I pwned a 210K mile rear knuckle on my beater wagon. It took four hours, a good impact, a BFH, a cut-off wheel, three prybars, punches, a cheater bar, combination wrenches, a vice grips, and eight Sierra Nevada Pale Ales. And yes, I'm proud of it. This car is so rusty throughout, I was worried about not having an acetylene torch. The parking brake cable is still intact, and the lateral link bushings aren't torn up. ABS, well, who needs that **** anyways. :slayer::slayer::slayer::slayer::slayer::slayer::slayer:
I am impressed. I just spent a significant amount of time working on the rear knuckles that came off my 95 Impreza. 207k miles. Could not get the bolt out of either of them (and the axle out of one!). To get the lateral links off I needed to cut the bolt head off and use a gear puller, sawzall, drill, angle grinder and BFH. Not even going to think about the wheel speed sensors.
The key was to lighten them up with JB 80 for about twelve hours and then lots of impacting from the good ol IR unit. Once I got it off the car, I used the impact to soften it up, and wailed on it with a 3 lb hammer. Once it was a little bit loose, I cut the end of the lat bolt off flush, and hit it for a while with the impact. It spun free of the knuckle and bushings. Other tools were involved here and there, but that is the gist of it.
Also, a 3-jaw puller was key for the axle. Couldn't done it without that tool. I had to get the knuckle out with the links attached to get the bolt out too.
Oh joy I forgot how much fun these are to replace... I somehow got talked into replacing my friends lat links this afternoon. I could really do without having to cut the bolts again. Also don't use a vice as a press trying to force the bolts out... it doesn't work :biggrin: Damn ABS sensors NEVER come out either. View attachment 20506 View attachment 20507
I wish i had pictures of how i got HIimbrian's hub apart. It involved melting the whole damn thing with a torch and replacing it with a better one. lol
Yeah... 2.5 rotation beyond hand tight using a hammer on a $20 Northern vise = Fail. Though it was working up until that point.
yea, I did the same thing with a bench vise. used a pipe to get more leverage on the handle to crank it down.....now it's in multiple pieces.
ROFL when possible i go to menards or home depot with the parts and use the biggest display vise they have. That way, if it breaks, i just say well **** im not buying that one and leave!
Yeah I broke one as well. Although it was trying to push out the control arm bushings in place of a shop press. I am trying the new method of smoothing the lateral link bolt in anti-seize before reinstalling it. I am hoping it works, cause I think I used about 1/3 of a big container on the rear suspension/alignment components of my car.
I usually smother the bolt in some thick ball-joint grease before I put it back together, and it will last at least two winters as I've found. What's funny is that newer cars that have seen a winter or two have trouble with that bolt.
oh yea, it doesn't take much. I'm extremely afraid of the ones in my dad's '94. since it spent some time sitting in a couple feet of water.....
Well a short battle with them on my buddies car last night went well. I didn't need to worry about removing the bolt from the bushings as i was putting on replacement links. I was actually able to somehow get one of the ABS sensors out with no problems, the other however was normal bolt snaps off. I did find a really easy way to get the bolt out of the knuckle without any heat, excessive hammering, or a press. Using a death wheel cut the bolt in the middle as much as possible. Once cut enough you can use the links as levers to work the bolts out both sides. With some deep creep and a punch they slide right out of the knuckle. Can anyone guess why the links need replacing? View attachment 20515 View attachment 20516
at least is wasnt salt. I like this strategy. I will need to keep this in mind for the next time I have to tackle these bolts.
