Before I go mental, pinch bolt help!
 

Trying to get my struts swapped over otherwise it's a mobile mechanic to remove the hub.

Can't get the pinch bolt to move in the hub! It's currently soaking in release oil that's been sprayed vigorously all over both sides. Any advice on it before I need to pay someone as removing the hub etc is beyond my capabilities!

I would like to bring her to POL after getting a part worn tyre fitted.

When I did mine, I *doused* both ends of the bolt, and the middle in a made up mix of 50/50 acetone/ATF and left it for a week - that and a 36" breaker bar with a decent socket and they just moved happily.

Failing that, I'd suggest getting a 6 sided (impact drive) socket and at least a 28" breaker bar, and applying force of the "brute" variety.

Can't leave it a week because I'd like it for Friday to leave for POL lol, I'll try the breaker bar but it's getting a breaker bar that'll fit a 15mm socket.

You can buy 1/2" 15mm sockets for impact drivers (and normal 1/2" 15mm sockets come to that) from an engineers merchants easily - even Halfords probably.

Get the socket to fit the breaker bar, they are cheaper :D

Lol yeah I'll have a look and see what I can find in Halfords or somewhere. Got a few friends who are mechanics so they might have something about. Don't think I'll get in with an impact driver as I have an impact driver in the shed

I had to admit defeat with one of mine and took the whole leg out and cut the bolt through the gap. Chucked the old hub as bearing was damaged and put 2nd hand one on. I have found them the trickiest bolt on car.

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Are you trying to split the shocker and spring complete, on a Rover 75 you have enough room with out breaking the wishbone at bottom, perhaps worth trying , unless your changing wishbone as well :shrug:

If push comes to shove I'll have to get the hub removed off the car as I'm not replacing bits I don't need to. The car is having lowering springs fitted at the end of the month regardless so if I need to grind the end off the spring to allow the car to be moved back into the driveway that's what I'll do until the end of the month and then pay to get someone to remove the hub and fit the lowering springs.

Just need the spring swapped if I can't get the complete shock out, if it can be done without removing the hub then happy days, but upon looking I don't think there's room to pull the complete strut down to allow it to be changed in situ?

We done it on Atcchus car month ago, just need long lever bar ,shock and spring complete ,so its definitely possible :shrug: fitting reversal of dismantle as Haynes manual says

Don't have a Haynes manual but I know the refit is just a removal, I've done the change before just never on a 75 or ZT, the cars I've stripped down haven't had pinch bolts like these though nor had the same mileage. Last one I had stripped down and fitted coil overs on was my fabia vrs and that had 38k so everything moved easier. The 75 is almost on 78k so everything's dirtier and seized on lol.

I know it's possible to split them but I can't get the pinch bolt to move, hopefully an early start tomorrow and some brute force will see it moved.

Is it nut and bolt just below the shock absorber your trying to get out or the one at wishbone, better the nut and bolt higher up, theres a split in that one, you can put chisel in split ,open it up a bit while holding bolt with socket, loosen nut with another spanner ,soak it with plusgas or similar .

Its the bolt that holds the shock into the hub, it's a full threaded bolt not a nut and bolt set up.

Soak it with penetrating fluid then ,let it soak in over night, have you got impact screwdriver and socket, that might just be enough to move it, have you got any heat ?

Don't have heat but have an impact driver. There's not enough room though to get in and hit it?

Have you released the track rod end that might give you more acess to get socket on it ? and droplink

No haven't went too much into it yet as I spent a while trying to move the pinch bolt and then gave up for the night. Had a nightmare even trying to jack the car up due to a rubbish road surface causing the jack to sink and tip, luckily I had a wheel under the car and it landed on that rather than the ground! Got dents in the road surface so gonna get a bit of wood or a slab to put the jack on tomorrow and thankfully my wheels need refurbished anyway!

Be careful with the jack on a poor surface. I always use a metal plate on my driveway to prevent the jack sinking.
I also keep several off cuts of looting joists to place under the car when I'm working with a wheel off. I never trust axle stands.
As for that stud, yes it can be tight but as Walter says best to re move the track control arm as it allows you to swing the strut round a bit.
A good breaker is a must and use standard hex sockets.

It's usually fine, I've had cars jacked up on that piece of road before so don't know why it happened to sink in this time lol.

If push comes to shove my mate has 2 big bits of wood he uses so will get them off him if we don't have anything at the house. I'll try it again tomorrow, it's been soaking in release oil for quite a few hours now as well so hopefully an overnight soak in it will help then will try disconnecting the track control arm.

I ended up sawing down either side of the gap in the hub, then drilling down the threaded part of the bolt and using an easy out to screw the thread out then using a punch with the hub supported to drift the shank of the bolt out... new bolts and plenty of copper slip

Sometimes a bit of heat and then cooling it with the penetrating oil works.

