Here is the situaton I have my the drivers side front end of my '90 IROC disasembled. The K-member has a cracked weld and is bent up were the back of the control arm ties in (this is from a front end accident).

Anyways there is no way I can line it up to send the back bolt through. I have to get the car on the ground so I can have it towed because I am moving immediatly. Anyway do you guys think the front end will hold up just well enought to make it on to a flat bed truck? By this I mean with the control arm only tied in at the front bushing and the spindal. I realize the force from the spring is tremendous and that with only the front bolt in place it is going to apply a large torque to the control arm but I am hopping this would work because I am out of options.

I expect the immediate response to be "this is a terrible idea" which I agree, but it is my only one. I would really appreciate some input from people who under stand the forces acting on the car up front.

 

I would avoid that if all possible.
Cough cough

But, if there is no way out of it, try using a smaller bolt and maybe that will pass through. IF thats a no go can you get the bolt through one side of the k-member?

 

umm with only 1 bolt holding things together your just asking for a wreck...

 

Put it back together the best you can without the spring. put a block of wood between a arm and chassis to hold the load. This should be ok for a roll back.

I would not try to compress a spring with only one bolt in a arm.

You will be ok to load.

If anything bends it will the the front a arm mount, which is no material if you have to replace or fix k member anyway.

I would be more stressed about the moving of all the household items.

 

Thank you for your replies. I am really frustrated with the whole situation.

The idea of putting something solid in place of the spring is something I had considered, however regardless of what is in the spring perch (coil spring or wood) the weight force will still be acting on the control arm.

It is not really the weight force that conserns me, its the fact that the force is not centered so it will try aply a torque the control arm.

I measured a line from the middle and from the back edge of the front bushing to the ball joint. The line actually crosses slightly over the spring pocket. This makes me think that despite the large force the torque might be small enough to manage the tow.

I could car less if I permently damage the control arm, I just want to get it home. I am just worried that the drivers side front end could collapse, blow out my Koni struts and cause even more damage and trouble

 

I could possibly get one end of the bolt through however if that thing busted the energy released by the spring would certainly twist things apart. Maybe the best bet would be a 4x4 peice of wood with the back bolt partly in. What do you guys think.

 

You could do that. just let the tow truck driver know that you have done this. so he doesnt over preload the suspension on that side when he fastens it down to the flatbed. The only questionable thing with the block of wood would be if it somehow broke then you could possibly bottom out your strut which could likely be an early death for your Koni's. I would say if you were to use a solid piece to support it maybe try to offset it to the side of the control arm that has the bolt all the way through the K-memeber to try and take some pressure off the questionable side.

 

don't put a spring in that side and just have it pulled up the flat bed without it in there. car will have a lean but nothing to worry about, just don't drive it.

 

I'd rather see you put something in there like a block of wood if possible.

U could leave it out, but it would be better to not bootom it out if u can help it since its already messed up, u dont know what else is also.

Either way, dont drive it and let the driver know when he gets the car.

later
Jeremy

 

So what I am getting from most of you guys is that the spring is a bad idea. I am not totally clear on why the wood would be better but I guess it is worth a try. Do you guys think there will be enough weight on the wood that it will not shift and cause the suspention to collapse?

 

the other side of the suspension will hold the car up during transport, i don't see why you're worried

 

Thank you to all of you who have responded and offered some help.

I am surprised that some of you are so confident that the one side will support the whole car without anything between the control arm and spring pocket. I guess I will try to use a 4x4 and maybe I can get the back bolt partly through. Let me know if you guys have any other suggestions or thoughts. Thanks again.

 

Well for those of you that check this post I will let you know that I got the car back home all in one piece. I only used the front bushing bolt and I used ~8" 4x4 piece of lumber in place of the spring.

Thanks for the posts.