Removing bolt on rear suspension to trailing arm

[ElNormo]

I'm mid-way through a spring replacement. I've got the car jacked up, the 3 x 13 mm bolts removed at the top of the suspension, and am working on the monster 22mm bolt connecting the suspension to the trailing arm. I've doused it in WD40, but cannot get it to budge. I'm using a crescent wrench, and have tried tugging and tapping it with a hammer.

Any other ideas or tricks to get this bolt loose? I've heard that removing the suspension from the trailing arm is even more fun, but I'm stuck at this step.

Thanks again for any help,

Norman

[bullyd]

I'm mid-way through a spring replacement. I've got the car jacked up, the 3 x 13 mm bolts removed at the top of the suspension, and am working on the monster 22mm bolt connecting the suspension to the trailing arm. I've doused it in WD40, but cannot get it to budge. I'm using a crescent wrench, and have tried tugging and tapping it with a hammer.

Any other ideas or tricks to get this bolt loose? I've heard that removing the suspension from the trailing arm is even more fun, but I'm stuck at this step.

Thanks again for any help,

Norman
brute force and arms like the governator :p

[Kalevera]

Norman...

Get a box end wrench and a hammer. One of the other guys at the shop showed me a way of interlocking two combi wrenches together to get extra leverage; very handy but kind of hard to describe.

WD-40 isn't good stuff for this application. Get a can of PB Blaster. Also, depending on where you are in the world, there's the possibility of the strut being fused into the trailing arm. If it's rusted together, take a hammer and pound on the surfaces to knock the rust loose. I sometimes use this trick on rusted bolts, as well. EDIT: also, I know that in my writeup I mentioned using a puller to remove temperamental rear struts; subsequently, I've learned that such a device won't work because there's no place for it to grab on the chassis side of the strut -- the metal "ring" isn't welded into place on the stock boge automatic, from what I recall.

best, whit

[Dave M]

Norman...

Get a box end wrench and a hammer. One of the other guys at the shop showed me a way of interlocking two combi wrenches together to get extra leverage; very handy but kind of hard to describe.

WD-40 isn't good stuff for this application. Get a can of PB Blaster. Also, depending on where you are in the world, there's the possibility of the strut being fused into the trailing arm. If it's rusted together, take a hammer and pound on the surfaces to knock the rust loose. I sometimes use this trick on rusted bolts, as well. EDIT: also, I know that in my writeup I mentioned using a puller to remove temperamental rear struts; subsequently, I've learned that such a device won't work because there's no place for it to grab on the chassis side of the strut -- the metal "ring" isn't welded into place on the stock boge automatic, from what I recall.

best, whit

I'm back from my road trip, quickly checked the site and noticed this post. If I'm readin this correctly, you're saying that a conventional puller won't work on a tempermental strut. A while ago, I posted the method I used to overcome this apparently troublesome scenario. The link is below. If I've interpreted your post incorrectly, my apologies, but maybe this will help anyway.

pics of my trip to follow

http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?p=63478#post63478

Dave M

[Kalevera]

I'm back from my road trip, quickly checked the site and noticed this post. If I'm readin this correctly, you're saying that a conventional puller won't work on a tempermental strut. A while ago, I posted the method I used to overcome this apparently troublesome scenario. The link is below. If I've interpreted your post incorrectly, my apologies, but maybe this will help anyway.

pics of my trip to follow

http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?p=63478#post63478

Dave M
Dave, you're absolutely correct in that it works, I agree with you and the process, and that it might work in this scenario. I was mistaken in saying that it "won't" work.

My qualm with the method is this: sticking a puller on it has the potential for disaster -- The one time I attempted it, the flat metal "washer" on the chassis side of the strut practically popped off (because the rubber bushing between the metal cylinder and the strut "walks"). That wouldn'tve been a problem in the scheme of things, but it leaves the metal cylinder in the trailing arm, which can be difficult or impossible for a DIY to remove. In the aforementioned case, I ended up getting out the air hammer and the 3' prybar. But yes, the method is something to try...just have to be careful.

Nice diagram, by the way :D

EDIT: actually, by sinking a screw through the thing as shown in the diagram, the puller idea would work great.


best, whit