Need help with coilover install.

[Whitenukl]

Calipers, rotors off. The drivers side sway bar end link won’t come out. Bolt is off but appears tension is holding it in. (Passenger side popped right out once bolt was off). Also can’t get the splined bolts out of the strut. Been banging with rubber mallet and they won’t budge. Any help would be much appreciated

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[Jaymar]

Put the nut back on the end of the spindle bolt to protect the threads at the end then let loose with a much larger caliber of hammer.

 

[Whitenukl]

Put the nut back on the end of the spindle bolt to protect the threads at the end then let loose with a much larger caliber of hammer.

Yea I have the bolt on and threaded all the way to the end so I don’t mushroom the bolt. Still won’t budge. Car only has 6k miles. Shouldn’t be that tight in there but it is . Appears that it’s starting to mess up the threads from the pressure of banging on the bolt.

 

[PC_GUARD]

Calipers, rotors off. The drivers side sway bar end link won’t come out. Bolt is off but appears tension is holding it in. (Passenger side popped right out once bolt was off). Also can’t get the splined bolts out of the strut. Been banging with rubber mallet and they won’t budge. Any help would be much appreciated

You have both front tires off the ground, right???

 

[Jaymar]

Yea I have the bolt on and threaded all the way to the end so I don’t mushroom the bolt. Still won’t budge. Car only has 6k miles. Shouldn’t be that right in there but it is

That sucks, sorry. I've heard of people using ball joint presses as well but for the life of me I have no idea how they fit it in there.

 

[Whitenukl]

You have both front tires off the ground, right???

Yes

 

[NightmareMoon]

Hit those splined bolts with some liquid wrench /WD 40 and let them sit a bit

With the nuts backed off and protecting the head from mushrooming, but as much thread engagement as possible to distribute the force, a few good thwacks with a real 2 1/2 to 3lb mini sledge should get them moving. No rubber mallets, you need the sharp impact shock of metal on metal.

 

[NightmareMoon]

The swaybar - get a jack under a knuckle, you should be able to find the height where the endlink bolt can come out

 

[Whitenukl]

The swaybar - get a jack under a knuckle, you should be able to find the height where the endlink bolt can come out

Thank you….I did hit the bolts with WD40. I was hesitant to put the Jack under the knuckle because I didnt want to cause any damage to the bushings. I put everything back together and tomorrow I’m calling the stealership to see if they have those spline bolts and nuts in stock. If so, I’ll buy them and get a heavy duty short handle sledge and bang the shit out of it until something happens lol. I won’t damage anything by jacking the control arms up with the Jack will I?
I was also hitting the nuts so hard that it started to damage the threads from the pressure. So I’ll be safe and buy new ones. That way I can really give it some bicep/tricep action. But damn…it really shouldn’t be that tight in there. Thanks for all the help

 

[Jaymar]

That's the spirit!

I'd use a block of wood just to be careful when jacking up the control arm but as long as you don't accidentally put all of the pressure right on the ball joint you should be good. NightmareMoon may be on to something, if you have a PP front swaybar the bushings are bonded so any position away from normal ride height puts the bar working against the spindle and the end link bolts in shear.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Thank you….I did hit the bolts with WD40. I was hesitant to put the Jack under the knuckle because I didnt want to cause any damage to the bushings. I put everything back together and tomorrow I’m calling the stealership to see if they have those spline bolts and nuts in stock. If so, I’ll buy them and get a heavy duty short handle sledge and bang the shit out of it until something happens lol. I won’t damage anything by jacking the control arms up with the Jack will I?
I was also hitting the nuts so hard that it started to damage the threads from the pressure. So I’ll be safe and buy new ones. That way I can really give it some bicep/tricep action. But damn…it really shouldn’t be that tight in there. Thanks for all the help

Yeah you really want to be prepared to replace those splined bolts. I think they're speced as one time use, as they stretch so to achieve the needed clamping force. Repeated use and they can stop holding as well, and as you've discovered, removing them can be destructive. Esp the sacrificial nut you're bludgeoning to bang the things out. That guy is one time use for sure

They're splined and tight for a good reason. I had a nut back off completely one time. If that bolt had come out while driving it would have been bad(tm). The spline kept the bolt in place and held the knuckle from folding over. Gave me plenty of time to notice the wonky handling and correct the issue.

 

[Whitenukl]

Thanks for all the help gents. I’ll get back at it tomorrow and hopefully I can get some new bolts and I’ll give it the sauce with that sledge and see what happens. If I break something I’ll reach back out. Lol.

 

[Hye Power]

Yes

Man that would be something if you could get the caliper and rotor off without removing the tires.

 

[Mike Pfeifer]

Man that would be something if you could get the caliper and rotor off without removing the tires.

I had a car at work once that had gigantic wheels on it and you could totally get the caliper off without taking the wheel off. A 745Li with 33s. What a dumb looking car.

 

[James1980]

Thanks for all the help gents. I’ll get back at it tomorrow and hopefully I can get some new bolts and I’ll give it the sauce with that sledge and see what happens. If I break something I’ll reach back out. Lol.

Turn the wheel to point the bolts at you, no need to start the car, you can just turn the steering wheel. Gives you a lot more room and keeps you from hitting your fender. The first time I did it I had to hit them pretty damn hard.

And you wont hurt anything jacking up the knuckle to remove the end links. That's how I got mine off. Do NOT attempt to hammer those out. You will destroy the threads

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