Just an FYI, had a customer come in today that was in desperate need of a car so I made him a great deal on the Lil Red Hondoo Civic. He was driving a very rotted out 1991 Accord. I just need to do a couple more small repairs on it so it is 100% then it is moving onto a new owner...
Knowing that you've maintained it would make me comfortable driving it to California. Just saying..... BTW, Nice save on the strut, Eric. Never let them see you sweat!
He's not going to buy a new car mrs. O is going to buy a new car! A new Hondoo VAN ! Lol... and yes Eric is going to start driving the old Honda van that mrs.O now drives! Lol For all you non married men that is how it works out when you're married! Lol
Here in Minnesota, they ALL are rusted solid, so we use a sawzall to cut the bushing and middle of the bolt off. Then a propane torch to heat the captive nut, and vice-grips on the remains of the bolt. A lot of swearing helps too.
Same in Gloucester MA......sawzall to cut out the centre section of the bolt. And with the underside of the my cars oozing Fluid Film and Waxoyl, (protection from salt in the winter and sea spray in the summer) this alternative though slow, is less likely to end in a car cremation. Great channel. Learned sooo much.
Former 2001 Civic owner. Bullet proof car. Did the rear struts on this rig and I live in Ottawa Canada. Very cold, very snowy winters and I am not sure whether we get more salt or more snow on the roads. Anyhoo...those screws were a beast for me as well. Patience is key. heat with torch and soak em well with penetrating fluid and let stand for an hour. Get your box wrench on there and slowly wiggle back and forth. Add a little heat from torch if need be. They did come out and were perfectly reusable. I now hose all undercarriage down with aerosol Rust Check about three to four times in the winter on top of anti corrosion treatment applied professionally every second year at $80. Everything remains rust free and easy to fix. I'm also a firm believer in anti seize compound on certain items. Believe me, where I live is the acid test for corrosion protection ideas/systems and if one follows these easy steps, a cars underside, body and mechanical, will last forever and be so easy to repair. Messy but true.
Classic SMA. Takes a big man to admit to his mistakes. Takes an even bigger man to broadcast his mistakes, thanks Mr O, high education and entertainment value as always. Learning from your mistakes is valuable, learning from someone else mistakes is priceless. Thumbs are up.
Hilts30 Could not have said it better. That is why we admire you and know we are all human and make mistakes. You have always been at the pinnacle of integrity and I applaud you. Thanks Mr. O
For those that do not have a torch, use a sawsall with a 7-9in blade on the inside edges of the bracket holding the bushing. It will take about 2-3 blades per side. When you cut at the bracket, you cut through the inside metal part of the bushing and the bolt. That way both ends of the bolt fall off and you can pull the remaining center piece straight down and out. That bolt has rusted and is for the most part, is part of the inside of the bushing
No brake cleaner?? Unsubscribed! Seriously, watching a pro recover from a mistake is often better than watching a pro do it right with all the right tools. What you did there is the real world and it's nice to know it happens to everyone!
You're working on your car, it's your only ride, you've got the three kids, and you've snapped off the bolt for which you don't have a spare. Hey, it's just like us!
I can relate to this. A few years ago i only had 2 cars,one of which jumped timing and bent valves(didn't have money to repair heads at the time) ended up having some issues with the other car and yep broke a bolt off. Thanks for friends to run me to the stores to get some left handed drills,seafoam and a small torch and a new bolt. So glad those days are over and i have 4 cars now,3 kids and got my finances straight.
I had this exact experience changing out rear shocks on a Kia forte. This car was a 2010 and already had the damn bushing sleeves seized to the bolt. A dremel with a cut off wheel, my map gas torch and a lot of patience and penetrating oil I got it done just like you did here. Ive been watching your videos for a while now, excellent advice and content. You're a damn good technician, keep up the good stuff.
Only ones that haven't broken a bolt are those that haven't worked on much...Happens to all of us!! Difference its knowing what to do when it happens, and move on with the repair. Great work as always!
Maybe I missed the comment from someone else, however, you have a great friend to help you out on a Sunday and then for him to visit Tractor Supply....may all of us have friends like that!!
Had done five civic struts. I felt your pain. I confessed that I broke it too. But getting smarter- heat up, spray penetrate, leave a day and remove it. Felt good when getting it done...
man, I can't believe I've been watching your repairs for this many years already. I've rewatched all these videos multiple times, the content is obviously very enjoyable. I've been a Technician for 10 years and am just happy to see other people that have to deal with Rust as much as i do haha. thanks for the great work and videos
Eric, I've been working on cars for 50 plus years, and I think your videos are great. You always give thorough explanations as to what and why you are doing something. Many so called mechanics on RUclips give incomplete and sometimes dangerous advice. I want to thank you for your great videos
Eric, Had same problem, drilled holes into tube, through rubber bushing, and through inner sleeve shot kroil into it waited about an hour, hit it with impact, out they came. I replace the bolts as I had drilled into them slightly.
When replacing bolts that have seized in the bushing.. Remember to put anti-seize on the bolt shafts and threads of the new bolt, So you don't have this issue next time.
Great video. This makes me feel better about spending a day and a half changing the rear struts on my Altima. My main problem wasn't that the bolt seized to the bushing, it was that the bushing had seized to the control arm where it went through (different style than yours). I had to chop the strut out with my grinder, cut the bolt with my sawzall, then obliterate the rubber in the bushing to be able to get down to the outer metal ring of the bushing, then stick a hacksaw blade in there and cut through it by hand to be able to free it from the control arm. Then to top it all off, putting it all back together I dropped one of the 12 mm nuts that holds the top of the strut in. Had to drive to the parts store after looking around my driveway furiously for 15 minutes. Thought it would be a 45 minute job.
Eric just wanted to let you know your content and information is great, very descriptive, detailed, hands on, and above all well put. There are many youtubers out there with this type of content that really just don't provide the satisfaction most people look for when watching automotive repairs. With that being said just want to salute your work and efforts in providing us viewers the best content you can give. I've personally learned a lot I mean a lot haha. Hope all goes well for you and your family and please keep them videos coming !
Watching these videos is like hanging out at the shop. A lot of other car youtubers follow the format of an eHow video, which have no personality or fun.
Great to see you screw up like we all do - then recover the situation. The good thing about a rookie mistake is to see how to get out of it and the memory helps to stop us repeating the mistake. I love your honesty Eric, most guys wouldn't have posted this at all. 👍🏻
Just wanted to drop a comment, I have been doing car repair and fabrication work since High School, I graduated in 1985. I don't have near the knowledge and experience you have and is why I find your videos so helpful. I have my own small shop where I do light fabrication and repairs from lawn mowers to trucks part time. It is always great when you can find legit mechanics doing great videos. Thanks again!!
I had to call my Son over and have him watch the interaction with your kids. "See they do the same thing as you when I'm working in the garage" - Good stuff Dad!
Same thing happened to the rear shock on my Fit. I stopped before I broke anything and got a new bolt intending to cut the old one on each side of the shock to remove it. I started cutting the bolt with a Sawzall but didn't make it though either side because I ran out of good blades (either the bolt is really tough or my blades were really dull). I tried the impact wrench again and it finally broke loose, all the shaking from the Sawzall, penetrating oil, and praying must have broken the rust bond between the bolt and the bushing sleeve.
2:14 "I think these things are pretty easy to change." - That, my friend, is why you got screwed. I thought someone with your experience would know better than to say that. I would grab a 6" cutting wheel and zip through both sides of the bushing as close to the holder as possible. Once I cut the middle a little persuasion would hopefully do the job. I learned that trick, and bought the bigger grinder, replacing the shackles on my '02 2500 Dodge. OMG that was a horrible experience. Because I'm a sissy I would be wearing googles, a p100 respirator and have a big fan blowing on me while working.
