front wishbone removal

[rmn 0]

Right i am going nuts, it seems to be the time of the year for people to do suspension overhauls on their cars, so i got in on the act

I got my coilovers and said i would start at the left front and work my way round, and while i was at it i would do the suspension bushes

well the coilover and new top mount flew into place, no problem, then i moved onto taking the wishbone out, or not

i have tried using a power bar, an air impact driver(not the most powerful one mind you) and everything else i could find to try and open either the front bush bolt or the rear bush bolt

 

Has anyone got any suggestions on a way of getting this out, i am going slowly mad, i dont want to round the bolts and totally knacker myself

thanks

[dtjames 0]

WARNING:

 

Wishbone bolts have a nasty habit of shearing. Expensive cutting/welding job to rectify.

 

Good Luck.

[Rpmayne 0]

Have you tried heating them up with a blow torch or something? I did this on a mk2 golf and they came off no probs, it was getting the bushes out which was the nightmare.

[dinkus 10]

Err before you try any of that, drench the bolt in PlusGas. It's kinda like WD40 but on steroids. Leave it over night and it will penetrate (ooh err) the bolt and it should come off much easier in the morning.

[rmn 0]

tried soaking it in oil, i rekon a blow torch will work on the rear buh, but nor sure about the front one

[h100vw 0]

The one that goes up in the box section under the footwell is the b1tch. I doubt plus gas would climb the length of that bolt.

 

A geezer at a dealer told me to try doing it up a bit first. This worked a treat on my MK2 at the time.

 

Use your bar.

 

Gavin

[rmn 0]

thanks, i didnt try the tighten up bit, but it does make sense

[Geo 0]

Richard, did you try beating the shit out of it with a hammer? Works for me most of the time (and makes you feel a lot better too)

[King_prawn 0]

I used a 3 foot pipe on a t-bar to crack the front bolts. Had a nightmare splitting the lower ball joint though. Other than that everything went smoothly.

Make sure you've got the right rear bush if using powerflex. Burn the old ones out and cut the metal sleeve in 2 places, it comes out easy then.

[rmn 0]

ok, i got the B@stard bolts out!

the front one is not a 17.5mm :evil:

I have a quick question, should i go out to gsf and get some wishbones tomorrow or remove the old bushes and reuse the wishbones i took out?

I spent a few minutes with an air hacksaw trying to remove the bushes and said i would leave it til tomorrow

 

are the gsf wishbones ok to use or are they crap?

thanks

[exturbo2003 0]

i think you will find that gsf do the wishbones without the bushes in them so are a lot easier to do

[rmn 0]

yeah i ordered ones off gsf without bushes

thanks