As the bolt cools it draws the oil into the bolt and threads.

Also the heat can split apart any rust that is in the threads.

Yeah I've done that before when I worked in a garage, it's too close to brake lines and wires though for heat lol

Last month Walter help me to change the top mount . We used a long crow bar wedge between the wishbone and drive shaft ( carefully not to damage the drive shaft )on to the back of the front subframe. It is little bit tricky but it is possible. Make sure car is solid on the axle stand .

Get a handheld blow torch.

The brake flexi and wiring is far enough away as long as you are careful on the path you bring the flame in at, have it on a blue flame before you bring in it in and go straight to the pinch bolt head from one side then the nut from the other. After heating for time then spray with penetrating oil (e.g. plusgas or similar not WD40). A two foot breaker bar and 6 sided impact socket should do the rest. You may have to heat cycle the pinch bolt a couple of times before the nut releases.

As others have said if all else fails get some heat onto it, if you really think the cables are to close get a heat mat from any plumbers merchant and that will protect anything behind it from the heat used them all the time

Did you manage to get towbar off the tourer :shrug:

If @ Ashock's tourer, brother got it off half sockets half grinder

Bit rusty then ,must be original Rover then ;)

Last one I did was well and truly seized in - the impact gun rounded off the bolt head. :getmecoat:

I got the arc welder out and welded a bigger nut on the end, then with a 3/4 drive socket and breaker bar it finally moved.

Turned the current way up when welding as this transfers heat directly into the bolt, causing it to expand a bit and loosen the rust.

When it had cooled down but the hub was still warm, sprayed the bolt with freezing penetrating oil, and with a fair bit of swinging on the breaker bar out it came. :D

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/...psiqddtesp.jpg








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I had a mobile mechanic out to replace the snapped spring on my tourer about a month ago. He was going to replace both sides but said he couldn't undo the RH pinch bolt with just oil and breaker bar/impact wrench - it needed heat and being mobile he couldn't carry gas torches. Thankfully he could undo the one side that had the broken spring so I then drove it to a garage to have them do the other side.

Any updates, did you manage to change springs then :shrug:

I don't see how carrying a small blowtorch can be that difficult :shrug:. Sure, carrying large gas bottles around requires vehicle being equipped and labelled properly. But if a small blowtorch will do just as well...

Nope cars lying outside the house on an axle stand, had the weather against me here and also working nights I ended up sleeping all day Tuesday and today it was raining on and off. Decided to leave them and wait until I have the money for the lowering springs. Gonna get the air grinder out and cut the end off the spring so I can put the car back up the driveway without damaging the tyre completely.

Put skinny wheel on, then if it knacks nothing lost :shrug:

Nah it doesn't take long with the air grinder the cut off the bit of the spring that's hanging down, I done it with my ZT-T. The tyre is knackered and needs replaced but it saves it from bursting right through it.

The skinny tyre has never been used so I wanna keep it that way lol

I used the grip-tite sockets which grip on the flats, not the corners. I used a long 1/2" wrench for leverage but both came out fairly easily. As you can see from the photo they were well and truly thread corroded.

https://goo.gl/photos/5TVpSuRu2GNWUsDX6

You were lucky there - they can be far more seized in than yours. ;) :D

Gonna just heat them up and spray them with penetrating fluid, will do it a couple of times. Cars not making POL though so air grinder is coming out and then I'll move the car back into the driveway until it gets it's lowering springs. Hopefully have it back on the road by the end of May as I wanna take it away with me for my birthday!

What would happen if I drill through to remove the thread and convert them to a nut and bolt set up?

Perhaps taking complete hub off car and taking to someone with oxy/acetelene to give it good red hot roasting would be easier ?

Unfortunately removing the full hub is beyond my capabilities or I'd have had them swapped over by now. On a budget so can't really afford to pay someone to remove them for me so need to persevere or do them in situ if it's possible.

I've read some posts where people have done just that.

Probably would have been better if it had been fitted as a nut and bolt by Rover.

I'm gonna talk nicely to my mate and get him to take the hub off for me and I know an engineer who'll drill the bolts out for me if I can't get them out by hearing them up and then I'll change it to a nut and bolt set up. It's probably the better option and as said it's how it should've been!

The far side of the clamp is threaded, so you would either need to drill out the thread, or use a smaller diameter bolt (the later is not a sensible option). The bolt is a tougher than normal one, but with a smaller than normal head as I recall.

When doing the top bearings, I failed miserably to undo it, so I used option B and took out strut complete with the hub, it is not that difficult to do it that way. Just a matter of disconnecting the caliper, cables at the inner wing and the driveshaft. I had tried lots of heat, a drill would not even mark the bolt head.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0b6e05875f.jpg
Know how you feel at the moment this is mine.


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And that's with oxy/acetylene and an impact gun. Still can't get it shift.


