Hey NTEC guys, I woke up nice and early to do a suspension install today and am having a real problem with the front struts. The upper bolt on the bottom of the strut (the one that adjusts camber) will not move. I was able to get the nuts off and even remove the lower bolt but the top one will not move.

From the look of it, it is keyed right? Meaning that since it is an oval bolt and there is a tab on the strut to prevent it from rotating, my only choice is to hammer it out?

I have soaked it with PB Blaster and still no movement. I put a nut on the end of the bolt and wailed on it with a sledge and still nothing. Any tips?

Thanks!

 

stock struts? if so, then yeah you'll just have to keep hitting it until it comes out. the top bolts get stuck from time to time

 

Yes, stock stuff. The top bolt is keyed though right? So I can't just hit it with a bigger impact? If I can't get this off I may need to add the front struts to the list of things for you guys to do for me!

 

Have you tried using a floor jack underneath the control arm to make sure there is no pressure on the bolt causing it to be trapped? Slowly raise the jack while taping on the bolt. If you force it out you run the chance of ruining the threads.

Also the bolt is not oval, it is offset at the head, as you rotate the orientation of the head it moves the top of the strut in and out.

 

Put the lower bolt back in then give the upper camber bolt a few good whacks with a hammer and she'll come right out. Upon reinstallation orient the triangle pointing outward for an extra -1 degree of camber.

 

We had this same problem on my car. What Kracka said works great. DO NOT hit it with an impact, unless you want to buy another camber bolt or possibly a new strut!

 

the bolt is eccentric, so not exactly keyed. what makes it keyed is the flat sides of the head of the bolt. so trying to spin it out with an impact wont work. the only way your getting it out is with a hammer. i would take the nut off too, cause more then likely you'll need a new bolt when you get it off, and you don't want to smash the nut onto the bolt.

 

Man, I tried that on both side and a no go. I used a jack, tried to put the bottom bolt back in, not budging. I think I am going to need Kevin to help me with this one...not to mention the fact that my impact gun just broke trying to loosen the bottom bolt on the other side. Not a good Labor day.

 

It won't move when hitting it with a hammer?

 

No, I put the nut back on just enough so that it was flush with the bolt and then hit it real good with my 8lb sledge and couldn't get it to budge. Car isn't all that rusty, and the bottom bolt came out easy but the top ones won't move for me.

 

I had to cut an SPC bolt off... but not a stock one. I bet when you were turning it you turned it and really wracked it in there. Can you try with a socket to rotate it clockwise ("tighter") to see if you'd just mangled it in there?

You're going to be buying a new one either way... Don Herring with the NTEC discount

 

That's what I'd try, but you may still end up having to cut it.

 

cutting it wont get it out with these bolts. the eccentric part of the bolt is tied to the head of the bolt so there is nothing "keying" it in. if it wont come out with a hammer, you'll have t drill it out. but i've seen some VERY stuck bolts, and hammer, penetrating oil have always worked.

goofys bolt was a bit different in that the eccentric part of the bolt was further down on the shoulder, where it literally was keyed in. the bolt had to be turned in the exact position before it would come out. his bolts were special for whatever coilovers they came with.

 

Thats what I meant, just didn't feel like typing it out. But yes, what Kevin said

 

Just to clear up my situation, they weren't from my coilovers, but my attempts (that worked) to get more static camber, but I installed the bolts poorly and jacked them up.

OP, what's your plan here for the suspension? Are you putting new coilovers on? You could cut the head and the foot off and the spread the strut ears in order to get it off, but then you still have to get the bolt out of the knuckle...