UCA bolts stuck rant

-

grjammer

FABO Gold Member
FABO Gold Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2013
Messages
738
Reaction score
160
Location
PA
Just a rant. I've done 4 front ends and this is my first with severely stuck UCA bolts.
2 out of 4 are solid rusted bolts to the now spinning inner bushing sleeve. BFH and oil for days and no hope. :BangHead:
I don't have a torch to cut anything.
I am not looking forward to having to cut with any type of saw.
I do have a Sawzall but don't want to burn up a dozen blades trying that route.

 
I used a die grinder with a cutoff wheel on the last one I did a decade ago. It worked well. Good luck.
 
Just a rant. I've done 4 front ends and this is my first with severely stuck UCA bolts.
2 out of 4 are solid rusted bolts to the now spinning inner bushing sleeve. BFH and oil for days and no hope. :BangHead:
I don't have a torch to cut anything.
I am not looking forward to having to cut with any type of saw.
I do have a Sawzall but don't want to burn up a dozen blades trying that route.

you wont burn up a dozen blades. Not even a one. I had to cut all 4 of mine on my dart. But yes, I feel your pain. One of the reasons I'm glad my new uppers have Heims.
 
Had the same problem ! They would move an 1/8 , even got a pneumatic chisel , that didn't do much , just kept turning and hitting with chisel and hammer , got them out after several hours a piece . Lots of rust . Have to have patience , you will get them.
 
two things: One, if you buy the Gold sawzall blades they last forever especially using a little oil to keep them cool (they are well worth it). Second, didn't you watch that video (posted here the other day) about using vibration to loosen frozen bolts?? I've cut axles with the gold blades with no problem, just be sure and get the correct TPI or it will make it more difficult!!

5 NEW LENOX GOLD 9110G 9" x 10TPI TITANIUM RECIPROCATING SAW SAWZALL BLADES | eBay
 
I often wonder what the non rust belt mechanics do while we spend all the extra hours fighting with rusty seized bolts. Drink beer? Watch tv?
 
you wont burn up a dozen blades. Not even a one. I had to cut all 4 of mine on my dart. But yes, I feel your pain. One of the reasons I'm glad my new uppers have Heims.
Apparently they are hardened. I took a pair of uppers off a car that sat in the weeds for years couple weeks ago. After soaking in PB Blaster and Kroil, then prying pounding on them for a while I burned up a couple good blades and barely touched them. Went back to beating the crap out of them and finally got them too move.
 
Apparently they are hardened. I took a pair of uppers off a car that sat in the weeds for years couple weeks ago. After soaking in PB Blaster and Kroil, then prying pounding on them for a while I burned up a couple good blades and barely touched them. Went back to beating the crap out of them and finally got them too move.
Hmm, I must have just had a good blade on mine lol. Gonna do the same thing on the polara soon enough for round two haha.
 
I'd make a video of the BFH method if I could get it to work but would be *** rated with bad language at the least. I am going to try a good blade (just 1) and see if I make a dent later this evening.
This may be the excuse I need to buy some big air tools and a decent 2 stage compumper for the garage. "honey?...guess what I got?"
 
I'd make a video of the BFH method if I could get it to work but would be *** rated with bad language at the least. I am going to try a good blade (just 1) and see if I make a dent later this evening.
This may be the excuse I need to buy some big air tools and a decent 2 stage compumper for the garage. "honey?...guess what I got?"
Bad rust will eat the blade so if you grind a little down to bare metal the blade will last much longer. Also using a slow speed will increase blade life as well as lots of lubricant (cutting oil is best). Make sure to use a blade that has maybe 12 TPI, a fine tooth blade will burn up easy on a big bolt. the faster you reciprocate the blade the faster it will burn up.

treblig
 
I often wonder what the non rust belt mechanics do while we spend all the extra hours fighting with rusty seized bolts. Drink beer? Watch tv?
We surf the internet here on abodiesonly, looking at you guys in rust bucket states, trying to take cars apart without a "flame wrench" (torch).
At times you guys really need to buy, beg, borrow, rent, steal, a torch from someone to get a job like that done.

Torch 001 (Small).JPG
 
We surf the internet here on abodiesonly, looking at you guys in rust bucket states, trying to take cars apart without a "flame wrench" (torch).
At times you guys really need to buy, beg, borrow, rent, steal, a torch from someone to get a job like that done.

View attachment 1715183919
I have one. but burning 40yr old rubber in an enclosed shop SUCKS.
 
Plus if you have a nice paint job on the other side , even wrapping in wet rags is not so good .

Ya, but isn't hammering on, beating on, sawing on, air chiseling on, grinding on, going to f up a paint job in the fender well, instead of directing the flame of a torch onto the rusted bolt in the UCA bushing.
 
I used a propane torch setup from wally world.. after three days of trying to get them to move and no luck.. I used the torch and heated them for about 5 minutes and they came out like butter.. BTW there will be a LOT of black smoke from the bushings burning..
 
I am going to assume that, like me, the nuts came off and your problem is the bolt stuck inside the bushing sleeve. I may try heat as well, with a fan and water. Thanks for suggestions. Hopefully doesn't burn up anything I am not replacing. I am going to paint the whole car soon anyway. back to original color

70928_Front_3-4_Web.jpg
 
I am going to assume that, like me, the nuts came off and your problem is the bolt stuck inside the bushing sleeve. I may try heat as well, with a fan and water. Thanks for suggestions. Hopefully doesn't burn up anything I am not replacing. I am going to paint the whole car soon anyway. back to original color

Exactly the same problem..I spent a week on them until Rusty convinced me to use the heat wrench and all four bolts were out in less than an hour. The propane torch is easy to control, you can get them from harbor freight, northern tool..ETC
I was a little apprehensive at first.. but it works where nothing else would.
 
Common problem in the rust belt.
First, because they are rubber encapsulated, impact tools don't work because the rubber absorbs the impact.
Second, a reciprocating saw needs clearance for the saw blade to move back and forth. Not much room there.
Nowadays, I'd probably use a rotating cutter to cut them up.
It's been well over 25 years since I did my 69 but I remember working on them for several evenings as I didn't have as many tools back then. I finally gave up and carefully cut what was left with a cutting torch. Always the very last resort for me.
I was so happy when I finally got them out.
 
i'm tempted to do that here but I don't know how well a lift outside in the 4 seasons would survive

We get lots of rain, snow, cold here. The original cables were plastic covered, which cracks with use. I'm convinced the failure of one cable was due to internal corrosion. I had new ones made, and grease them heavily.

Winter before last, this was the project "rod knockin" mini whale (Dakota) sat on the hoist most of the winter.

img_0786cs-jpg.jpg


Somewhere back there is the hoist LOL

img_0783cs-jpg.jpg
 
We get lots of rain, snow, cold here. The original cables were plastic covered, which cracks with use. I'm convinced the failure of one cable was due to internal corrosion. I had new ones made, and grease them heavily.

Winter before last, this was the project "rod knockin" mini whale (Dakota) sat on the hoist most of the winter.

View attachment 1715183961

Somewhere back there is the hoist LOL

View attachment 1715183962

What's all that white stuff sliding off the roof, some kind of new insulation that didn't stick!!!!????
Treblig
 
-
Back
Top