so as the title states, the camber bolt does not want to come out. after aout a half hour of persuasion with a torch and impact gun i successfully got the nut off, but at this point i cant even get the bolt to begin to slide out.

-soaking it in pb blaster obviously
-tried heating the piece of the hub the the bolt sits in, but not a lot so it may just need more heat?

im in a tough spot with 3 coilovers installed now, and im not sure what a shop may do differently aside from completely removing the whole hub and shock as one to have a little more room.

any helpful hints or insight?

 

With a rusty bolt like that you wont be able to just hammer it out. Youll have to try and get it loose in rotation, eventually it'll give just a tiny amount. Going back and forth that tiny amount will break down the rust and turn more and more. If its the upper bolt (with the oblong section) then you can still get ~30deg's out of it. Keep at it and it should break loose, just be patient. Gotta break that rust down over cycles not brute force.

 

Would it help to unload the strut just a bit? Place a jack under the strut & take the load off the bolt, then re-attempt the removal

Just a thought. What a PITA, feel your pain

 

yes, its the upper bolt, it is rotated up against the stop on the bilsteins, so i tried hitting it with the impact back and forth and got nothing (its a 200ft/lb electric gun). in the last 10 minutes i worked on it i did attempt to unload it by putting a scissor jack under the rotor. gonna give the pb a few more hours.

is heating the knuckle the proper approach? im concerned about getting the shock itself hot, although i made a little heat shield out of scrap aluminum to hold against it to block direct flame.

i dont think i have enough room to generate enough force that it will mushroom the bolt and never come out...do i?

id cave and take it to shop, but i suspect theyd be doing the same thing.

 

had a thought...

does the eccentric on the bolt need to be at a certain angle to come out? it is turned tight against the stop, could that stop it from coming out? or is the hole on the strut large enough for it to slide through in any orientation?