Hi everyone

Today I decided to try and replace the console bushes in my fabia as I began to hear a clonk in the suspension and could see that the rubber in the console bushes was beginning to separate from the nylon casing. After half a can of wd40, the liberal use of an impact gun and a breaker bar, the bolts that go into the console have not budged a bit! 

It would be fantastic if someone could give me some advise on how to undo the the wishbone bolts without stripping the console threads or snapping the bolt.

 

Buy some PlusGas to use instead of WD40, and make sure you're spraying it into the open end of the threaded hole that the bolt end is in, not the bolt head.

Apply longer breaker bar.

I found it was easiest to have some really long extensions on the socket, so I could be right out in front of the car, rather than being underneath. 

 

 

@fabia88 I strongly second the use of a proper dismantling lubricant rather than a Water Dispersant.

If it’s the front horizontal bolt then it’s probably going to snap. The steel bolt likes to seize in the aluminium housing. That added to mechanics quite often cross thread or over tighten them if it has been out before and also don’t renew the bolt on assembly. 

 I am with Wino on using Plusgas and not WD40. If you can get some heat into the protruding threaded part with a blowlamp or similar before applying the Plusgas - I get enough heat to create lots of smoke -  the rapid cooling effect can help draw the Plusgas down the threads and also the expansion/contraction can break the bond between threads and fasteners. You may have to do this a few times.

Thanks everyone for all the advice I managed with plusgas to undo one of the bolts by half a turn but the bolt still remained extremely stiff. I have decided to bail on this job as I realy cannot afford to shell out £200 for new console brackets.

33 minutes ago, fabia88 said:

Thanks everyone for all the advice I managed with plusgas to undo one of the bolts by half a turn but the bolt still remained extremely stiff. I have decided to bail on this job as I realy cannot afford to shell out £200 for new console brackets.

Be even cheaper if you knew someone who’s breaking a Fabia 😉😉

48 minutes ago, LGM said:

Be even cheaper if you knew someone who’s breaking a Fabia 😉😉

I think @fabia88 is more concerned about knowing someone who's about to break a Fabia! 👼

+ 1 for heat then plus gas, and if you have one an impact gun

Edited 29 August, 20196 yr by UrbanPanzer

Thanks again for all the advice. I will have another crack at this job when I get more time. I dont have much experience working on cars but I have never ever come across a bolt so badly seized, even the bolts on my parents 20 year old vauxhall zafira were easier to undo than this. Also this seems like quite a bad oversight on VW's part and find it suprising that during the 7 to 8 year production run of fabias with this suspension design they did not fix this problem