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If you have access to an arc welder weld a nut around the old bolt head with the current up as high as you can.

The heat will expand the bolt and help loosen it when it cools down. Once the heat has dissipated into the hub spray freezing penetrating oil on the bolt and with a decent socket and breaker bar or your rattle gun it should move.













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Well I got the new strut fitted but can't get the pinch bolt off the bottom ball joint and it's now rounded! Gonna need to cut it off and replace it, not gonna change the passengers side strut over now just gonna run it as is until I get the lowering springs. At least the drivers side will strip down easier to change the strut over lol. I borrowed a mates bar which allowed me to get the force needed to get it moved, I borrowed his jack as well which has a handle that splits so used a bit of that to extend the breaker bar and it moved with the slightest bit of force! No heat needed just a good soak for a week with penetrating fluid lol.

Hopefully the passengers pinch bolt comes off easier!

The standard bolt has a 15mm head as far as I can remember. When I rebuilt my suspension I replaced the bolts with ones with 16mm heads, and used
( lightly ) copper grease on the threads to ensure that next time I dismantle the strut/suspension, it will be easy.

As I recall the bolt is M12 x 60mm. These are easy to obtain in the right grade with 16mm heads.

I hope this is be helpful...but I know it won't help much in getting the bolt/s out in the first place... Some heat and a good purchase are essential in my experience...

Didn't need heat in the finish up, just the breaker bar extended done the job we need it to. The bolt has been cleaned up and the threads inside cleaned and the bolt back in. Will check everything again a few days after the car has been properly used, it's still awaiting a new tyre but I took it a short test drive. An absolutely pig of a job with everything being seized but now I know how to do it I'll happily tackle it again soon so fit the lowering springs once they're ordered.

Hi.
I was always told that give any bolt exposed to the weather to soak with plus gas before going near it with a socket. Then believe it or not tighten it first as it breaks the rust. It's always worked for me.

Yeah have done the tighten to loosen thing myself but the pinch bolt had been given a good soaking for a week in release oil and then more before we started trying to loosen it.

Grinder then and drill out the remains. High tensile nut and bolt will be fine and pass the MOT.

Didn't even need to do that either, although I almost had to with the bottom ball joint bolt but I got it moved with the breaker bar and a toothed socket as it was starting to round! Replaced the bottom ball joint nut and bolt and will replace the passengers side one as well when that gets stripped later

I would be confident my clarke 240v impact wrench would shift it, using black hex socket. If stuborn, tighten then slacken, has always worked for me, best money I ever spent.

I've got one of those, and it didn't shift the last pinch bolt I had seize up, even trying a bit of righty tighty as well as lefty loosey :getmecoat:

Well I reccomend a breaker bar extended lol, it shifted the bolt without much force, the breaker itself wouldn't budge it either.

ok if clarke impact wrench doesn't get it, get the bolt nice and hot, then have another go. Also give everything a few good taps with a hammer. It must come out.

It's getting it out without rounding it is the trick, that's what happened to my ball joint bolt, it started to round but managed to get it off anyway. Least it's done and I can start using the car soon

I also have one of these, it failed on the pinch bolt but recently redeemed itself by shifting a stubborn hub nut when changing spring. On the whole for 50 quid its a useful addition to the tool box.

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Oh it came out. :D

Plenty of heat was applied by the arc welder when a new nut was welded on to the rounded head as a result of the impact wrench trying its best.

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/...psiqddtesp.jpg

Then, once the heat had dissipated into the hub, freezing penetrating oil was applied to the bolt, and with the help of a 3/4 inch breaker bar it started to move.

Yes a great bit of kit for the money. Apart from the last pinch bolt, the only other thing it has failed to shift so far is the crank pulley bolt - and you know how tight they can be. A 5 foot scaffold pipe extension to the breaker bar and me swinging on it for all I was worth was needed. :getmecoat:

Just for interest now , here is my own experience with the strut pinch bolt :
http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...ad.php?t=84261
Since that time I have acquired a set of Irwin spiral toothed bolt removers , and wonder how they would have faired with the wounded bolt ! They have worked well on a few other problems :}

Never had a problem with these, after having one major problem that needed 7hrs of drilling out.

Six sided socket, long long bar, LOTS of heat into the bolt, LOTS of Plusgas, PATIENCE, moving it a bit, then more heat, the more soaking. They will always come out if done patiently and slowly.

Heat should not really be applied to the strut though, but with a very small flame/torch you can get it just on the right parts of the bolt.

Heat cycles combined with penetrating fluid with time to soak... never failed me yet.

However, Im never in a rush to to these, (avoiding another 7hr drillout) so if one is really really bad and has never been moved from factory, rather than take a risk im happy to do it over a few cups of tea and take up to 1hr for a bolt if it avoids more pain down the road :)

Well it came out with no heat just a breaker bar extended lol

I ended up just fitting a strut from a breaker.


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