rear lower trailing arm seized bolt

IrieLandy · May 20, 2011

Hi there, just been for MOT (known as DOE over here) for my 90 defender.

i have a bent rear trailing arm from an argument with a ditch a couple of years ago and this time around the good folks at the testing centre have decided this just will not do and so i need to replace it.

i have a good straight arm from another vehicle and so thought this would be a fairly easy job... quite used to freeing up seized bolts etc... but here's a new one on me:

the bolt at the axle end of the arm will not budge!!!! obviously i've removed the nut and then (following the hilarious advice of the haynes) tried to "withdraw the bolt" - HA HA HA!

what i think is going on is the bolt has welded itself to the metal sleeve within the pivoting end of the arm because when i rotate the bolt i hear a scrunchy rubbery sound! obviously if the bolt is not freeing itself from the metal sleeve, its never going to come out.

any thoughts?! preferably not involving the use of oxy-acetalene, which i dont have and probably wont work anyway bearing in mind the bolt itself is pretty well insulated by the end of the trailing arm itself.

any tips would be much appreciated.

johnnyoxford · May 20, 2011

Have you managed to get the nut off? Sounds like yes.

If so then just find a suitable drift, a very large hammer and belt FOOK out of it, it will come out.

Mine was the same, the real fun is getting the new ones in once you have replaced the bushes. I used a scissor jack to jack the axle awayfrom the rear outrigger until it was in line to get the new bolt through.

Good luck!

Vagrent · May 20, 2011

I had this, and its a complete Cnut.
saw through the nut shaft on the inside of the "trailing arm holder bit" (official term) on the axle and it will drop off then drill the rubber around the shaft of the bolt, hammer the **** out of it to remove the bolt and the sleeve, get all the rubber out. burn it out

Then hack saw the round metal bush housing out and do some more hammering till you geddit out

Or find someone with a 100tonne press to geddit out

Shifty1962 · May 20, 2011

Get a bigger hammer and eat your weatabix ! Sounds like the bolt has corroded on to the inner bush sleeve. If you have the nut off then get a long spanner on the bolt end and give it a tweak to break the seal. If you have access to an air impact gun like what they use in the tyre bay then even better. Once the bolt is turning in the sleeve it will hammer out quite easily.

Hamsterberg · May 20, 2011

Vagrent said:
I had this, and its a complete Cnut.
saw through the nut shaft on the inside of the "trailing arm holder bit" (official term) on the axle and it will drop off then drill the rubber around the shaft of the bolt, hammer the **** out of it to remove the bolt and the sleeve, get all the rubber out. burn it out
Then hack saw the round metal bush housing out and do some more hammering till you geddit out
Or find someone with a 100tonne press to geddit out

I did simiilar just used slitting disc, then burnt it out. the otherside i hammered fcuk out of it and bent the bracked and wound up replacing it

Vagrent · May 20, 2011

Hamsterberg said:
I did simiilar just used slitting disc, then burnt it out. the otherside i hammered fcuk out of it and bent the bracked and wound up replacing it

Its an absolute bastard ****er cnut knuckle hurter

IrieLandy · May 20, 2011

Shifty1962 said:
Get a bigger hammer and eat your weatabix ! Sounds like the bolt has corroded on to the inner bush sleeve. If you have the nut off then get a long spanner on the bolt end and give it a tweak to break the seal. If you have access to an air impact gun like what they use in the tyre bay then even better. Once the bolt is turning in the sleeve it will hammer out quite easily.

nice thinking but i've tried that... its gonna take more than a tweak to seperate the bolt from the sleeve! in fact.. its not gonna happen!

IrieLandy · May 20, 2011

johnnyoxford said:
Have you managed to get the nut off? Sounds like yes.

If so then just find a suitable drift, a very large hammer and belt FOOK out of it, it will come out.

Mine was the same, the real fun is getting the new ones in once you have replaced the bushes. I used a scissor jack to jack the axle awayfrom the rear outrigger until it was in line to get the new bolt through.

Good luck!

ok... removed brake disc/bearing, etc to gain access (maybe your bolts were the other way around which would have helped!)... and all i've achieved is that i'm gradually bending the bracket on the axle!

now have it soaking in diesel overnight in the vain hope that this might loosen things up a bit...

jamesmartin · May 20, 2011

theres no point in trying to hammer it or twist it out if its rusted to bush sleeve rubber takes shock out of hits just grind or hack saw through both sides of bolt spread bracket first 20 mins max

IrieLandy · May 20, 2011

Vagrent said:
I had this, and its a complete Cnut.
saw through the nut shaft on the inside of the "trailing arm holder bit" (official term) on the axle and it will drop off then drill the rubber around the shaft of the bolt, hammer the **** out of it to remove the bolt and the sleeve, get all the rubber out. burn it out
Then hack saw the round metal bush housing out and do some more hammering till you geddit out
Or find someone with a 100tonne press to geddit out

aha... the destructive appraoch... i like it! i guess this is my only other option really unless it loosens up overnight. just hope i dont destroy the bracket in the process.

i really wish the tester hadnt noticed the bent arm in the first place and i'd have left it alone.. doesnt seem to make any difference to the ride of the vehicle and theres no uneaven tyre wear... what he didnt notice is that one of my rear discs is worn out and the brake caliper has only one bolt!! even so it didnt fail on braking performance. hmm.

jamesmartin · May 20, 2011

your lucky then,that he noticed rear arm else you wouldnt have noticed either

nesponge · May 21, 2011

BIG hole punch and BIG hammer

Give it hell

khaos · May 22, 2011

BURN IT!

No seriously just stick a big blow torch on it if you're going to change it anyway.

bustersbus · May 22, 2011

Cut through the trailin' arm ( it's fecked anyways) and it'll take the pressure of the bolt that's twisted in the bracket

rear lower trailing arm seized bolt

IrieLandy

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johnnyoxford

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Vagrent

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Shifty1962

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Hamsterberg

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Vagrent

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IrieLandy

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IrieLandy

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jamesmartin

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IrieLandy

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jamesmartin

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nesponge

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khaos

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bustersbus

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