If the threaded end isn't seized, then slot the end (or grind flats) and wind it out with a suitable tool. (a lot of times I've found that once the stress has been relieved from it, the stub will even wind out with pliers).
Unless this is your trade and wrenching on a daily basis I doubt your going to teach Eric anything. Just saying, not meant to be offensive. I'm a journeyman in a trade myself. Just gets under a tradesman skin when everyone wants to give their pro tips. If your not in the same trade it isn't polite to give your advice if the tradesman hasn't asked for input. Again I'm not meaning to be offensive, just a view from our point of view. Cheers
None taken, I'm not school qualified but self taught & I think the big thing to take away is that it's best to only try to make suggestions based on past experience. Main reason for posting here is to share the idea with anyone that might have a similar issue and not thought of that method yet. Surprising how easy it is to forget something really simple like slotting/flatting the end of a broken/cut bolt, and it's not only Eric who reads these comments. Agree it can stick in the throat to be told how to do ones job, but equally I welcome suggestions.
Thank you Eric for this one. Hindsight is 20 20 when looking at this issue and all the comments. One could use 1-1/4 and 2" pipe ground clamp because when taking out the ground screw it works as a centering hole for your drill bit. It should fit long ways around the bottom strut so as to drill hole through the bushing / inner sleeve. Than spray penetrating oil through the drilled hole. Should work.
Happened to me when I was doing my valve cover gasket. The person who did it before me over tourqed a bolt and stripped the threads in the valve cover and when I went to get it off it spun for a few turns then it snapped off inside :( broken bolts suck
Eric, thanks for bringing us along. Everyone makes mistakes even seasoned vets like you. Its part of life. I wish i had some tips on removing seized bolts but where i live bolts rarely seize or break. Just last week i replaced the struts on my cavalier and didnt have any problems at all. No need for any penetrating oil even. Having never replaced a strut before, the job went picture perfect, well except the camber was off when i was done but a trip to the alignment shop fixed that.
Thank you for opening a tool website. I am always adding/replacing tools and I will definitely be buying from it to show my gratitude and support for the outstanding videos you produce. I am happy I found your videos.
I hate to pile on, but as a former WNY'er it is so amusing to watch you deal with rust and corrosion issues and think I am so happy I don't have to deal with that any more. Wyoming is so much easier on automobiles than Wyoming County is. Thanks for the videos.
Having a spare ride when you need parts is such a life saver and stress reducer. I did not enjoy riding my bike to a parts store an hour before I had to leave for work because I messed up my only axle seal doing my CV axles.
When you got through the and I've got all 3 children...and this is my only ride. My children looked at me like "why are you laughing daddy?". Seriously the hardest time I've laughed in a while.
I am a baddd man, I laughed when that bolt broke. I knew you were going to have to red wrench that off. Usually when they seize in the bushing, you always have to cut them off. I dont have a torch so I have to use a cut off wheel but I can So relate. Usually when you have kids and no other vehicle, thats when that shit happends. My first shock replacement took me 4 hours because I didnt have the right tools. It was at my girl friends parents house and I had to borrow their vehicle to buy a chisel and chisel it off, yup, I did it all the hard way. Now I know better. I would rather soak it down ,then if I need to I still heat the famn thing up with a torch( hand propaine). I dont usually even mess with struts any more. I take it in to someone else.
My son is 4 right now, I cant wait until he’s a bit older to help me out in my garage/shop. Hes getting his first tool set for Xmas this year. Great stuff and god bless.
As a fellow NY resident, I have come to expect that those lower bolts on Honda struts are going to be frozen to the bushing. When ever I do that job, I make certain I have a new bolt on hand. I don't have a torch, so my normal way of dealing with them is to slip in between the lower part of the strut, and the bracket with a cut off wheel, and cut straight through the bolt. I do this on both sides of the strut. The strut then comes out, bringing the bushing, and the cut off piece of bolt with it. The head end of the bolt just falls out, and I then grab the bit of the bolt that protrudes from the nut with my vice grips, and carefully thread it out. If it is frozen, then I will heat it up with the propane torch, and douse it with liquid wrench until it comes lose. I pretty much just expect to do rear struts this way, and consider it a blessing if that bottom bolt actually comes out without any monkey business.
Excellent vid. This is a typical scenario that faces every DIY shadetree mechanic, especially with the kids in the background trying to keep them busy.
So the first time I changed front struts on my 14 F150 4x4 I had to cut the bottom of the strut off in order to get the two studs to release from the LCA. Was not impressed. Good job Eric O!
I've run into this a handful of times. Process has always been roughly what you did. I find a little 000 tip on the cutting torch helps with the blasting fire around situation. Had decent luck one time when I didn't have a torch. Cut the strut off with a 3" grinder and got in there and cut the outer sleeve with the grinder by just sort of wasting the metal away left and right, repeated on the inner. Slower, but if I had serious worries with fire I'd do that again.
This stuck bolt is typical for any Element, Civic or Accord I've ever changed the strut on. It takes a cutting torch. Breaking the head off of the bolt is not typical! All good videos, thanks.
I've done a thousand shock bolts just like that on trucks in Minnesota. After doing the first few, any time the bolt seized to the inner metal bushing I just went straight to the cutting torch.
Yup Last week I fought the war as well on my 2010 f150 4wd. Had to replace the upper control arm because the ball joints were talking. The drivers side went well, just took me a a couple to a few hours after I figured out the stut needed to come out and I got the correct harbor freight socket for the lower strut bolt... came out like butter. This week I did the passenger and the lower nut would not come out and no torch. Had a couple of small air hammers and 2 to 3 hour later hammering. tightening soaking tightening hammering loosening. would move slightly but decided 3 hours was my limit., Ordered a Suntex super duty sx243 from the the Zon. Not sure if anyone has had this tool but I had to go back to my small 15.00 air hammer because it just did not have to power. (called Suntex because I thought it needed a break in period (oiled and Oiled)suntex wants it back and is sending a replacement) for whatever the reason 1.5 hours later using the same method (hammer tighten loosen. (Lather rinse repeat) and if finally came out just shortly after using the small air hammer. I should have just got big nasty, (and I will if this Suntex doesn't do the heavy hitting that I need) Ill just send it back to Amazon. There is no replacement for the proper tooling. So I wasted 5 hours for 2 upper control arms. Whatever dude.... It just needed a little exorcism. Next time i will be getting (and I would recommend) a priest to help me.
The fluted sections cut into some Honda suspension bolts like you mentioned do not work in preventing corrosion and seizing. Anyone who's changed the rear shocks on a 90s Civic or similar can testify to that.
When that bolt snapped it made me smile...not because I like to see Dr,O in distress but because I've been there and called myself every name in the book! We are our worst critics at times.
Watching how you deal with stuff when it goes to shit especially with New York rust is one of the most helpful things about your channel Eric. Every time i bust something i ask myself WWED - What would Eric do? Normally it involves a grinder, a large hammer and a very big bar...
I know this is an older video but in Michigan here I almost did the exact same thing on the same bolt, rear struts on a CRV. I was using an impact and the bolt backed out a little but then stopped. Thankfully I had a knowledgeable friend who said stop, heat it up, then run in and out a bit with the impact, then when it starts moving go full bore for removal. It needs heat to melt the factory loctite. Since he was a race car mechanic I trusted his word and made it out with no snappage. Hope that advice helps others, Michigan is just as bad with rust as NY.
