74 duster lca bolts/studs?? replace?

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john27pa

john27pa

74 360/904 Duster
Joined
Apr 27, 2011
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Location
DuBois PA
I went and bought a new lower ball joint to put on my 74 duster. Problem is when I went to loosen nut ??15/16"?? it wont come off. Damn thing had either the nut or the stud threads stripped. Are these studs easily replaceable? Maybe I got lucky and its just the nut? Any ideas on how to get the nut off without ruining anything else? If its the stud then I can probably get 2 big washers about 1/8" thick to keep new nut on threads. Needs alignment after anyway because I'm also replacing uca bushings. If its the nut then I can go to Fastenal and hopefully get a new one.

My thing is- I want to be covered either way before I start to take it all apart. I don't like leaving jobs undone over time. I don't really want to use washers because that will throw the geometry of every thing out of whack for the alignment-ie camber issues.

Mind is fried and hoping its just the nut that's screwed up, much like myself- the nut is screwed up=as my fiancé says lol. Its almost 4 am-cut me a break lol.
 
Are we talking about the bolts that hold the lower ball joint to the spindle? If so, it's truly a bolt in the sense that it has a head behind the rotor. As soon as they get a turn loose, the whole thing will spin.

If it is stripped or damaged, I think that bolts from mid 80's chryslers will fit. You can't just go down to the hardware store and pick them up as the head is really short and the nut seems to be taller than anything I've ever seen available retail.
 
If you are talking about the large nut that holds the lower control arm (lca) to the K frame, that stud is pressed into the lower control arm bushing (which is rubber) and then bolted in with a 15/16 or 7/8 nut and lock washer. When you try to remove it, it is very common for the stud to break loose and turn inside the worn rubber bushing which would imitate a "stripped" bolt. You will not be able to remove the bolt.

I usually heat the old bushing with a torch and let the rubber burn for a few minutes to soften it up. Then you can remove the torsion bar clip, release the tension on the bar, then pry the lower control arm back with a crowbar (which will also remove the torsion bar) The stud will pull out of the old lca bushing and stay attached to the K frame when the lca is removed..

After the lower control arm & torsion bar is out of the way, you can hold the LCA stud with a pipe wrench and remove the nut and washer. Clean it up on a wire wheel and press it into the new LCA bushing and re install it!
 
yeah- the bolts that attach to the spindle piece that attach the lower ball joint.
 
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