I pulled a complete engine cradle/front suspension assembly from a car at the junkyard. I intend on modifying the spindles, replacing the bushings, etc. off-car and then bolting the whole thing up when its done.

I have it stripped down to the point where the only things still attached to the cradle are the A-arms. I removed the nuts easily, and the bolts turn but will not come out. Gentle tapping with a hammer didn't do any better. I'd like not to destroy the bolts, which is what I fear will happen if I hammer on them any harder.

Is there a way of doing this w/o ruining the threads on the bolts, or should I just pound the hell out of them and just accept the fact that they're gonna have to be replaced?

 

If you're trying to get the A-arm bolt out while the spring has tension... good luck "tapping" them out. You'll need to compress the spring to relieve the pressure b 4 those bolts will even think about wanting to come out.

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been there, tried pounding many hours. had to get bolts burned off, end of story. I hated those things, but it's best to get new bolts anyways, just make sure they're high grade.

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edelbrock performer rpm intake
edelbrock 600 cfm carb
msd pro billet hei distributer
'95 3.23 rearend
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That's what I was afraid of No big deal though.. I had to cut the head and threaded end off the panhard rod to remove it, I guess I'll do the same on the A-arms.

Luckily though, I don't have to worry about springs or any of that.. The cradle/A-arms is sitting in the bed of my truck right now!

 

Hey, I think I came up with a solution to the frozen-but-spinning bolts. Remove the nut (those seem to come off fairly easily) and put a piece of scrap steel over the end of the bolt to pretect it. Hammer on the scrap steel with an air chisel for a while, and the bolt should come free! I did two of them that way, the other two gave up with some whacks from a hammer.

 

You can put a nut or 2 on the end of the bolt and beat on that with a hammer to break it loose.... just make sure they catch enough threads that you don't damage them.

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