OK the Lancer OZ broke a front right LCA, trying to change it out and the pivot bolt isn't coming out. Figure the bushing sleeve is rusted to it and it won't come loose. Any one run into this?

Looks like the nut for the front pivot bolt is broken loose inside the cross member and I'll have to change out the entire cross member. I hate the car!

 

Which bolt in the diagram are you referring to?

 

That would be bolt number 6. Goes through the pivot bgushing for up & down movement. Had to cut the bolt in half and air chisel it off the bush. Try to find replacement bolt now. Still not sure the nut in cross member is usable....

 

Yeah that happend to me. I NEEDED the car fixed that day, so i took it meineke and they hard to cut small access holes in the crossmember to get the nut off and do some welding and ****....pretty sketchy. But whatever that was like 20,000 miles ago and the wheels havn't come off yet...

 

Got new bolts from Mits dealer, nut fell inside cross member. Used magnet to get it back up and bent retainer cage back in place. New bolt went in OK. Now got to change the drivers side, Blue Tip wrench will be used.... Flame on!

 

Why sketchy? That's what the job called for.

 

Have the same problem as bolt number 6. Fricken annoying.

It comes out about 2-3mm then bolt keeps on spinning without any further movement.

Cut subframe , hold the bolt then reweld subframe back up?

 

If you weld the sub-frame shut after you're done, make sure you weld the nut back in place first. Otherwise, you'll have to cut it open again the next time you want to work there.

Personnaly, on my Honda, I drilled/dremeled a hole just big enough to fit a wrench and I didn't bother plugin the hole up.

 

how much did it cost you to have this done

 

Ended up cutting the control arm bolt through the control arm with die grinder. The cage that traps the nut inside the frame boke losse and the nut fell down. I managed with a magnet to get the nut back in place and bent the cage back to where it held the nut by using the holes & openings in the frame. Replaced both sides and the bolt on the passenger side. Fixed the whole thing. Ran the car another 8 months, sold it off & bought an 08 GTI.

Not that the car was bad, but I spent way too much time wrenching it and throwing parts at it. Noi more high mileage cars...

 

As I was reading this I was just a smiling away. So far every time I have worked on my lancer, "which has been a lot" I have had this problem. If it’s not fused together it’s rusted so bad I'd get half a turn in and it would bust. I can't say much, my car spent half its life in Michigan owned by a teenager so I doubt it ever had a bath. Time and time again I end up just replacing more, I suppose it takes a certain breed to have a passion for the 02-03 lancers, they are getting old and racking up the miles. Man I love my lancer.

 

Damn thats crazy that you have to do that to replace a bolt. I didnt have any of those issues on my 03.

 

You have to do that only if the weld breaks.
Otherwise it's business as usual.

 

I had the same thing happen to me back in March of this year. Today my car 03 Lancer OZ remains on a jack stand as I can not put my new control arm on. Thinking back, I wish I would have used a grinder to access the nut which broke free and allowed the bolt to continuously spin but unfortunately my father used a torch to cut an access hole. Well, instead of torching vertically my father torched towards the front of the car which blew a hole only 2mm away from the hole in the second plate the front control arm bolt runs through and that hole isn't actually just a hole, its a line running all the way down to the access hole cut out of the bottom.

*****Important*****

Looking at my downloaded manual, I now see that the manual states you must first use a garage jack and lift up on the transmission before removing bolt (6). Not exactly sure how it really matters but this is what the manual states word for word.

REMOVAL SERVICE POINT
.<<A>> LOWER ARM AND CROSSMEMBER DISCONNEC-
TION
Lift the transmission with a garage jack, and then withdraw the
front mounting bolt on the left lower arm assembly.

And again in another section:
.<<A>> LOWER ARM ASSEMBLY REMOVAL
Lift the transaxle with a transmission jack, and then withdraw
the front mounting bolt on the left lower arm assembly.

Unless they just want you to raise the vehicle in that location. Which would make more sense, but idk

Just found a K-Frame (crossmember) replacement at a local junk yard for $125, but after looking at the manual and all of the things that must be done to remove the crossmember I'm not sure I have the resources to do such an extensive repair. I wish I could copy/paste or add a link of the exploded diagram the manual shows with all of the steps, it is a hair puller
1. LOWER ARM AND KNUCKLE CONNECTION
2. SELF-LOCKING NUT
3. LOWER ARM ASSEMBLY
4. STEERING SHAFT ASSEMBLY AND GEAR BOX CONNECTING BOLT
5. REAR ROLL STOPPER CONNECTION BOLT
6. REAR ROLL STOPPER
7. RETURN HOSE
8. RETURN PIPE
9. RETURN PIPE
10. EYE BOLT
11. PRESSURE HOSE CONNECTION
12. CLAMP
13. TIE ROD END AND KNUCKLE CONNECTION
14. CROSSMEMBER ASSEMBLY
15. STABILIZER BAR
16. STEERING GEAR AND LINKAGE
17. CROSSMEMBER

 

Jeez, this sounds like a pain! Knock on Wood I never run up on a curb!