I'm currently replacing the front control arms on an '89 lx. I've got both of the rear bolts and nuts removed and I got both front nuts removed, but the front bolts just twist inside the bushings. I've tried hammering but that did not work either. What could I try next?
Front control arms stuck
- Thread starter Begizzle
- Start date
Shakerhood
20+ Year Stangneter 
If you can get an air chisel at it you should be able to knock it free, you could try a little heat too. Greens is a great place to get OEM Ford replacement Nuts and Bolts for the Lower A Arms.
stang&2Birds
Founding Member
HUH? There are:
o two rear bolts and nuts
o the sway bar
o the front ball joint
And,
Where do you live???
It sounds like you have mutant FCAs. Maybe putting on Ford OEM FCAs would be a good idea?
Last: GOOD Sawsall, $50 for NAME BRAND blades per cut (10-12 teeth/in), 1-3 hours per cut.
After you and the others play "what are we talking about", you'll understand the above sentence. Also, Home Depot ~$100 for Dewalt - nice! A file can be used to start a grove.
stang&2Birds
Founding Member
Looking at Begizzle's pics, I'm guessing East Coast above North Carolina? Looks like it could be Philly, NY, Mass, Conn, Vermont, etc??
I went through $200 in blades doing 3 cuts. So, I can say about:
HA, HA, HA, HA!!!
HA, HA, HA, HA!!!
HA, HA, HA, HA!!!
HA, HA, HA, HA!!!
A glimpse into your future:
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/tmp/stang-fcs-12-06-tn.jpg
HA, HA, HA, HA!!!
If you can get someone to help you do this. Put the nut back on the bolt about half way on and have a helper put a wrench on that nut and push the wrench while on the nut towards the front of the car while you turn the bolt side with a ratchet. It should start to move its way out. If it moves about a inch then put a wrench between the bolt and the control arm and repeat steps with helper. A lot of WD-40 or PB blaster will go a long way.
I have a sawzaw. I'll try to do that. I live in Mapleton Depot, PA (central PA). Those pics in my profile are from the previous owner who lived in Altoona, PA. I just bought the car last October and I am doing a lot of work to it over the winter months. I'll be sharing some new pics come this spring.
stang&2Birds
Founding Member
I RULE!
Note: Do NOT try to torch the bolts off. NEVER! Who ever suggested that NEVER tried it. Well, I did. You do NOT want to do that!
TRY to bang the bolts out. It will take you a LONG time to cut through the hardened sleeve and the grade 8 bolt. Plus, you have to make SURE you don't start cutting into the k-frame.
If you could do the cuts from underneath, it would be a LOT better. But, unless you have a lift, you're able to use only a SMALL portion of the blade. So, you go through a LOT of blades VERY quickly. ~70% of the blade is still good, but you can't use any of that portion because of space limitations.
Also, get GOOD blades. Those cheap *ss blades do NOTHING! The cheap Sears blades snap very easily. WEAR GOGGLES and PROTECTIVE clothing. Blades WILL snap!!! The blades WILL bind. Pieces of metal WILL FLY EVERYWHERE *WHEN* the blades break.
I had to cut 3 out of the 4 bolts. Yea, MAJOR SUCKO!!! You'll need to do *2* cuts per bolt. Once you get the FCA out, you'll likely see that the bolts and sleeve are *one forever*. People that don't live in snow states can't fully comprehend the effects of rust and what it means for to be "rusted together FOREVER"!
My driver's side spring rusted to the FCA and broke. The passenger side spring wouldn't come out even with a torch and a huge pry bar. (I just wanted to get the spring out to see the length) One of the *12* Springs that I have is also a broken Fox GT spring. Just imagine the force needed to *break* a spring. THAT is what I mean by "rusted forever".
Good Luck. I found that the Demo blades worked the best. Expensive, but they work the best. Buy them in the multi pack at Home Depot. Sears & Craftsman blades are a joke. Sears blades are junk. Do NOT use them. They grenade like crazy! Craftsman blades are just poor and wear quickly. But, at least they "kinda work" for a short time before they get dull. On Sunday night, Sears was open and Home Depot was closed. Oh well, I went through at least twice as many Craftsman blades per cut. But, I did get the bolt cut.
GOOD LUCK!
Snikt89GT
New Member
Ahhhhh.. I went through exactly the same thing. I used a combination of an air hammer, lots of rust eater, but the winner was the air cut off tool. Had to cut the bolt in half and hammer it out the other way.
Had to do the same thing with the rear control arm bolts.
This pic is on the rear, but same idea.
View attachment 408891
Look how rusty the one bolt that I didn't have to cut-off was.
View attachment 408893
Had to do the same thing with the rear control arm bolts.
This pic is on the rear, but same idea.
View attachment 408891
Look how rusty the one bolt that I didn't have to cut-off was.
View attachment 408893
Snikt89GT
New Member
Here is a place to buy replacement bolts if you don't have any. This place has most of the suspension bolts, 5-lug little pieces, and misc stuff for a mustang.
http://www.breezeautomotive.com/home.php?cat_id=34
http://www.breezeautomotive.com/home.php?cat_id=34
stang&2Birds
Founding Member
I didn't think I had room to get an air cut-off tool in to the bolts for the FCA. But, if I went from fully underneath the FCA, I now wonder. That would have been a LOT better. I knew that I couldn't get my Dremel in there. Plus, I would have went through Dremel disks like mad!
Snikt89GT
New Member
I banged around on those damn bolts for hours with a regular hammer. Don't even waste time. Air tools are the best way
Snikt89GT
New Member
I made sure to do that too. Also, make sure that you torque the control arm bolts when the arms are at ride height. This is kind of a pain to do
Snikt89GT
New Member
Shakerhood
20+ Year Stangneter
I made sure I put AntiSieze on the new OEM Bolts and Thread Locker on the Nuts, if it ever needs to come apart again they should slip right out!
Titaniumdreams
New Member
- Sep 16, 2006
- 3
- 0
- 1
Yes I know this thread is a bit old but I thought I'd throw in my experience with this situation.
What ended up working for me was first cutting off enough of the rubber or whatever that tough crap was to expose enough of the hardened steel sleeve, then using a sawzall with carbide tipped blades (4) to cut through the sleeve. The bolt & the sleeve were fused together by the rust over the years so the I could spin them and cut through the sleeve by spinning it every so often. Then I took a bi-metal sawzall blade & went to town on the bolt. Took about 2 hours to do it.
Now I'm just trying to get the bushings out of the CAs. Ugh!
What ended up working for me was first cutting off enough of the rubber or whatever that tough crap was to expose enough of the hardened steel sleeve, then using a sawzall with carbide tipped blades (4) to cut through the sleeve. The bolt & the sleeve were fused together by the rust over the years so the I could spin them and cut through the sleeve by spinning it every so often. Then I took a bi-metal sawzall blade & went to town on the bolt. Took about 2 hours to do it.
Now I'm just trying to get the bushings out of the CAs. Ugh!
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