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Old 28th May 2021, 15:42   #1
squire
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Question Trailing arm adjustment bolts

Are the trailing arm adjustment bolts prone to shearing off when trying to undo them?
I wanted my car 4 wheel alignment attempted but they were reluctant to try to undo them for shearing the bolts because of corrosion and the bolt heads in poor condition.
My local garage also said they were concerned about the bolts shearing because if the bolts did it would be an expensive fix. The current alignment is not very far out and the advice I've been given is to leave it alone as I don't do much mileage and the general age of the car, it's done 170k.

Any advice welcome, I'm tempted to buy some decent sockets and try with a breaker bar but also vary wary at the same time.

Tia,

Martyn
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Old 28th May 2021, 16:33   #2
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Never had one shear off yet! Also I’ve had to remove a cross threaded one put in by a ham fisted garage, retap the thread and fit a new bolt.

I find garages reluctant to do these as well, I always crack them off before going to have tracking done.
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Old 28th May 2021, 17:03   #3
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Originally Posted by trikey View Post
Never had one shear off yet! Also I’ve had to remove a cross threaded one put in by a ham fisted garage, retap the thread and fit a new bolt.

I find garages reluctant to do these as well, I always crack them off before going to have tracking done.
Problem is getting the car high enough to get underneath, will have to see what I've got in the way of wooden blocks. Will have to buy a decent six sided 18mm socket and possibly a 17mm to hammer on. I've got new bolts to go in so will try one at a time, any further tips very gratefully received. Many thanks Andy, also thanks again for the "plug"

Martyn

Last edited by squire; 28th May 2021 at 17:07.. Reason: Typo
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Old 28th May 2021, 17:23   #4
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You can get to these with the car on its wheels! A long socket and a stubby extension is what I use.


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Old 28th May 2021, 19:38   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by squire View Post
Problem is getting the car high enough to get underneath, will have to see what I've got in the way of wooden blocks. Will have to buy a decent six sided 18mm socket and possibly a 17mm to hammer on. I've got new bolts to go in so will try one at a time, any further tips very gratefully received. Many thanks Andy, also thanks again for the "plug"

Martyn
Excuse my asking but what caused you to want to get the tracking done ???- Did you have some kind of uneven tyre wear ??
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Old 28th May 2021, 19:59   #6
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Excuse my asking but what caused you to want to get the tracking done ???- Did you have some kind of uneven tyre wear ??
Yes, it's been over 4 years since it was last done and there was feathering on the outside edges, I was advised to get it checked when it was MOTed.
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Old 28th May 2021, 21:06   #7
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Sometimes with bolts such as these and the position they are in, especially when working on ramps or axle stands on your back, is to apply enough pressure between socket and bolt head to prevent it ' camming out '.


One way to help to prevent this is to use a breaker bar and apply pressure to the socket end of the bar with a jack to push and hold the socket firmly on to the bolt head, it's only needed to crack the bolt loose.


One slight disadvantage is that there is a loss of feel.
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Old 28th May 2021, 21:12   #8
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I stood and watched while a guy tried with all his might to get the bolts on one side to move. He got one going but the others he looked like his arm was going to snap trying. His socket kept slipping off too leading to him bashing his knuckles. They had no heat at the time. Felt bad for the guy and I thought the bolt heads would be getting mashed so we called it a day.

He ended up saying if I could get new bolts in and bring it back they would do my tracking. No charge to be fair.

May I ask where you sourced the replacement bolts? I got a wee bit lost back when I was researching it and eventually forgot about it!
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Old 28th May 2021, 21:29   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewJames View Post
I stood and watched while a guy tried with all his might to get the bolts on one side to move. He got one going but the others he looked like his arm was going to snap trying. His socket kept slipping off too leading to him bashing his knuckles. They had no heat at the time. Felt bad for the guy and I thought the bolt heads would be getting mashed so we called it a day.

He ended up saying if I could get new bolts in and bring it back they would do my tracking. No charge to be fair.

May I ask where you sourced the replacement bolts? I got a wee bit lost back when I was researching it and eventually forgot about it!
DMGRS, they are bolts with thicker washers as opposed to flanged bolts and are supposed to be the correct grade.
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Old 28th May 2021, 21:39   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewJames View Post
I stood and watched while a guy tried with all his might to get the bolts on one side to move. He got one going but the others he looked like his arm was going to snap trying. His socket kept slipping off too leading to him bashing his knuckles. They had no heat at the time. Felt bad for the guy and I thought the bolt heads would be getting mashed so we called it a day.

He ended up saying if I could get new bolts in and bring it back they would do my tracking. No charge to be fair.

May I ask where you sourced the replacement bolts? I got a wee bit lost back when I was researching it and eventually forgot about it!

Yes a bit of heat works wonders.


I have an old BOC O series welding torch which is great for such situations, with a no.1 tip and using oxy acetylene or oxy propane with a no. 1 propane tip I have a small flame with a small plume and if used with care can get into some odd spots without damaging or heating other components.


However my fall back for heating stubborn nuts, bolts and so on where a flame will cause damage is to use my sons induction kit, not cheap but seeing a bolt, or nut glow at up to 800c in a few seconds and unscrew like a new one is amazing.
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