Eric O is human after all lol.Seriously it always happens on your own car when you need it.I had the same happen but I figured I'd do it at home since it was 3-5 bolts per side.Needless to say I didnt want to deal with towing it and looking at it on monday so I drilled each side with a good bit.It wasnt that bad,a good pilot hole and then a bit just a hair undersize of the bolt..I drilled each side to about a half inch in or so and beat the strut out.Definitely not blue wrench fast but was less than a hour to actually do.
I had this happen to me with a Northern 98 Golf GTI driver's side lower control arm. spun the bolt seized to the inner sleeve. As I turned the bolt it actually deformed the metal pocket it was in! So I had to cut the arm at the bushing like you did. Then a grinder to cut into bushing housing like you did. Gridded the rubber to expose the metal sleeve. Had to cut 2 areas of the sleeve to relieve the seized bolt. when I finally got her out the threads were partially striped. Had to use a new 10.9 bolt. All in all it took me about 3-4 hrs of geinding. lol. A touch would have been way faster. So know I know when dealing with Northern cars......be prepared!!! Keep up the great videos!!!!!
There ain't much u can do when u have a stuck bolt with a captured nut like that.. the way u did it is the way I do it.. but I have found if I can air hammer on the front of the bolt and impact on the head of the bolt at the same time they almost always come out . Such as shackle bolts and what not.
I have had the same situation occur on NY cars in the salt belt and I use a sawsall with shortened blade to cut thru the bolt on both sides inside the housing. This allows me to pop out the strut and then punch out the bolt stubs with a hammer and punch. I use a bit of lube to keep the blade from over heating on the sawsall. I also have used a torch as you did and a grinder with a cut off blade. Each situation dictates the method. I try not to use a torch due to the fire and burn hazards. Great a few great videos and great learning tools and thank you.
Any possibility of drilling out the bolt? Love the videos... it's nice to see that it's just not us rookies getting ourselves into "situations". It's the *pros* who know how to *get out*!
We usually use angle grinder to fight with seized bolts in Russia. The torch is too dangerous I think. Even just to have it in workshop(because of oxygen). But in that case we cut the nut from the arm either. Then we use simple nut(not welded to the arm) and new bolt.
There's always a lot in your videos in which one could comment. I find it a challenge to pick one area but for this one I'll just say that GTO was a good helper. :)
Eric O. Your son's initials are "GTO"? Did Mrs. O not catch that when you proposed his "T" middle name? ROFLOL! Of course, it could have been serendipity. You aren't saying which, right?
I really enjoyed watching you struggle with the seized bolts. Very interesting. Especially how you were so resourceful in getting replacement bolts without a ride, all with 3 little kids behaving themselves and even helping you install the bolt. I used to live in NE with the snow, ice, salt and rust. I am always amazed at how easy it is to work on cars in Texas.
Thanks for the great videos. Now that I have prior knowledge what I'm watching here, I would just buy new bolts FIRST, cut them out (forget about saving them) and then... business as usual.
Thanks for this I need to get this done on my Civic. I'll have to do it with regular hand tools though but it should be pretty much the same albeit without the lift.
I know this is old, but my very first shock absorber job went just like that! The first one came right out. The second one took me two days. I didnt have a torch eather. I had NOTHING to work with. I tryed a hack saw, lol. Back then, I didnt know ANYTHING about working on cars. That was my initiation into the wonderful world of Michigan rust. I have been fighting it all my life. I sold most of my equipment a few years ago due to Cancer and chronic pain. I now GLADLY pay someone like you to do those jobs. I remember a few times getting that " Look" from a mechanic saying" Do you know how rotten of a job that is?" I just laugh and say " Yup" thats why I brought it to you. Lol. I had a shop refuse to work on one of my Subaru's because of a rusted bolt. Three days later, they gave it back, saying they couldnt get it off. The funny thing was, three days ago, I had soaked it with Break away for ohhh half a can,and heated it with a bottled torch. Ok, three days later. I get it home, the bolt spins right out. I called that garage and told them...You NEVER touched it did you? Noooo, we didnt. LIERS! I have never gave them my business again. Anyways. Sometimes your saying" If I can do it, you can do it". Is the right answer.
A little late, but sometimes if you heat and cool the bolt itself a few times with a torch and cold water it will break free of the steel sleeve inside the bushing. Having worked on a ton of older Hondas on the salty east coast of Canada I knew exactly what was coming when I saw that ratchet.
Buffalo NY - Nissan 350Z, replaced pretty much the whole suspension in the rear ("Why did you drive that in the snow?!" yelled everyone), because I wanted a fast car, and I was young. Well, now I have a winter ride, and the process for replacing all of the struts, camber, caster, lower control arms and putting in coils, with a spring bucket delete...drum roll. Cut every bolt right off. Not a single one was coming out. Fortunately it was a bolts with a nut, not built in threads. Whew! Rides like a boss now.
Hey man. I remember my dad and I doing one of these years ago. The way we got it out was drilling it from the bottom all the way through the strut outer the rubber and into the bushing. Then jam a screwdriver in there to prevent the bushing from spinning. Worked like a charm.
Don't you just love how rust turns a 15 minute job into an hour long epic conflagration? Me either. I feel your pain, though I imagine NY is slightly worse than here in NJ. It's all of the salty air along the coast and the 40 week rain season. Not to mention the brine they put down for snow in the other 12 weeks of the year. A coworker of mine, that we call Vegas, moved to NJ from Nevada (hence the name Vegas). He was struggling to loosen a jam nut while doing an alignment and as I was passing by I said "The blue wrench is in the corner by Stavros' toolbox." He looked at me like I had two heads and asked what the hell I was talking about. He worked as a mechanic for 18 years and never used a torch before.Can you imagine that? He worked on cars from the 70's in Las Vegas that had less rust than a 2 year old vehicle in NJ. He moved to Texas now. He claims that he moved there because of their lax gun laws, booming industry, high wages, low taxes, cheap land and incredible education system... but I think he just got sick of working on rusted out cars lol
1) drill 2-3 holes downward through the ring and the bushing, 3-4 mm drill 2) loosen the nut and then tighten it really tight when wheel is all the way down 3) fill the holes with penetrating oil 4) drive it for a week
When i was assistant manager at NAPA, we took turns being on call after hours for the PD and fire department. Most NAPA auto parts are independently owned and I loved the one I worked at. Great owner.
I sawed the bolts off of mine and broke the nut off of the arm. Replaced the bolt and nut. The nut is welded on to ease assembly. I anti seized the snot out of the bolt and bushings on the new stuff. Put a little dab of loctite on the nuts and ran it.
I had something like this about a year ago, though it was an Element. Same deal though, seized lower bushing bolt in the rear struts. My dad and I tried various different things, we eventually landed on a reciprocating saw on each side. I was gonna use the torch but I was afraid the shock would explode on me. It was very cramped in there so we went through a few blades, and I didn't have your fancy lift...but it eventually came out. I loaded the new bolts with antiseize on the part going through the bushing, not the threads, and hopefully that will help whenever they need to be changed again. I'm just scared for when my brother's and sister's Civics need theirs done... Great problem solving!
Mistakes show you're human. My only point is that most DIYer's don't have access to a torch to just zip them off. If I break that bolt head off, I'm screwed. Car is up on stands in my garage, now what do I Do? I guess I'll have to drive it down to my local mechanic as you mentioned in the video and pay him to take them off. But how do I drive the car home to finish installing my new strut units after he zips those bolt out? I'll be stuck having him do the whole repair at full price. Glad I live in the south where bolts and bushings don't seize.
