Looking for some help with how to remove some severely rusted on rear shock bolts on the Pathy.
Dousing in PB Blaster and using a 14” cheater pipe on the 1/2” Stanley ratchet well broke the ratchet.
I tried to use my cheap impact from HF on the lower bolt on either sides. You guessed it, nothing.
So I soaked the bolts in pb blaster. My plan is to get a 15” craftsman breaker bar from Lowe’s and use the 14” cheater bar to see if that’ll do the trick.
Any suggestions on how ya’ll have gotten your seized shock bolts off?
Help removing rear shock bolts
Moderator: volvite
Re: Help removing rear shock bolts
IF all of that fails, I would use a Sawzall with a metal blade and cut them off. That's what I had to do. I went to AutoZone and bought new bolts.
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silverarrow27
- Posts: 463
- Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 1:40 am
- Location: Banning, CA
Re: Help removing rear shock bolts
Yikes, this is what I was afraid of.
I’m struggling with getting the upper bolt off on the passenger side. It’s really narrow access and has the fuel line and fuel tank right behind.
I used a hack saw blade to take the shock off to get some more room. 2.5 hours of my life gone..
I don’t think I can still get a sawzall in there without hitting/scraping/gouging the surrounding area of the sub frame (marked in red).
Any ideas how to do this outside of taking a hacksaw blade and taking an entire day to slowly cut through the sleeve? That sounds like a painful frustrating day that I would like to avoid if possible
I’m struggling with getting the upper bolt off on the passenger side. It’s really narrow access and has the fuel line and fuel tank right behind.
I used a hack saw blade to take the shock off to get some more room. 2.5 hours of my life gone..
I don’t think I can still get a sawzall in there without hitting/scraping/gouging the surrounding area of the sub frame (marked in red).
Any ideas how to do this outside of taking a hacksaw blade and taking an entire day to slowly cut through the sleeve? That sounds like a painful frustrating day that I would like to avoid if possible
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silverarrow27
- Posts: 463
- Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 1:40 am
- Location: Banning, CA
Re: Help removing rear shock bolts
You're brave to use a hack saw, I would have went with the cheap $20 sawzall from Harbor Freight with Diablo blades from Home Depot and cut the shock off in 30 seconds. Either way, you're in the hole now.
It's been a while since I've looked at my rear suspension to see if there's enough room for a sawzall. At this point, it's worth a try because for sure an angle grinder won't fit in that area. Referencing back to old pictures when I did my rear suspension, it appears you should have enough room with a sawzall if you take off the upper control arm. As my Pathy came from the rust belt also, I can tell you right now you're going to need a new control arm and new nuts and bolts because you're going to most likely have to cut off the control arm bolts off too if you decide to take the control arm off to make more space to work in there.
It's been a while since I've looked at my rear suspension to see if there's enough room for a sawzall. At this point, it's worth a try because for sure an angle grinder won't fit in that area. Referencing back to old pictures when I did my rear suspension, it appears you should have enough room with a sawzall if you take off the upper control arm. As my Pathy came from the rust belt also, I can tell you right now you're going to need a new control arm and new nuts and bolts because you're going to most likely have to cut off the control arm bolts off too if you decide to take the control arm off to make more space to work in there.
Re: Help removing rear shock bolts
Yikes! I really want to avoid making this project any bigger. I’ve made some progress with the hacksaw on one side of the bushing.
My thought is to cut that end off (very very slowly I know). Still can’t figure out how to get the sawzall on there without damaging the frame.
Next question is: how do I break the bolt head? I don’t an air compressor or air hammer. I’m stumped on how to get to the head so that I can snap it off. Any suggestions?
Love the threads, where they claim it took them 1-1.5 hours to replace both shocks.
My thought is to cut that end off (very very slowly I know). Still can’t figure out how to get the sawzall on there without damaging the frame.
Next question is: how do I break the bolt head? I don’t an air compressor or air hammer. I’m stumped on how to get to the head so that I can snap it off. Any suggestions?
Love the threads, where they claim it took them 1-1.5 hours to replace both shocks.
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silverarrow27
- Posts: 463
- Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 1:40 am
- Location: Banning, CA
Re: Help removing rear shock bolts
I know what you're trying to do there with the bolt head as I've tried that method myself. The bolt head can be broken off(with a long enough breaker bar and extension) or cut off(very slowly like you said), the issue I ran into before is that there will still be some threads still in the shock mount bracket. Then you'll have to cut between the shock and the bracket to free up that side. Then you'll still have to contend with the other side with the bolt still sticking through even if you got the nut off.
I hope I'm wrong and you fare out better than I did with mine.
I hope I'm wrong and you fare out better than I did with mine.
Re: Help removing rear shock bolts
I tried the cheap sawzall with some Dewalt 16tpi blades from Lowe’s. No dice. Got my neighbor to come help me with his Metabo and we were able to knock that sucker out in little over an hour. Gotta admit, without the Metabo I would have been in stuck with figuring out how to split the bolt head off to get the remaining stuff out of the subframe.
Portions of the rear cradle got a coating of POR15. When I put the new shocks in tomorrow, I’ll be using aluminum anti seize. Can I still torque the bolts to 129 lb-ft or should I reduce it by 25% on account of the anti seize?
Portions of the rear cradle got a coating of POR15. When I put the new shocks in tomorrow, I’ll be using aluminum anti seize. Can I still torque the bolts to 129 lb-ft or should I reduce it by 25% on account of the anti seize?
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silverarrow27
- Posts: 463
- Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 1:40 am
- Location: Banning, CA
Re: Help removing rear shock bolts
Nice work! Which Metabo tool did your neighbor have? Don't forget to share pics of the newly installed shocks for us.
Re: Help removing rear shock bolts
Thanks! I’m not sure on the exact model number, but it’s an angle grinder. We used a 5” cut off wheel for the job.silverarrow27 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 03, 2021 1:28 amNice work! Which Metabo tool did your neighbor have? Don't forget to share pics of the newly installed shocks for us.
Sadly, I didn’t take any pictures of the shocks once they were on the car. Just too excited to get it off Jack stands and drive it again. They look nothing special imo (unlike the Bilsteins) and the ride height is normal as well. I’m pretty pleased especially at the price point.
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TooMuchControl
- Posts: 382
- Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2020 4:41 pm
Re: Help removing rear shock bolts
Just commenting on your success.
Good that you got those off! What a pain this must have been.
What type of shocks are the new ones?
I noticed that the bushings are very different compared to the previous ones, in that the metal collar is less pronounced.
Good that you got those off! What a pain this must have been.
What type of shocks are the new ones?
I noticed that the bushings are very different compared to the previous ones, in that the metal collar is less pronounced.
Re: Help removing rear shock bolts
Thanks! Yeah, that was a real bear to remove. Definitely a learning experience (hopefully one I don’t have to deal with again!)
The replacement shocks are the FCS brand ones from RA. I don’t really tow or haul much stuff (maybe once every 6 months if that). I figured it would be fine to roll the dice on them given how low cost they are and see if they pan out.
Initial impression is pretty good, I’m quite pleased with them.
In fact, I might just get them for the fronts as well when I’m ready to deal with the possibility of frozen bolts again.
The replacement shocks are the FCS brand ones from RA. I don’t really tow or haul much stuff (maybe once every 6 months if that). I figured it would be fine to roll the dice on them given how low cost they are and see if they pan out.
Initial impression is pretty good, I’m quite pleased with them.
In fact, I might just get them for the fronts as well when I’m ready to deal with the possibility of frozen bolts again.
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