how to remove bolts on the rear suspension

[idosubaru]

i'm trying to remove my hubs on the rear of my AWD XT6 parts car. i don't know what any of these parts are called....but it doesn't much matter almost none of the bolts will come off. twisted off a 3/8 extension. squirted over and over with liquid wrench and they do not move at all even with a couple foot breaker bar. hit them with my air/impact wrench and it just sat there impacting and none of the bolts would move.

 

there are three bolts on the arm going up towards the front of the car and none will move. the part they are bolted to bolts to the car with one bolt and it doesn't budge. the arm going from the hub to the center of the car won't budge either and access is very difficult. there isn't really that much rust...i mean it's there but i've seen much worse. some don't really have much rust at all.

 

there aren't many bolts to get this thing off but DUDE is this annoying.

[idosubaru]

i can try a nut breaker or just drill out the three bolts. the other one towards the center of the car has very limited access, doubt i'll be getting bulky tools in there.

[gbrand]

heat.then spray with liquid wrench/pb blaster. repeat. then ty to loosen when warm.

 

I dont know about your car, but on many the nut part is solidly attached so torqueing on it can be an exercise in futility,

[Guest shadow]

I've had trouble with those bolts with my old air impact which was a Harbor Freight cheapie rated at 220 ft. lbs. It worked 90% of the time, but with a little trouble now and then. I use 1/2" drive tools for those large bolts, a lot less carnage on the tools that way, I've never had trouble with the space being too tight for the larger 1/2" tools on the rear end parts.

 

Anyway, the best bang for your buck right now I've seen is the "Earthquake" impact at HF. $70 gets you a rated 625 ft. lbs. of nut-busting power. I picked one up and its a little larger than usual, but its a nice tool for the price.

[Humble Nuto 53]

1/2" drive black impact sockets and a longer pipe.

 

might as well buy a few drill bits too to remove the busted

bolts.

 

if you have a proper acetylene/oxy torch, it is THE miracle tool.

 

propane and mapp gas

[idosubaru]

buddy has a torch, used it once before and a troubled bolt came off in about 2 seconds. but i personally don't own a torch.

 

not sure what my impact wrench is rated, should probalby check that. i was wondering how they rated them. just picked up a compressor/tools this summer so im' still learning the ropes.

 

i've been using 1/2" drives, i just had to use a 3/8" to get to one of the bolts. it sheared right off. don't think i've torqued on a nut yet....been doing everything on the head side of the bolt so i'm good there.

 

thanks,

[gbrand]

Even a cheapo propane torch from a hardware store does wonders.....thats what I use.

[idosubaru]

i just found out from a guru at xt6.net that the rear hubs don't require removing anything. apparently after the cv is off and the "axle" nut is off it just slides out (with some coaxing of course). looked like one big assembly to me.

 

but the great thing about this is that i found out torches are cheap and i need bigger impact wrenches.