Buy a small oxy-acetylene kit on Amazon...a coupla hundred bucks. Worth the money....pays itself back with one saved trip to the garage. As a DIYer I used to be in the 'torchless' category ....until I foolishly bought a rust-bucket Subaru. It was then a choice of 'scrap the car or buy a torch'. Bought the torch. Life is now a lot easier.....
Thanks for breaking the bolt and making this video. I broke the bolt today same thing honda civic. And needed to see how or what I would need to do to get it out. Appreciating you.
how about picking up 2 new bolts when buying the struts. use cut off wheel cut completely through rubber and sleeve and bolt. pull right half off. use pry-driver to slide remainder of the sleeve to the right and remove that, then used vise grips to remove rest of bolt. If you dont have a torch
The nut on eric's hondo wasn't removable but I would imagine if you had a welder you could try to get to the steel sleeve and weld it so it doesn't move and remove the bolt. I read another option was to tighten the bolt which would cause the sleeve to be clamped between the bracket and then try to back it out with an impact.
I slathered the bolt shanks with never-seize when I put in the new struts. Two years out, those bolts still move pretty easily. I also used lady slipper and a hammer to push the bolts out of the holes.
If you're good with a torch, it's awesome. Some people can cut a bearing off a shaft without leaving a mark on the shaft or cut a nut off a bolt without damaging the bolt threads. The trick is to do the job quick enough so only the part you want to remove gets hot and the part you want to save stays cool. Then there are the people who can start everything on fire when using a torch.
I'm old,never did a strut before,did some coil over shocks though,had a bolt-head break off, factory welded nut,well I can repeat what they did,got my smoke wrench and blew the nut off,choked my 16 pound sledge hammer and poked the bolt out of the bushing,one wack,put in new shocks and new bolts(3/8x24,grade 8) and corresponding lock-nuts,the pinching kind,got my arc welder and welded the nut in place,voila,like factory.Actually,the smoke wrench and welder belonged to my friend,as did the pit,cheaper than a hoist at that time,but the sledge was mine,was a great defense tool,played catch the hammer with a couple guys that wanted to harm me,but that's another story. You did a great job,except,if you know you're going to do this get some nuts and bolts,always,always,be prepared,we all have brain-farts under the car,I quit turning wrenches when my memory gaps started affecting my customers safety.
Not having a great variety of tools at hand the only options for me are a angle grinder, when it fits in the spot, or, and the most efficient a sharp chisel and a big hammer and go medieval on it.
Had a pretty seized set of bolts on my rear struts... luckily I had a friend with a breaker bar that I could call. Need the struts off so nxt day I could take to a shop and have the coils swapped over to new struts as I had work monday and only had 2 days to get the work done. Shop close sunday so that was Friday night and Saturday
I'm very fortunate to be within easy bicycle trips to O'Reilly, Advance, AutoZone, and NAPA , along with Home Depot and Lowe's. The counter folk at the auto parts stores find it positively hilarious I always show up on the bicycle.
just for your information, THIS WOULD ONLY HAPPEN ON YOUR OWN VEHICLES! or it is just with mine... everytime costumer cars i do in a jiffy and with mine i just get into situations like this.
The whole time I am thinking Subaroo Redoo. Watch Eric spin a bolt both ways for an hour. But NOOOO!. Its full gorilla time. Snaparoni. And then when sis DNA I am rofl. You are twice more lucky that NAPA guy loves ya and Tractor supply had yer bolt and nut. Good luck with the sale. We have a 2016 CR-V and dont live in [K|Na]Cl city (near Clemson). 8 point buck visits our yard everyday.
greetings fron arizona nothing rusts here!!! I just put new leafsprings and shocks on all 4 corners of a 1966 Wagoneer & nothing was seized, nothing twisted off
Not criticizing your methods in any way, you did a great job on this repair. I’ve ran into this several times and the way I deal with it is cut the bolt on each side where it comes out of the bushing with a torch, grinder, cutoff wheel, sawzall, etc and the strut/shock will pop right out with a prybar. Then the remaining ends of the bolt either fall out or come off the bracket with a chisel and hammer. Of course this requires replacement of the bolt but I think it’s faster.
Expecting a 5 minute video after the top nuts came loose. Then all hell broke loose with thick black smoke and steam billowing from the moorings and the smell of burning rubber. Had to open the window pronto or would have been aphyixiated. Can't say the torch is great, but if time is of the essence then it does the job. Not a lot of alternatives that are quick and easy.
Just an FYI, had a customer come in today that was in desperate need of a car so I made him a great deal on the Lil Red Hondoo Civic. He was driving a very rotted out 1991 Accord. I just need to do a couple more small repairs on it so it is 100% then it is moving onto a new owner...
South Main Auto Repair Good man! 🤟🏼
Knowing that you've maintained it would make me comfortable driving it to California. Just saying..... BTW, Nice save on the strut, Eric. Never let them see you sweat!
Nice!
Are you going to buy a Mercedes ? :D Kidding :D
He's not going to buy a new car mrs. O is going to buy a new car! A new Hondoo VAN ! Lol... and yes Eric is going to start driving the old Honda van that mrs.O now drives! Lol
For all you non married men that is how it works out when you're married! Lol
40 years ago while helping my Dad and being called ‘pal’ the memory still warms my heart ❤️
rip Dad
May God bless you , and may your Dad rest in peace with Him !
Here in Minnesota, they ALL are rusted solid, so we use a sawzall to cut the bushing and middle of the bolt off. Then a propane torch to heat the captive nut, and vice-grips on the remains of the bolt. A lot of swearing helps too.
Three tools you can not do with out in Minnesota for auto repair. Sawzall, Angle grinder, Fire wrench.
Same in Gloucester MA......sawzall to cut out the centre section of the bolt. And with the underside of the my cars oozing Fluid Film and Waxoyl, (protection from salt in the winter and sea spray in the summer) this alternative though slow, is less likely to end in a car cremation.
Great channel. Learned sooo much.
You guys ever think of (when you get a new car) removing all the bolts, drowning them in antiseize, and reinstalling them?
@@Ariccio123 NUTS.
Greg K. except in this case the threads are chased into the control arm and inner bushing is what seized, so there were no 'NUTS'.
Former 2001 Civic owner. Bullet proof car.
Did the rear struts on this rig and I live in Ottawa Canada. Very cold, very snowy winters and I am not sure whether we get more salt or more snow on the roads.
Anyhoo...those screws were a beast for me as well.
Patience is key. heat with torch and soak em well with penetrating fluid and let stand for an hour. Get your box wrench on there and slowly wiggle back and forth. Add a little heat from torch if need be.
They did come out and were perfectly reusable.
I now hose all undercarriage down with aerosol Rust Check about three to four times in the winter on top of anti corrosion treatment applied professionally every second year at $80. Everything remains rust free and easy to fix. I'm also a firm believer in anti seize compound on certain items.
Believe me, where I live is the acid test for corrosion protection ideas/systems and if one follows these easy steps, a cars underside, body and mechanical, will last forever and be so easy to repair.
Messy but true.
Classic SMA. Takes a big man to admit to his mistakes. Takes an even bigger man to broadcast his mistakes, thanks Mr O, high education and entertainment value as always. Learning from your mistakes is valuable, learning from someone else mistakes is priceless. Thumbs are up.
