spire swap help/broken bolt...

[gothguydante]

Okay I'm doing the rear end aspire swap and i noticed that the fins on the trailing arm are different and i didn't see anything about taking the bracket that the pivot part mounts to the frame do i need that or will this still work...
also the part where the shock connects to the trailing arm the head of the bolt broke off how would i go about getting that bolt out... but yeah it's really frustrating me and i don't know what to do... also the fins are really diffarent so i don't think it will bolt right up...

[FB71]

fins? can you post a pic?

[oxbrain]

You mean this fin?


I ground them off on the three cars I've done. They're just there to keep the beam from hanging straight down when you remove the struts. The only danger with removing them is that with the beam all the way down it puts a lot of strain on the brake hoses. Remember to not pull both struts at once, or put something under to catch the beam, and it'll be fine.

That broken bolt will be a much bigger hassle. You'll have to drill it out, and be careful to not break the captive nut loose. The combination of an EZout and heating the nut might do the job.

[FB71]

ah, the travel-stops! I never thought of them as fins before! Makes sense. OXbrain is right on.

[Festy46]

If just the head broke off the bolt, then I assume the strut is still attached. If all this is correct, you can get the bolt out but you will have to sacrafice the strut. Make sure you don't have any flammable liquids around and have a fire extinguisher and a bucket of water available. Take a cutting torch and cut the outside of the strut off where it wraps around the rubber bushing. Be careful doing this because the rubber will really burn when you hit the oxygen to make the cut. Once you have the outside piece removed, take a pair of pliers and pull all of the rubber bushing off. After being partially burned, it should come off pretty easily. Next cut the bolt and inner steel bushing about in half so you have about an inch or so of the broken bolt left sticking in the trailing arm nut. Grind the end of the cut smooth and heat the steel bushing that is left and try to pull it off the bolt. If you get the bushing off, next get a nut that is just big enough to slide over the end of the cut bolt. Weld the nut to the end of the bolt. Let the weld cool and then heat the bolt where it goes into the rusted nut until it is red hot. Then take a 12 point box wrench and start unscrewing the bolt by using the wrench on the welded nut.
Do not attempt this if you are not totally familiar with a cutting torch and a welder.

[gothguydante]

yeah i'm no good with a torch and a welder but should i cut that fin all the way off or should i make it as close to the other one as i can... and yes it's just the head of the nut and the strut is still in place... oh and it's the aspires trailing arm not the festivas so i can't take a chance of messing it up... but if the bolt broke wouldn't the easy out not work cause of the bolt being locked up.. i know nuthing about them...

[Safety Guy]

You could also grab the brackets from the Aspire if you can still get them.

Next time take the axle assembly off with the brackets still attached.

And yes, the lower strut bolt can be a pain. I totally ruined an Aspire rear axle by trying to force it and just messed up the internal captive nut area.

Before a swap, apply a lot of PB Blaster on all connections a week or two before actually beginning work. Might save you a bit of hassle.

Karl

[gothguydante]

so the aspire brackets will bolt right in... sweet i didn't really want to cut off the fin.. well i used alot of wd 40 but well the bolt was just weak i think i dono i guess i'm going to try and easy out hope it's not to hard never done it and well i don't really want to ruin this trailing arm cause well it's the only one around that i can find.. the one other got bent back side of car was completely smashed in...

[Icedawg]

I just trimmed the stops (fins) enough that they looked about the same size as the ones on the Festi axle, and it worked well.
As for the bolt head, I will bet it came off because the bolt is frozen inside the shock. This happens all the time, and when it does you have to kiss the shock goodbye. No amount of PB plaster or anything else tends to free it,as the rust goeas all the way through and is really inaccessible. Once you get the shock off the remainder of the bolt it will likely spin off fairly easily. But to get the shock off requires the kind of skills described above. I took my axle to a mechanic's shop and they got it off for me, as my propane torch had no chance of doing what was needed. It was less the $40 for the job.

[gothguydante]

yeah i guess your right icedawg i noticed when i was taking off the other one that the bolt was really hard to get out.. i had to have a friend pull with pliers wile i unscrewed it it...man that stinks i can't really afford to take it to a shop...

[Festy46]

If you have or can borrow a 4-1/2" angle grinder, you can try to cut the bottom of the strut apart and then clean the rubber bushing off the inner steel bushing. Grind the steel bushing in to the bolt and take a cold chisel and split the bushing off the bolt. Hit the bolt-nut area with a good rust cutter liquid. Let it sit a while and then pound on the side of the bolt with a hammer. If you had an air chisel with a blunt tool to do this, that would be the ideal way to do it. After you have pounded on it for a while, take a pair of vise grips and try to turn the bolt. If your vise grips slip, try grinding a flat spot on the side of the bolt for the vise grips to get a better hold. If it still won't budge, repeat the rust treatment and pounding again. This is the "cave man" way of doing it.

[gothguydante]

i was thinking about the angle grinding thing also well i'm going to see how much it's going to be in a shop and if it's about the same as getting an angle grinder then i'm going to just get the angle grinder but if it's cheeper well i will let the pros do it...

[scottxd45]

You can get one from rural king for about 20 bucks I think. You guys have a rural king down there don't you?

[gothguydante]

yeah i guess i'm off to check it out then... man this is becoming crazy hard....

[Icedawg]

rust is crazy hard. seems to be a fact of car, ... er life.