Suspension lower arm rear

[HalV40]

Hi, my poor old V40 snapped a spring and the bolts are all rusted solid on the right lower arm, can anyone suggest a source for a lower arm plus bolts at a reasonable price? The car simply isn't worth spending much on so about £50 is my budget!

[emtor]

Having a go at those bolts is worth a try.
Mix automatic transmission fluid with acetone 50/50 and give the bolts a thorough soak. Repeat lots of times, hit them with a hammer and then try to loosen them. The mix of ATF and acetone penetrates better than most other penetrants do.

[flyingtech55]

Originally Posted by emtor

Having a go at those bolts is worth a try.
Mix automatic transmission fluid with acetone 50/50 and give the bolts a thorough soak. Repeat lots of times,......

Thanks for this information!

Tim(R)

[magnuz]

If it's just the one bolt at the bottom of the shock absorber that is seized, then you could leave it in & remove the whole shock absorber & arm together, after removing the bolts at either end of the arm .. That's what i had to do !

[emtor]

Originally Posted by flyingtech55

Thanks for this information!

Tim(R)

If the ATF/acetone trick won't work,-try this:
Candle wax and propane torch/heat gun.
Heat the bolt,-apply candle wax and let the wax soak into the threads.
When nothing else works, this usually does.

[m0eeb]

For Second Hand Parts try "Gatos" he is on this forum.

[CharlesStevenson]

Awesome selection of tricks in this post. Worth remembering!

[emtor]

These two 17 year old bolts in the image below refused to come loose.



What to do when you don't have a huge air compressor and an air ratchet wrench for 3/4 inch sockets?
My only tools available was a 3/8 inch socket set and spanners and a 4 feet long piece of steel tubing. This is what happened . . . have a look below:



Exactly,-the handle just snapped.

The solution;- a 1/2 inch socket set, a small gas torch and a candle light.

There's no need to heat the bolts/nuts to red hot, just to about 100 - 200 deg. C and then apply the candle wax.
Usually you hear a bang when rusty bolts loosen, but with heat and wax they come gently loose with no need to apply excessive force.

May I add that I applied large amounts of WD40 the day before without much success.
Save yourself the money and buy a gas torch and a candle light.

[bimmer49]

Kinnell Mush, they're not usually a problem!
You could try whacking the end of the bolt, as seen, at the nut end. I mean WHACK it, its got a protrusion for that purpose.

[emtor]

I tried whacking them . . . still stuck, not room enough to hit real hard I suppose.
Heat and wax allowed me to loosen them using the ratchet alone, and no bang when they let go.