Hilts30 Could not have said it better. That is why we admire you and know we are all human and
make mistakes. You have always been at the pinnacle of integrity and I applaud you. Thanks Mr. O
Well said @Hilts30
For those that do not have a torch, use a sawsall with a 7-9in blade on the inside edges of the bracket holding the bushing. It will take about 2-3 blades per side. When you cut at the bracket, you cut through the inside metal part of the bushing and the bolt. That way both ends of the bolt fall off and you can pull the remaining center piece straight down and out. That bolt has rusted and is for the most part, is part of the inside of the bushing
No brake cleaner?? Unsubscribed! Seriously, watching a pro recover from a mistake is often better than watching a pro do it right with all the right tools. What you did there is the real world and it's nice to know it happens to everyone!
No No. She was there..Thats what he used in the spray bottle. It just the non flammable sort..
Oh yeah!!
Well said. I like real world videos
@@NotHarry-er3wg non flammable break cleaner... lol, you are dumb... no such thing
@@RandomsFandom Clearly he was jesting, were you? 😆
Fantastic video, Eric. LOVE the masterful torch action. Most people would cry if they broke a bolt like that...you are unfazed!
You're working on your car, it's your only ride, you've got the three kids, and you've snapped off the bolt for which you don't have a spare. Hey, it's just like us!
Soooooo true...
And remember... if he can do it, we can do it :P
I can relate to this. A few years ago i only had 2 cars,one of which jumped timing and bent valves(didn't have money to repair heads at the time) ended up having some issues with the other car and yep broke a bolt off. Thanks for friends to run me to the stores to get some left handed drills,seafoam and a small torch and a new bolt.
So glad those days are over and i have 4 cars now,3 kids and got my finances straight.
Murphy's LAW STRIKES AGAIN. I prefer Paul's AXIOM though. YOU CANNOT FALL OF THE FLOOR.
got to give him credit for not searing up a storm though. I know i would have.
I had this exact experience changing out rear shocks on a Kia forte. This car was a 2010 and already had the damn bushing sleeves seized to the bolt. A dremel with a cut off wheel, my map gas torch and a lot of patience and penetrating oil I got it done just like you did here. Ive been watching your videos for a while now, excellent advice and content. You're a damn good technician, keep up the good stuff.
Only ones that haven't broken a bolt are those that haven't worked on much...Happens to all of us!! Difference its knowing what to do when it happens, and move on with the repair. Great work as always!
Maybe I missed the comment from someone else, however, you have a great friend to help you out on a Sunday and then for him to visit Tractor Supply....may all of us have friends like that!!
The really skilled person at their job shows when they manage to get themselves out of the hole they just fell into.
Had done five civic struts. I felt your pain. I confessed that I broke it too. But getting smarter- heat up, spray penetrate, leave a day and remove it. Felt good when getting it done...
Now you know how us shade tree mechanics feel. That's a typical day.
Chris Gorgas Truest words sigh
man, I can't believe I've been watching your repairs for this many years already. I've rewatched all these videos multiple times, the content is obviously very enjoyable. I've been a Technician for 10 years and am just happy to see other people that have to deal with Rust as much as i do haha. thanks for the great work and videos
Always great to see kids working with and learning from their parents. It's a long lost tradition. Love your videos.
Eric, I've been working on cars for 50 plus years, and I think your videos are great. You always give thorough explanations as to what and why you are doing something. Many so called mechanics on RUclips give incomplete and sometimes dangerous advice. I want to thank you for your great videos
Eric, Had same problem, drilled holes into tube, through rubber bushing, and through inner sleeve shot kroil into it waited about an hour, hit it with impact, out they came. I replace the bolts as I had drilled into them slightly.
Great idea Ray!
Kroil for the win!
RAY MILLER best idea I have heard of yet I will by using that first next time.
First thing I thought of, searched to see if someone else had the same idea and here it is. Nice to know it works.
A rather novel approach... Sounds pretty good actually!
When replacing bolts that have seized in the bushing.. Remember to put anti-seize on the bolt shafts and threads of the new bolt, So you don't have this issue next time.
Great video. This makes me feel better about spending a day and a half changing the rear struts on my Altima. My main problem wasn't that the bolt seized to the bushing, it was that the bushing had seized to the control arm where it went through (different style than yours). I had to chop the strut out with my grinder, cut the bolt with my sawzall, then obliterate the rubber in the bushing to be able to get down to the outer metal ring of the bushing, then stick a hacksaw blade in there and cut through it by hand to be able to free it from the control arm. Then to top it all off, putting it all back together I dropped one of the 12 mm nuts that holds the top of the strut in. Had to drive to the parts store after looking around my driveway furiously for 15 minutes. Thought it would be a 45 minute job.
I found this really helpful - especially knowing that even super experienced pros hit a snag from time to time.
Eric just wanted to let you know your content and information is great, very descriptive, detailed, hands on, and above all well put. There are many youtubers out there with this type of content that really just don't provide the satisfaction most people look for when watching automotive repairs. With that being said just want to salute your work and efforts in providing us viewers the best content you can give. I've personally learned a lot I mean a lot haha. Hope all goes well for you and your family and please keep them videos coming !
My thoughts too. Well put!
I think Eric does the best job at showing us the reality of the business along with all the hammering, torching and bangin that goes on.
Watching these videos is like hanging out at the shop. A lot of other car youtubers follow the format of an eHow video, which have no personality or fun.
Josh K. That’s real world automotive repair we’re seeing here. 🤗👍
Great to see you screw up like we all do - then recover the situation. The good thing about a rookie mistake is to see how to get out of it and the memory helps to stop us repeating the mistake. I love your honesty Eric, most guys wouldn't have posted this at all. 👍🏻
Once Mrs. O. isn't at the shop Eric turns into a cave man ;)
Just wanted to drop a comment, I have been doing car repair and fabrication work since High School, I graduated in 1985. I don't have near the knowledge and experience you have and is why I find your videos so helpful. I have my own small shop where I do light fabrication and repairs from lawn mowers to trucks part time. It is always great when you can find legit mechanics doing great videos. Thanks again!!
I had to call my Son over and have him watch the interaction with your kids. "See they do the same thing as you when I'm working in the garage" - Good stuff Dad!
I have raised 5 kids around major car repairs and now have a granson to take under my wing!
Same thing happened to the rear shock on my Fit. I stopped before I broke anything and got a new bolt intending to cut the old one on each side of the shock to remove it. I started cutting the bolt with a Sawzall but didn't make it though either side because I ran out of good blades (either the bolt is really tough or my blades were really dull). I tried the impact wrench again and it finally broke loose, all the shaking from the Sawzall, penetrating oil, and praying must have broken the rust bond between the bolt and the bushing sleeve.
2:14 "I think these things are pretty easy to change." - That, my friend, is why you got screwed. I thought someone with your experience would know better than to say that.
I would grab a 6" cutting wheel and zip through both sides of the bushing as close to the holder as possible. Once I cut the middle a little persuasion would hopefully do the job. I learned that trick, and bought the bigger grinder, replacing the shackles on my '02 2500 Dodge. OMG that was a horrible experience. Because I'm a sissy I would be wearing googles, a p100 respirator and have a big fan blowing on me while working.
I was thinking along the same lines, but how would you get the threaded end out? Drill it?
ive done the same , an exhaust cutter does a good job of cutting through the bolt, bit slow , but no mess or damage,..
If the threaded end isn't seized, then slot the end (or grind flats) and wind it out with a suitable tool. (a lot of times I've found that once the stress has been relieved from it, the stub will even wind out with pliers).
Unless this is your trade and wrenching on a daily basis I doubt your going to teach Eric anything. Just saying, not meant to be offensive. I'm a journeyman in a trade myself. Just gets under a tradesman skin when everyone wants to give their pro tips. If your not in the same trade it isn't polite to give your advice if the tradesman hasn't asked for input. Again I'm not meaning to be offensive, just a view from our point of view.
