Lower Ball Joint Pinch Bolt - Rusted in - Help

[Hands-on]

I have a Classic SE 2.0L Tourer, 2002 and was in the process of removing the lower suspension arms in order to change the bushes to the rear of the arms - I was doing well, I had managed to get the two bolts undone - the forward one with an 18mm cranked ring spanner and the rear one with a strong arm and an 18mm socket. I had even got the main ball joint taper freed by using a 6ft wrecking bar and a hydraulic trolley jack to lever up the lower arm near the ball joint and applying a couple of sharp hammer blows to the ens of the threaded taper with the nut backed off. Then came the easy bit, or so I thought: the pinch bolt. I applied some welly to the nut and it sheared the bolt end off. I tried the other end and it is well and truly seized.

My best plan is to drill it out using progressively larger drill bits.

Does someone who has had to tackle this have any tips?

Thanks to all those who offer help.
Steve

[T-Cut]

With the nut off, I'd try punching the bolt out using a club hammer and a suitable hard pin/drift. Also, heating up the outer area with a plumber's blowlamp can work wonders with the drift.

TC

[Jules]

They are truly maddening those rusty bolts.
Triumph Dolomite suspension always used to unscrew nicely no matter how old.

Shame they've gone backwards.

I changed front springs recently on someones 03 Plate, and didn't even bother trying to loosen the shocks pinch bolt, instead took the hub & spring assembly completely off as a whole!!

(note to self. Remove pinch bolts on my own CDTi Tourer and graphite grease them before they rust in)

[nisfo]

I had broken ball joint splitter forks and a chisel trying to get one of the lower arms off my 75. And grazed my hand.....lol

In the end I got my mate round with a device that looked like a hub extractor with an arm missing, he wound it with a spanner.....Eventually the joint released with such a bang.....

After days of trying to get it out, this bit of kit did it in minutes with the first try



very similar to this but had adjustable arms and braces, big enough to remove the largest of joints. So it was childsplay on the Rover.

[Hands-on]

Thanks for the encouraging stories from your escapades with the pinch bolts and ball joints - I managed to give myself a good hard crack on the index finger - aren't blood blisters painful!

I tried drifting the bolt out but all I'm doing is bulging up the end inside the hole - making it worse.

I even tried hitting the hex head with a cold-chisel to shock it round - it didn't help but that reminds me - I saw a Pajero gearbox in Pakistan that had been stripped and rebuilt with two tools: a lump hammer and a cold chisel! Two tools fits all.

I'll get the drill out later and do some machining.

Steve

[Mac_rouser]

wd40 loads of... leave... then drift with lump hammer
failing that i agree with using a torch around the outer area not the bolt
failing that a drill...

[Hands-on]

Well I got the lower pinch bolt out - they are as hard as a very hard nail - it took a lot of drilling out. I had to cut through the remaining thin wall (like a sleeve) with a junior hacksaw in two places - and then I was able to drift it out but not before.
Aside from getting the new lower bolt put in, it's all back together.

Now to do the other side ...... and I am very tempted to drift off the joint with the arm in situ. Its in such a bad state that the outer will just fall off once the two bolts are out.

What a job! I'll let you know what I discover.

Steve

[dgreaves]

reading this brings back memories of Midget trunnions when I had my
MG restoration shop ,when we put things back together we always had a small pot of Waxoil close at hand and all bolts and set screws were dipped in it, better than copperslip we found when it came to dismantling
some years later.

kind regards

Dave Greaves

[Jules]

2 views on this subject.
I've used Waxoil in the past on triumph suspension. (works years later)

But then there's always that nagging doubt in your mind going along at 70 plus MPH.....are those bolts going to loosen now I've lubricated them!!

Nothing like that has ever happened to me though. (touching real wood 75 dash!)
(longest ownership to date was a Triumph Stag for 15 years)

Agree about Copperslip grease not preventing bolt ceasure/corrosion
My theory to this goes back to the dissimilar metals & the cathodic effect

[GrahamP]

Originally Posted by Jules

Agree about Copperslip grease not preventing bolt ceasure/corrosion
My theory to this goes back to the dissimilar metals & the cathodic effect

Was originally introduced for use on steel nuts,bolts & studs used in a high temperature environment such as super heated steam pipe flanges, we used it a lot on the exhaust manifold studs on the 25,000 hp V16 turbo charged main propulsion diesels.