alberto

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So, last race at Laguna I had the pleasure of helping my friend Brandon hammer out that long bolt in the rear suspension that attaches the spindle to the rear lower control arm.

It was... um, fun. Yeah, fun. BFH and a crow bar helped but we couldn't have done it w/o the help of a fellow racer that had this long skinny thing that fit through the bushing. A bunch of people lined up to do the hammering over the hour we worked on it. Everybody enjoys hitting something hard with a hammer, right? Thankfully this was before the beer started flowing so everyone's aim was still pretty good.

Anyway, this is my first season and I do have spares of that bolt and nut. What I don't have is something to stick in the bushing to hammer it out of both side bushings in the rear lower control arm.

What do you guys use for that? Got a link to the "tool"?

Thanks.
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#2
Cy Peake

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Sawzall.

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#3
Johnny D

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Did Cliff figure out how to do it on his fronts?
http://mazdaracers.c...ch=1

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#4
Alberto

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Sawzall.


I hope you are kidding as you can't get a Sawzall in there....
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#5
Alberto

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Did Cliff figure out how to do it on his fronts?
http://mazdaracers.c...ch=1

If you only knew someone that worked in a Machine Shop? :D
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I believe he has.
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#6
Johnny D

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Can you bend the bolt back with a pipe to get it straight enough to pull out?
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#7
Alberto

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We got his bolt out at the track. Hammering with that metal pike looking thingamabob that another racer lent us and prying with the crow bar did the job.


The purpose of this thread is:
1. identifying/acquiring the right tool for the job if it happens again


The spare bolt is worthless if ya don't have a way of getting the old one out. :)


Once you remove the nut on that long bolt, there is about 1" of threads onto which you might be able to put something on but it is unlikely you could exert enough force and have enough leverage to bend it back. That bolt is a little over 1/2 thick solid metal.
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#8
dstevens

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That "metal pike looking thingamabob" is called a drift pin punch. Very handy for that task and for lining up parts for assembly. The long ones aren't cheap though. HF has some of the shorter punches in a kit but for the bigger sizes you'll need to do a Snap On or Mac.

http://buy1.snapon.c...re=&dir=catalog

#9
Alberto

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That "metal pike looking thingamabob" is called a drift pin punch. Very handy for that task and for lining up parts for assembly. The long ones aren't cheap though. HF has some of the shorter punches in a kit but for the bigger sizes you'll need to do a Snap On or Mac.

http://buy1.snapon.c...re=&dir=catalog



That looks like the tool we borrowed.

Found one at Sears for less
http://www.sears.com...0&blockType=G10


Thanks!
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#10
FTodaro

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is the 5/16 x 12 the right tool? if so, I am going to order one now so I never need it.

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#11
Jim Boemler

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Don't bother with the HF drift punches -- the steel is garbage, and splits when used hard. A lot depends how bent the bolt is. I've had one so bent I did have to cut it out in multiple pieces, and yes, a sawzall does fit. If it's not that badly bent, you can often drive the old bolt out with the new one.

#12
davew

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It doesn't help at the track, but in the shop I have long punch that fits into my airhammer. 100+ blows per minute is hard to duplicate with a BFH.

My at track policy is to not spend that mych time on removing a bent bolt, when the chances are good either the upright or the lca is also bent. At the track, I change the whole corner when the bolt is that badly bent.

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#13
dmathias

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Hey kids, Start soaking those suckers in Rusteez now. Repeat frequently. When you do R&R one, a little white lithium on the bolt goes a long way toward never needing a BFH for the job.

The Clown is right - HF tools SUCK. (OK as long as you consider them disposable)
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#14
Glenn

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It doesn't help at the track, but in the shop I have long punch that fits into my airhammer. 100+ blows per minute is hard to duplicate with a BFH.

My at track policy is to not spend that mych time on removing a bent bolt, when the chances are good either the upright or the lca is also bent. At the track, I change the whole corner when the bolt is that badly bent.

dave


What Dave said, but if you need to, you can cut the bolt into pieces using a 4" side grinder. The grinder will fit in the space between the upright and the LCA. Makes using a BFH a little easier. Also less chance of beating out the bushings.