Cheers
None taken, I'm not school qualified but self taught & I think the big thing to take away is that it's best to only try to make suggestions based on past experience. Main reason for posting here is to share the idea with anyone that might have a similar issue and not thought of that method yet. Surprising how easy it is to forget something really simple like slotting/flatting the end of a broken/cut bolt, and it's not only Eric who reads these comments. Agree it can stick in the throat to be told how to do ones job, but equally I welcome suggestions.
Thank you Eric for this one. Hindsight is 20 20 when looking at this issue and all the comments. One could use 1-1/4 and 2" pipe ground clamp because when taking out the ground screw it works as a centering hole for your drill bit. It should fit long ways around the bottom strut so as to drill hole through the bushing / inner sleeve. Than spray penetrating oil through the drilled hole. Should work.
Hey Eric,
Don’t be so hard on yourself man. That broken bolt could have happened to anyone.
Happened to me when I was doing my valve cover gasket. The person who did it before me over tourqed a bolt and stripped the threads in the valve cover and when I went to get it off it spun for a few turns then it snapped off inside :( broken bolts suck
As a mostly competent DIYer, I'd have burnt the entire place down trying that. Sawsall and drills for me., Mans gotta know his limitations. 😏
Magnum force! Boom x6.
I was thinking sawzall myself. Cut the bolt on either side of the strut.
After 25 years of carpentry experience, I go a long way with a sawzall.. the Lennox rescue grade metal blades are excellent.
Eric, thanks for bringing us along. Everyone makes mistakes even seasoned vets like you. Its part of life. I wish i had some tips on removing seized bolts but where i live bolts rarely seize or break. Just last week i replaced the struts on my cavalier and didnt have any problems at all. No need for any penetrating oil even. Having never replaced a strut before, the job went picture perfect, well except the camber was off when i was done but a trip to the alignment shop fixed that.
Thank you for opening a tool website. I am always adding/replacing tools and I will definitely be buying from it to show my gratitude and support for the outstanding videos you produce. I am happy I found your videos.
I hate to pile on, but as a former WNY'er it is so amusing to watch you deal with rust and corrosion issues and think I am so happy I don't have to deal with that any more. Wyoming is so much easier on automobiles than Wyoming County is. Thanks for the videos.
Having a spare ride when you need parts is such a life saver and stress reducer. I did not enjoy riding my bike to a parts store an hour before I had to leave for work because I messed up my only axle seal doing my CV axles.
There's nothing like a bit of precision oxy-acetylene violence on a Monday night.
When you got through the and I've got all 3 children...and this is my only ride. My children looked at me like "why are you laughing daddy?". Seriously the hardest time I've laughed in a while.
Man...I knew you were in trouble as soon as you said, "These are pretty easy"...
Yep that always goes sideways
And don't put your tools away before your totally finish. Bad things happen
Another thing I NEVER say: "What ELSE can go wrong today?" I ALWAYS get my answer! Sometimes immediately!
When he said these are pretty easy, he jinxed the job. Never say anything until the job is done.
lol
Hes HUMAN!! So comforting to see him do what I've done before.
I am a baddd man, I laughed when that bolt broke. I knew you were going to have to red wrench that off. Usually when they seize in the bushing, you always have to cut them off. I dont have a torch so I have to use a cut off wheel but I can So relate. Usually when you have kids and no other vehicle, thats when that shit happends. My first shock replacement took me 4 hours because I didnt have the right tools. It was at my girl friends parents house and I had to borrow their vehicle to buy a chisel and chisel it off, yup, I did it all the hard way. Now I know better. I would rather soak it down ,then if I need to I still heat the famn thing up with a torch( hand propaine). I dont usually even mess with struts any more. I take it in to someone else.
My son is 4 right now, I cant wait until he’s a bit older to help me out in my garage/shop. Hes getting his first tool set for Xmas this year. Great stuff and god bless.
My method? Forget the wrenches and go right for the fire dragon and start cutting until something falls off the car.
Laughing my face off, I love it!
its called a hot wrench
As a fellow NY resident, I have come to expect that those lower bolts on Honda struts are going to be frozen to the bushing. When ever I do that job, I make certain I have a new bolt on hand. I don't have a torch, so my normal way of dealing with them is to slip in between the lower part of the strut, and the bracket with a cut off wheel, and cut straight through the bolt. I do this on both sides of the strut. The strut then comes out, bringing the bushing, and the cut off piece of bolt with it. The head end of the bolt just falls out, and I then grab the bit of the bolt that protrudes from the nut with my vice grips, and carefully thread it out. If it is frozen, then I will heat it up with the propane torch, and douse it with liquid wrench until it comes lose. I pretty much just expect to do rear struts this way, and consider it a blessing if that bottom bolt actually comes out without any monkey business.
Excellent vid. This is a typical scenario that faces every DIY shadetree mechanic, especially with the kids in the background trying to keep them busy.
So the first time I changed front struts on my 14 F150 4x4 I had to cut the bottom of the strut off in order to get the two studs to release from the LCA. Was not impressed. Good job Eric O!
I've run into this a handful of times. Process has always been roughly what you did. I find a little 000 tip on the cutting torch helps with the blasting fire around situation.
Had decent luck one time when I didn't have a torch. Cut the strut off with a 3" grinder and got in there and cut the outer sleeve with the grinder by just sort of wasting the metal away left and right, repeated on the inner. Slower, but if I had serious worries with fire I'd do that again.
This stuck bolt is typical for any Element, Civic or Accord I've ever changed the strut on. It takes a cutting torch. Breaking the head off of the bolt is not typical! All good videos, thanks.
Don't forget the crv
Gotta love all the Harbor Freight equipment your sporting.
Thanks for all the Awesome videos!
When I saw the giant snapon ratchet I was like damn I need me one, then you broke the bolt and I was like nah fam
I've done a thousand shock bolts just like that on trucks in Minnesota. After doing the first few, any time the bolt seized to the inner metal bushing I just went straight to the cutting torch.
Yup Last week I fought the war as well on my 2010 f150 4wd. Had to replace the upper control arm because the ball joints were talking. The drivers side went well, just took me a a couple to a few hours after I figured out the stut needed to come out and I got the correct harbor freight socket for the lower strut bolt... came out like butter.
This week I did the passenger and the lower nut would not come out and no torch. Had a couple of small air hammers and 2 to 3 hour later hammering. tightening soaking tightening hammering loosening. would move slightly but decided 3 hours was my limit., Ordered a Suntex super duty sx243 from the the Zon. Not sure if anyone has had this tool but I had to go back to my small 15.00 air hammer because it just did not have to power. (called Suntex because I thought it needed a break in period (oiled and Oiled)suntex wants it back and is sending a replacement) for whatever the reason 1.5 hours later using the same method (hammer tighten loosen. (Lather rinse repeat) and if finally came out just shortly after using the small air hammer. I should have just got big nasty, (and I will if this Suntex doesn't do the heavy hitting that I need) Ill just send it back to Amazon. There is no replacement for the proper tooling. So I wasted 5 hours for 2 upper control arms. Whatever dude.... It just needed a little exorcism. Next time i will be getting (and I would recommend) a priest to help me.
Just read your selling the Hondoo 8:::::;?( ohhh wel'll miss her..
Edit im slow on the uptake ....I get it now!! Doo.H.T Hondoo B>))
The fluted sections cut into some Honda suspension bolts like you mentioned do not work in preventing corrosion and seizing. Anyone who's changed the rear shocks on a 90s Civic or similar can testify to that.
I was bored stiff, then i got the notification about the SMA video,all is well now,lol,thx Mr O.
