Does anyone know the size of the bolts on the front control arms? I have the spring compressed and can't seem to get the right size tool.Help......Please.

 

what sizes have you tried?

 

the heads are 19mm

 

xxx,

Be prepared for a battle in removing those. Often the bolts sieze to the metal sleeve of the bushings. In my case two of the four came out easily; the other two were probably an hour a piece (I finally resorted to placing a chisel against the bottom of the bolt head and wacking away with a four-pound hammer, then knocking it back in and starting over until it finally worked free). I used anti-seize when I replaced with new bolts. If you can get an impact gun in there, try it.

JamesC

 

Thanks for the info. Tried 19mm, 3/4, 11/16, no good. The bolts look rusted on. No impact gun at my house. Will need to take to a shop.

Thanks

 

Thanks for the info. Tried 19mm, 3/4, 11/16, no good. The bolts look rusted on. No impact gun at my house. Will need to take to a shop.

Thanks

 

Or you could try to cut them off with an angle grinder and a cut off wheel.

 

take some course steel wool or somethin similar and try to clean the heads up a bit, i bet thatll get a 19mm on there

 

18mm is where it's at. I am in the process of changing rearends as we speak....I dropped mine, then I dropped the one im replacing....18mm worked for me. ( slid on some ice around a corner and hit a 6" curb dead on....snapped my rear axle and bent the brake drum )

 

Yes, 18 mm it is. I have done this many times and it is 18mm.

 

I would try to get the rust off with some acid, or something with the same effect.

 

I have to go with the guys that are saying they're 18mm. At least that's what all mine are. As far as getting the bolts out, do they turn at all? If they're froze to where you can't even turn them, that's your first battle is to get them turning. I've had a couple that wouldn't even turn using an impact, so what I did was use a 1/2" breaker bar with an 18mm six point socket, and I also slipped a 3 foot length of pipe on the end of the breaker bar. This combination will either get the bolt to turn or snap the damn thing off, but it has to do something with that much force on it. Once you get it turning, screw the nut back on the threaded end of the bolt to protect the end of the threads and whack the nut with a large hammer. This should start forcing the bolt out. The other method that works is to put a ratchet on the head of the bolt and turn it while you're pushing against the nut on the backside. I do this part with an impact, which makes it quick, but you can do it by hand using a ratchet too. Once the threaded part of the bolt gets inside the bushing, the bolt will usually start to worm its way out, especially if you're pushing on it or tapping it from the backside. No matter what, you've got to get the bolt turning in the bushing before you can get any further with it. Good luck!

 

my mistake, it definitely is 18mm, hadnt been out workin on the car for a while and couldnt remember, sorry

 

All the big bolts on f-body suspensions have 18mm heads (I actually bought a second 18mm wrench just for them) with the exception of the PHR pivots which are 21 and 19 (the nut is a different size then the bolt) and the PHR brace uses 15mm heads.

FWIW, I've done them for years with wrenches… takes a while. The last time I did it I did it with an impact gun. I had the complete front and rear suspension out, all the brakes, springs, shocks/struts, spindles, rear axle… in less then a half an hour