Hi all,
On the rear of my boxster the bolts that set camber were solidly frozen into the lateral control arms (the ones that look like coffins)
Hours with heat, impact wrenches, penetrating oil etc. did nothing. Could not get any kind of cutting tool in there without risking damage to the rear subframe. Drilling from the head or tail of the bolt again risked damage to the subframe if the bit wandered at all, which is likely it would.
So, I developed a procedure to remove these arms, assuming you will be replacing them as this procedure is destructive to the arms.
you will need:
Electric drill
SHARP 3/8 drill bit
A new bolt, nut and control arm.
What you are going to do is drill through the coffin arm at the crease where the lateral portion meets the round portion and sever the bolt just in from the edge of the bushing. I angled the drill bit slightly toward the edge of the bushing to cut the remaining bit of bolt just a little shorter. You will be drilling 1/2 inch or so in from the edges of the control arm bushing so there is no risk to subframe as long as you do not over-drill depth wise. You will have to drill twice, once for the head end of the bolt, and once for the tail end of the bolt. You end up with the center of the bolt still stuck in the arm, and the two ends of the bolt come of as nubs from the two holes you drill.
Only drill till you sever the bolt, no deeper, you don't want to come out the other side of the arm and drill the subframe. Drill bit has to be very sharp as you are drilling a hardened steel bolt, get the best one lowes or home depot has. Use a new one.
Once the bolt is severed, just put a wrench on the head of the bolt, and twist or tighten the nut on the other end of the bolt. It should snap free then come right out. If it is at all reluctant, use a breaker bar until you get it to turn, then you can use any number of methods to pull the fragment out, prybar, vice grips and hammer, etc. You are now trying to extract 1/4 to 1/2 inch of bolt stuck in a bushing as opposed to 2 inches of bolt stuck in a bushing. Much easier task.
I may have to do two more of these this weekend, I have a suspicion the front bolts are similarly frozen. let me know if you want pictures or videos and I can provide.
regards,
Silber
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