When that bolt snapped it made me smile...not because I like to see Dr,O in distress but because I've been there and called myself every name in the book! We are our worst critics at times.
method: a lot of grinder on an angle cutting+hammer+prytool beating and swearing, i ani't got no torch.
Yup, that method always works for me also :)
Yep, make a big mess
Worked for me on Jack stands on my back
Had that happen with front leaf spring bushing. Half a bottle of Mapp gas and BFH. Thanks for your channel! Learning more from you than SK!
If I ever had a problem like that, the best solution is to call Mrs.O and make an appointment.
If you bring it I will burn it!
LOL this is exactly what I was thinking. Old post but too funny not to post. Eric I live in NC. If this happens to me plan on a visit!
I recommend picking up a pipe wrench or two sometime. When you have to do the vise grip, twist adjust repeat it makes it a lot quicker
Watching how you deal with stuff when it goes to shit especially with New York rust is one of the most helpful things about your channel Eric. Every time i bust something i ask myself WWED - What would Eric do? Normally it involves a grinder, a large hammer and a very big bar...
I know this is an older video but in Michigan here I almost did the exact same thing on the same bolt, rear struts on a CRV. I was using an impact and the bolt backed out a little but then stopped. Thankfully I had a knowledgeable friend who said stop, heat it up, then run in and out a bit with the impact, then when it starts moving go full bore for removal. It needs heat to melt the factory loctite. Since he was a race car mechanic I trusted his word and made it out with no snappage. Hope that advice helps others, Michigan is just as bad with rust as NY.
Eric O is human after all lol.Seriously it always happens on your own car when you need it.I had the same happen but I figured I'd do it at home since it was 3-5 bolts per side.Needless to say I didnt want to deal with towing it and looking at it on monday so I drilled each side with a good bit.It wasnt that bad,a good pilot hole and then a bit just a hair undersize of the bolt..I drilled each side to about a half inch in or so and beat the strut out.Definitely not blue wrench fast but was less than a hour to actually do.
I had this happen to me with a Northern 98 Golf GTI driver's side lower control arm. spun the bolt seized to the inner sleeve. As I turned the bolt it actually deformed the metal pocket it was in! So I had to cut the arm at the bushing like you did. Then a grinder to cut into bushing housing like you did. Gridded the rubber to expose the metal sleeve. Had to cut 2 areas of the sleeve to relieve the seized bolt. when I finally got her out the threads were partially striped. Had to use a new 10.9 bolt. All in all it took me about 3-4 hrs of geinding. lol. A touch would have been way faster. So know I know when dealing with Northern cars......be prepared!!! Keep up the great videos!!!!!
There ain't much u can do when u have a stuck bolt with a captured nut like that.. the way u did it is the way I do it.. but I have found if I can air hammer on the front of the bolt and impact on the head of the bolt at the same time they almost always come out . Such as shackle bolts and what not.
I have had the same situation occur on NY cars in the salt belt and I use a sawsall with shortened blade to cut thru the bolt on both sides inside the housing. This allows me to pop out the strut and then punch out the bolt stubs with a hammer and punch. I use a bit of lube to keep the blade from over heating on the sawsall. I also have used a torch as you did and a grinder with a cut off blade. Each situation dictates the method. I try not to use a torch due to the fire and burn hazards. Great a few great videos and great learning tools and thank you.
Any possibility of drilling out the bolt? Love the videos... it's nice to see that it's just not us rookies getting ourselves into "situations". It's the *pros* who know how to *get out*!
We usually use angle grinder to fight with seized bolts in Russia. The torch is too dangerous I think. Even just to have it in workshop(because of oxygen). But in that case we cut the nut from the arm either. Then we use simple nut(not welded to the arm) and new bolt.
There's always a lot in your videos in which one could comment. I find it a challenge to pick one area but for this one I'll just say that GTO was a good helper. :)
Eric O. Your son's initials are "GTO"? Did Mrs. O not catch that when you proposed his "T" middle name? ROFLOL! Of course, it could have been serendipity.
You aren't saying which, right?
I really enjoyed watching you struggle with the seized bolts.
Very interesting. Especially how you were so resourceful in getting replacement bolts without a ride, all with 3 little kids behaving themselves and even helping you install the bolt.
I used to live in NE with the snow, ice, salt and rust. I am always amazed at how easy it is to work on cars in Texas.
Thanks for the great videos. Now that I have prior knowledge what I'm watching here, I would just buy new bolts FIRST, cut them out (forget about saving them) and then... business as usual.
Eric, I have great respect for people who are not afraid to show their mistakes, this was an excellent video.
Thanks for this I need to get this done on my Civic. I'll have to do it with regular hand tools though but it should be pretty much the same albeit without the lift.
Eric O. could run probably circles around the majority of mechanics out there today with his expertise, honesty, and work ethic
Bolts didn't used to seize in bushings. The problem was solved years ago and then unsolved.
Yup. I usually use a finger and put silver anti seize when i change them.
I know this is old, but my very first shock absorber job went just like that! The first one came right out. The second one took me two days. I didnt have a torch eather. I had NOTHING to work with. I tryed a hack saw, lol. Back then, I didnt know ANYTHING about working on cars. That was my initiation into the wonderful world of Michigan rust. I have been fighting it all my life. I sold most of my equipment a few years ago due to Cancer and chronic pain. I now GLADLY pay someone like you to do those jobs. I remember a few times getting that " Look" from a mechanic saying" Do you know how rotten of a job that is?" I just laugh and say " Yup" thats why I brought it to you. Lol. I had a shop refuse to work on one of my Subaru's because of a rusted bolt. Three days later, they gave it back, saying they couldnt get it off. The funny thing was, three days ago, I had soaked it with Break away for ohhh half a can,and heated it with a bottled torch. Ok, three days later. I get it home, the bolt spins right out. I called that garage and told them...You NEVER touched it did you? Noooo, we didnt. LIERS! I have never gave them my business again. Anyways. Sometimes your saying" If I can do it, you can do it". Is the right answer.
A little late, but sometimes if you heat and cool the bolt itself a few times with a torch and cold water it will break free of the steel sleeve inside the bushing. Having worked on a ton of older Hondas on the salty east coast of Canada I knew exactly what was coming when I saw that ratchet.
Buffalo NY - Nissan 350Z, replaced pretty much the whole suspension in the rear ("Why did you drive that in the snow?!" yelled everyone), because I wanted a fast car, and I was young. Well, now I have a winter ride, and the process for replacing all of the struts, camber, caster, lower control arms and putting in coils, with a spring bucket delete...drum roll. Cut every bolt right off. Not a single one was coming out. Fortunately it was a bolts with a nut, not built in threads. Whew! Rides like a boss now.
Hey man. I remember my dad and I doing one of these years ago. The way we got it out was drilling it from the bottom all the way through the strut outer the rubber and into the bushing. Then jam a screwdriver in there to prevent the bushing from spinning. Worked like a charm.
That's some great info, and makes sense. Thanks
Don't you just love how rust turns a 15 minute job into an hour long epic conflagration?
Me either. I feel your pain, though I imagine NY is slightly worse than here in NJ. It's all of the salty air along the coast and the 40 week rain season. Not to mention the brine they put down for snow in the other 12 weeks of the year.
A coworker of mine, that we call Vegas, moved to NJ from Nevada (hence the name Vegas). He was struggling to loosen a jam nut while doing an alignment and as I was passing by I said "The blue wrench is in the corner by Stavros' toolbox." He looked at me like I had two heads and asked what the hell I was talking about.
