Hi, just a quick question. Replacing the shocks on my 1999 Felicia 1.3 and although I have removed and replaced/renovated all parts for the shock assembly, on both sides the pinch bolt holding the shock absorber has seized up completely. I've managed to remove the nuts on both sides but the head of one of the bolts has sheared off completely and the other is well rounded.....

First question - is the bolt supposed to be a sliding fit, or is it threaded part way into the clamp? I've tried soaking in WD40 for a couple of days, using a drift to try to drive the bolt out (in both directions in the case of the side without a head) and also heating with a blow torch but nothing seems to shift either of them....

Before I resort to attempting to drill out the bolts and replace with new ones, does anyone have any clever ideas on how to remove these bolts? It won't be easy drilling the length of the bolts and I'm tempted to use an angle grinder to cut off the protruding bits (including those visible in the split in the clamp.....

Any suggestions will be very welcome as I'm on a deadline to get the new shocks fitted before a reinspection for the Swedish MOT.....

Many thanks....

Use 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 

1 hour ago, Sympol said:

Hi, just a quick question. Replacing the shocks on my 1999 Felicia 1.3 and although I have removed and replaced/renovated all parts for the shock assembly, on both sides the pinch bolt holding the shock absorber has seized up completely. I've managed to remove the nuts on both sides but the head of one of the bolts has sheared off completely and the other is well rounded.....

First question - is the bolt supposed to be a sliding fit, or is it threaded part way into the clamp? I've tried soaking in WD40 for a couple of days, using a drift to try to drive the bolt out (in both directions in the case of the side without a head) and also heating with a blow torch but nothing seems to shift either of them....

Before I resort to attempting to drill out the bolts and replace with new ones, does anyone have any clever ideas on how to remove these bolts? It won't be easy drilling the length of the bolts and I'm tempted to use an angle grinder to cut off the protruding bits (including those visible in the split in the clamp.....

Any suggestions will be very welcome as I'm on a deadline to get the new shocks fitted before a reinspection for the Swedish MOT.....

Many thanks....

Use a blowtorch, don't hesitate to heat it up really good. The paint should be burning off. Try heating it for 10 minutes constantly and then try to hitting it with a hammer, also don't hasitate to hit it very hard.

1 hour ago, Sympol said:

I've tried soaking in WD40 for a couple of days

 

The General Purpose does not works all the times, the rust can be removed with Vinegar or Coke (when the object can be submerged) or a Rust Penetrant product or desolved with Paint Remover (Spray or Gel).

If you don't want to use torch use a powerful Heat Gun in the second scale (1800 W and 650 'C).

Thanks for the replies. I've tried the blowtorch for around 10 minutes after removing the brake caliper etc and hanging that out of the way. Despite whacking the bolt with my biggest hammer, there's not a sign of movement. I'm wondering now whether to remove the complete hub assembly (I have to replace the link arms anyway) so I can work on the bolt removal on the workbench. A lot more work I realise with the lower ball joint, the drive shaft nut and the steering linkage, but I'm not going anywhere unless I can get those bolts out. Frustrating as the suspension struts have been refurbished and are ready to go back......

Can someone please confirm if the bolt is threaded into the clamp or should it just drive out backwards?

3 minutes ago, Sympol said:

Thanks for the replies. I've tried the blowtorch for around 10 minutes after removing the brake caliper etc and hanging that out of the way. Despite whacking the bolt with my biggest hammer, there's not a sign of movement. I'm wondering now whether to remove the complete hub assembly (I have to replace the link arms anyway) so I can work on the bolt removal on the workbench. A lot more work I realise with the lower ball joint, the drive shaft nut and the steering linkage, but I'm not going anywhere unless I can get those bolts out. Frustrating as the suspension struts have been refurbished and are ready to go back......

Can someone please confirm if the bolt is threaded into the clamp or should it just drive out backwards?

The bolt that you are trying to remove (the one thats holding the strut) is NOT threaded into the strut, you should be able to whack it out with the hammer. As much as I understand, the rust is so bad you cannot remove that bolt.

7 minutes ago, Sympol said:

Thanks for the replies. I've tried the blowtorch for around 10 minutes after removing the brake caliper etc and hanging that out of the way. Despite whacking the bolt with my biggest hammer, there's not a sign of movement. I'm wondering now whether to remove the complete hub assembly (I have to replace the link arms anyway) so I can work on the bolt removal on the workbench. A lot more work I realise with the lower ball joint, the drive shaft nut and the steering linkage, but I'm not going anywhere unless I can get those bolts out. Frustrating as the suspension struts have been refurbished and are ready to go back......

Can someone please confirm if the bolt is threaded into the clamp or should it just drive out backwards?

And how did you even remove the struts without removing that bolt? That bolt is the only thing holding the lower part of the strut to the suspension😳😳

Thanks for the confirmation about the threads on the bolt. I was able to remove the nuts from both the bolts, which presumably released the clamp enough to be able to pull out the strut - that was the easy part! - but the bolts themselves just won't budge at all despite the heating up, hitting with my biggest sledge hammer (although movement is restricted under the wing).

I'm more inclined now to remove the complete assembly and work on the bolt removal on the workbench. As I mentioned earlier I intend replacing both link arms (suggested at the MOT inspection) and working on the front brakes (new discs) so it basically has to all come apart anyway apart from the steering ball joint....

Thanks for the clarification on the threads on the bolt and the tips. I'll report success or failure later.....

Glad I could help

Edited 23 April, 20233 yr by vucko1011

Disc cut them flush both sides and also through the split in the collar, the heat alone may loosen the 2 remaining slugs or you may need to heat again but each slug will only have half the resistance of the whole bolt, will heat up easier and should drift out a lot easier.

 

An essential is to have the strut anchored when you start giving the drift the good news with the hammer, either with the strut back in place and eveything else bolted up or in a really big vice on a very heavy bench, otherwise all the impact energy is lost in moving the strut.

 

An air chisel with a point bit cut off to make a drift might also shift the slugs.

Sympol, I had exactly the same problem a few years ago with my own Felicia and I know the pain!

 

Before you try J.R.'s kind suggestions, here's what worked for me:

 

- despite soaking with penetrating lubricant, I had sheared off the bolt heads in my heavy efforts to get the bolts rotating.

 

- like yourself, I was very reluctant to face a drilling-out job so I applied more lubricant, cursing and having a think about the problem, and the next day as a last resort I tried using the existing nuts [ with suitable washer spacing ] to extract the now-headless bolts.

 

- IT WORKED !  ...  beautifully, saving me immense prospective hassle.

 

One other thing - if you have applied serious heat to rusty stuff without success, for Heaven's sake don't let the 'cooked' rust get any exposure to water.   In my experience, the chemistry which happens if it does makes things completely unshiftable.

Thanks for the replies. I managed to get both bolts out by removing the complete hub assembly from both sides - lower ball joint, axle nut and steering linkage - then for the complete bolt I used my extra large hammer, and together with a slight backwards/forwards motion and an extension handle on the head of the bolt managed to work it loose. The bolt with the head sheared off I did as suggested and but off the bits of the bolt visible outside (and in the gap) of the hub, then used a drift and the extra large sledge hammer and eventually got both halves of the bolt to drive out. What a pain!
Currently replacing the link arms on both sides - that's another pig of a job!

I know some people on here won't agree with me, but plenty of copper grease (or similar) on reassembly will make future dismantling a lot easier.

I've put copper grease on when reassembling thanks