Removing over-tightened bolts.

[Jonff]

Well I'm putting it down to being over-tightened. The bolt that attaches your shocker to the rear hub. Managed to loosen the offside bolt by soaking it in WD40 but the nearside bolt just won't budge.

I'm expecting the usual "man up" comments but does anyone have any ideas on how to loosen it? Or will it be just a case of taking it to a garage to have it driven off?

 

[DrR]

Big long pipe on the end of a spanner FTW

 

[nick.]

will a impact socket help, no sure though

 

[Jonff]

Big long pipe on the end of a spanner FTW

Lol. I'd have tried that but there's not enough room under the car.

 

[jesus]

I took mine to an independent garage to loosen the bolts I couldn't get off, places like Kwik Fit won't do it as it's 'unsafe'! Airgun ftw.

 

[MarcoB]

Tighten it up 1/8th of a turn then remove it. If that doesnt work give it some heat.

 

[James.f]

soak it with WD40 over night, with regular sprayin of wd, then should come loose then

when puttin them back put some grease on them,

 

[Reyes]

RPG

 

[Jonff]

I took mine to an independent garage to loosen the bolts I couldn't get off, places like Kwik Fit won't do it as it's 'unsafe'! Airgun ftw.

I think it depends on the mood of who's working there. I went to the ATS near me and asked them to fit a couple of brand new tyres, guy I spoke said they couldn't due to insurance reasons. Went back a couple of days later and asked the same thing to a different bloke and they fitted them for me. :S

 

[Jonff]

soak it with WD40 over night, with regular sprayin of wd, then should come loose then

when puttin them back put some grease on them,

I'll give that a try. Cheers.

 

[mattjk]

Plus gas is mucho better stuff than WD40 for rusty bolts.

 

[Icarus]

Plus gas the backs of the bolts as they'll be rusted up then buzz out with an airgun.

They come out fine but if all you have are hand tools you'll be struggling!

Cheers
M

 

[sideways danny]

Lol. I'd have tried that but there's not enough room under the car.

doesn't sound like you're jacking it up much, do yourself a favour and give yourself some height to work with, then a breaker bar will be your friend

 

[Henry]

you can often 'shock' bolts like this into starting by belting the spanner/ratchet with a heavy mallet

 

[JD]

do what we did on the Mongol Rally

light a fire underneath the bolt and heat it off

note, using WD40 with this is not a good idea. . . . nor is it a good idea if your fuel tank is near the bolt

 

[Jonff]

Had another go at the bolt in question and managed to loosen it, while I had my tools out I decided to loosen the bolts on the front as I'll hopefully getting some Eibachs in the near future. While I was under the bonnet loosening the nuts at the top of the shockers I found the offside one was already loose .

Could that be the reason I've been suffering poor handling in fast bends? I'd previously made a thread slating the tyres for this.