He worked as a mechanic for 18 years and never used a torch before.Can you imagine that? He worked on cars from the 70's in Las Vegas that had less rust than a 2 year old vehicle in NJ. He moved to Texas now. He claims that he moved there because of their lax gun laws, booming industry, high wages, low taxes, cheap land and incredible education system... but I think he just got sick of working on rusted out cars lol
1) drill 2-3 holes downward through the ring and the bushing, 3-4 mm drill
2) loosen the nut and then tighten it really tight when wheel is all the way down
3) fill the holes with penetrating oil
4) drive it for a week
When i was assistant manager at NAPA, we took turns being on call after hours for the PD and fire department. Most NAPA auto parts are independently owned and I loved the one I worked at. Great owner.
Hey Eric, the easier way would have Sawzalled the bolt on both sides. Hindsight 20/20. Maybe next time God Bless
That's what I was waiting to see happen lol
I sawed the bolts off of mine and broke the nut off of the arm. Replaced the bolt and nut. The nut is welded on to ease assembly. I anti seized the snot out of the bolt and bushings on the new stuff. Put a little dab of loctite on the nuts and ran it.
Of course cutting would have been easier, but he was trying to reuse the bolts.
I think he meant once the head popped off the first one. That's what I figured I'd do.
I know. But there really isn’t any saving bolts doing those. Even the ones down south do that.
I had something like this about a year ago, though it was an Element. Same deal though, seized lower bushing bolt in the rear struts. My dad and I tried various different things, we eventually landed on a reciprocating saw on each side. I was gonna use the torch but I was afraid the shock would explode on me. It was very cramped in there so we went through a few blades, and I didn't have your fancy lift...but it eventually came out. I loaded the new bolts with antiseize on the part going through the bushing, not the threads, and hopefully that will help whenever they need to be changed again. I'm just scared for when my brother's and sister's Civics need theirs done...
Great problem solving!
Mistakes show you're human. My only point is that most DIYer's don't have access to a torch to just zip them off. If I break that bolt head off, I'm screwed. Car is up on stands in my garage, now what do I Do? I guess I'll have to drive it down to my local mechanic as you mentioned in the video and pay him to take them off. But how do I drive the car home to finish installing my new strut units after he zips those bolt out? I'll be stuck having him do the whole repair at full price. Glad I live in the south where bolts and bushings don't seize.
He's not from this planet!
Buy a small oxy-acetylene kit on Amazon...a coupla hundred bucks. Worth the money....pays itself back with one saved trip to the garage. As a DIYer I used to be in the 'torchless' category ....until I foolishly bought a rust-bucket Subaru. It was then a choice of 'scrap the car or buy a torch'. Bought the torch. Life is now a lot easier.....
Thanks for breaking the bolt and making this video. I broke the bolt today same thing honda civic. And needed to see how or what I would need to do to get it out. Appreciating you.
how about picking up 2 new bolts when buying the struts. use cut off wheel cut completely through rubber and sleeve and bolt. pull right half off. use pry-driver to slide remainder of the sleeve to the right and remove that, then used vise grips to remove rest of bolt. If you dont have a torch
Agreed--those of us who are torchless would have to go this route
Could you weld the inner metal sleeve to the outer steel strut bottom in order to keep the bolt stationary so you can remove the nut.
The nut on eric's hondo wasn't removable but I would imagine if you had a welder you could try to get to the steel sleeve and weld it so it doesn't move and remove the bolt. I read another option was to tighten the bolt which would cause the sleeve to be clamped between the bracket and then try to back it out with an impact.
I slathered the bolt shanks with never-seize when I put in the new struts. Two years out, those bolts still move pretty easily. I also used lady slipper and a hammer to push the bolts out of the holes.
i like all the ppl tellin ya to just use a cut off wheel, well, yeah.. but a torch is so much cooler :)
Cut off wheel = LAME Torch = AWESOME!
to bad i didn't see this comment before i left my comment, i could have kept my lame comment to my self. lol
If you're good with a torch, it's awesome. Some people can cut a bearing off a shaft without leaving a mark on the shaft or cut a nut off a bolt without damaging the bolt threads. The trick is to do the job quick enough so only the part you want to remove gets hot and the part you want to save stays cool. Then there are the people who can start everything on fire when using a torch.
beautiful family! love that you have your kids around!
When are you going to give up the ghost and put a headlight on your head? Things just keep getting darker with age haha
A stadium floodlight works also._
I'm old,never did a strut before,did some coil over shocks though,had a bolt-head break off, factory welded nut,well I can repeat what they did,got my smoke wrench and blew the nut off,choked my 16 pound sledge hammer and poked the bolt out of the bushing,one wack,put in new shocks and new bolts(3/8x24,grade 8) and corresponding lock-nuts,the pinching kind,got my arc welder and welded the nut in place,voila,like factory.Actually,the smoke wrench and welder belonged to my friend,as did the pit,cheaper than a hoist at that time,but the sledge was mine,was a great defense tool,played catch the hammer with a couple guys that wanted to harm me,but that's another story.
You did a great job,except,if you know you're going to do this get some nuts and bolts,always,always,be prepared,we all have brain-farts under the car,I quit turning wrenches when my memory gaps started affecting my customers safety.
I thought that this it only happened to me, usually when stores are closed and i need the car next day.
Never fails!
Not having a great variety of tools at hand the only options for me are a angle grinder, when it fits in the spot, or, and the most efficient a sharp chisel and a big hammer and go medieval on it.
Yeah I've found if I can rattle them enough they will give out about the time I smack my hand real good!
Had a pretty seized set of bolts on my rear struts... luckily I had a friend with a breaker bar that I could call. Need the struts off so nxt day I could take to a shop and have the coils swapped over to new struts as I had work monday and only had 2 days to get the work done. Shop close sunday so that was Friday night and Saturday
I'm very fortunate to be within easy bicycle trips to O'Reilly, Advance, AutoZone, and NAPA , along with Home Depot and Lowe's.
The counter folk at the auto parts stores find it positively hilarious I always show up on the bicycle.
just for your information, THIS WOULD ONLY HAPPEN ON YOUR OWN VEHICLES! or it is just with mine... everytime costumer cars i do in a jiffy and with mine i just get into situations like this.
Good dude, good dad, good humor. Enjoy watching an learning some good tips
The whole time I am thinking Subaroo Redoo. Watch Eric spin a bolt both ways for an hour. But NOOOO!. Its full gorilla time. Snaparoni. And then when sis DNA I am rofl. You are twice more lucky that NAPA guy loves ya and Tractor supply had yer bolt and nut. Good luck with the sale. We have a 2016 CR-V and dont live in [K|Na]Cl city (near Clemson). 8 point buck visits our yard everyday.
greetings fron arizona nothing rusts here!!!
I just put new leafsprings and shocks on all 4 corners of a 1966 Wagoneer & nothing was seized, nothing twisted off
instead of hot wrench, I think I would have used an air chisel to cut the strut and bushings.
Not criticizing your methods in any way, you did a great job on this repair. I’ve ran into this several times and the way I deal with it is cut the bolt on each side where it comes out of the bushing with a torch, grinder, cutoff wheel, sawzall, etc and the strut/shock will pop right out with a prybar. Then the remaining ends of the bolt either fall out or come off the bracket with a chisel and hammer. Of course this requires replacement of the bolt but I think it’s faster.
Expecting a 5 minute video after the top nuts came loose. Then all hell broke loose with thick black smoke and steam billowing from the moorings and the smell of burning rubber. Had to open the window pronto or would have been aphyixiated. Can't say the torch is great, but if time is of the essence then it does the job. Not a lot of alternatives that are quick and easy.
I love that you let us see everything. Even the mistakes.