rear strut - need hints

[russian]

Not trying to steal a thread, but what do you do if the captive nut welds break?

Yesterday I was forcing myself not to think what happens if I kill the thread inside this nut...

[twopass]

I had this problem once and used a 110 mig to weld a 3/8 all thresd to the old bolt and then slide hammer it out .I think the heat and pounding both had effects

[MasterTec]

The problem is that there is a metal sleeve inside the rubber. The bolt goes through the sleeve. What happens is it is rusted to the sleeve so when rotating the bolt the sleeve is trying to rotate in the rubber.

What will happen if forced is the sleeve will break loose from the rubber and then the bolt won't come loose from the sleeve.

Usually fixing this involves cutting the strut free from the rubber and removing it. Then you have to cut away at the rubber to get to the sleeve. Then you can slice the sleeve open to free the bolt.

It's not real fun to do and the rubber tends to burn and smoke real bad (due to the heat of the cutter OR from a torch). I envy those who live in rust-free areas.

I have a pair of brand new struts for the rear of my Festiva sitting in my trunk because of this issue. I haven't had the facilities to mess with it.

[r34king]

Use a hammer and a punch to get the bolt out. I do it almost daily at work. Worst case get a new bolt for when you.put the kybs back in

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[zoom zoom]

Use a hammer and a punch to get the bolt out. I do it almost daily at work. Worst case get a new bolt for when you.put the kybs back in

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I'm having this issue and I don't want to replace the struts if I don't have to.. what is meant by this? there is no way to get at the bolt from the backside and I've already broken another craftsman screwdriver on this.