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#15
Glenn

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It doesn't help at the track, but in the shop I have long punch that fits into my airhammer. 100+ blows per minute is hard to duplicate with a BFH.

My at track policy is to not spend that mych time on removing a bent bolt, when the chances are good either the upright or the lca is also bent. At the track, I change the whole corner when the bolt is that badly bent.

dave


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Soon to be back in the club racing scene for good ;)

 

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#16
Glenn

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I hope you are kidding as you can't get a Sawzall in there....



Yes you can! there is enough space between the Upright and the LCA to fit the blade

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#17
dstevens

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Don't bother with the HF drift punches -- the steel is garbage, and splits when used hard. A lot depends how bent the bolt is. I've had one so bent I did have to cut it out in multiple pieces, and yes, a sawzall does fit. If it's not that badly bent, you can often drive the old bolt out with the new one.


HF is real hit and miss. I've got some HF pin punches, not too bad. The drift pins were given to me by my former stock car crew chief. One is an 18", the other about 24", both probably near 1/2" or so with a claw on the head. I'd bet they were nearly as old as me.

I had to do the same thing on the passenger front than you did.

Attached File  5673609712_32ddbb2992.jpg   176.23KB   28 downloads

#18
dstevens

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Hey kids, Start soaking those suckers in Rusteez now. Repeat frequently. When you do R&R one, a little white lithium on the bolt goes a long way toward never needing a BFH for the job.

The Clown is right - HF tools SUCK. (OK as long as you consider them disposable)


Do you mean Rust-eze medicated bumper ointment? :lol: If you have yung'uns in the household, you'll get that reference. Or Salshield Rusteze? I've heard of the product but never seen it in the stores. I've been using wd-40 at first and now PB Blaster.

HF tools are what they are, been shopping there for well over a decade. I've had some good luck with the shop crane, engine stand and the 12 ton press. The press plates are pretty scary but in an open box exchange for 62 bucks it's a deal. Never done well with HF battery powered tools, some of the air tools are good for the dough. If you use good fittings that don't leak. Air hose is a good deal there. The welders I wouldn't touch. I've got a couple of the impact socket sets, not bad. The nitrile gloves are a great deal, just as good as the Tuff 'n Touch at about 1/3 the price. They used to have red Wypall shop towels but haven't seen them in a while.

#19
Alberto

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HF is real hit and miss. I've got some HF pin punches, not too bad. The drift pins were given to me by my former stock car crew chief. One is an 18", the other about 24", both probably near 1/2" or so with a claw on the head. I'd bet they were nearly as old as me.

I had to do the same thing on the passenger front than you did.

Attached File  5673609712_32ddbb2992.jpg   176.23KB   28 downloads



That looks like a lot less fun than we had taking turns hammering :)
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#20
wreckerboy

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As noted above, the droid you seek is called a drift. I had my run-in with a wall at SP last year (on my sixth wedding anniversary, none the less, but at least she was there to help and pass the Jell-O shots), and spent five hours in Alan Olsen's* shop using all sorts of Implements Of Destruction removing a similarly bent bolt. I think we may have stopped at Sears on the way home that weekend to purchase an assortment of drifts to add to the race tool kit. It has become one of those "how did I get by without these" sort of basics I can't believe I never owned before. I haven't quite been able to justify a battery powered Sawzall (yet), but I do carry the plug in one with us now. I think of that as insurance. As long as you have the tool with you, it guarantees you will never need it.


* Kudos to Alan for giving us use of the space. He watched the incident happen in T5 and may have beaten me back to pit road, where he told my wife not to let me out of the car and to just had back to his to shop to work. Also kudos to Jim Thill who loaned me the drifts in the first place, Bret dePedro, Chris Windsor, various Meatheads, and Bad Al for coming by with words of encouragement and various Implements while we beat the s@#t out the car. It's things like that that keep me coming back to MARRS.

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