Body to a-arm nuts/bolts

[rodo]

As with every job so far.... 3 of the 4 nuts to remove the lower a-arm from the body = a snap. Then the fourth one. The bolt, the one that is welded,I think, is spinning. I've tried with the vice grips but there is so little room. Suggestions?

[SteinOnkel]

I would try a nut splitter. They work pretty well, I've used them on m10 with a hardness of 12.9. Was also a suspension part, but on a different car.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

I'm a bit confused as to which 4 nuts/bolts you're talking about. For the lower A-arm, there are two nuts that hold the A-arm spindle (pivot bolt) onto the two studs that are coming out of the crossmember. Remove those two nuts and the spindle (and A-arm) should just slide off.

Of course, if you still have the coil spring installed, brakes still connected, or the ball joints still hooked up, then the job gets more complicated. But, if all these items are already removed, it should just be those two remaining nuts to remove the lower A-arm.

-Bryan

[rodo]

That's the bolt: one coming from the crossmember. Weld has broken. I'm thinking it will need re-welding just to get the nut off.

Springs are done. Did it w/o compressors or straps and I have to say, it was not bad and, at least the way I did it (with an experienced friend) not dangerous.

[spider2081]

That's the bolt: one coming from the crossmember.

The threads on thses bolts are often damaged. I would first try putting a new nut on the exposed threads and tightening it up to the existing nut to clean the threads. Use a light lubricant like WD 40 to wash out the threads as the nut is worked back and forth on the exposed threads. Once the threads are cleaned tap a pry bar or chisel between the side of the cross member and the floating sleeve the bolt passes through. Hopefully this will [ut enough pressure on the bolt inside so it's nut can be removed

[manoa matt]

Jamb or hammer a large flat blade screw driver in the recess where the head is captive in the small square window of the cross member. Try to jamb it against one of the flat sides of the bolt. If its the front bolt, jamb it in between the bolt head and the bottom. If its the rear bolt, jamb it in between the bolt head and the top. Then try removing the nut.

[81SPIDERMATT]

what manoa matt said...... i used a big screwdriver and wedged the bolt

[spider2081]

I think eventually the bolt heads will have to be welded back to the cross member. Maybe having them welded so you can remove the nuts should be considered.

[dinghyguy]

on mine the bolts are round heads, i put a hex head in on the one i had to replace and then used the screwdriver wedge method. But a tack weld to keep it from spinning is certainly an upgrade.

cheers
dinghyguy

[rodo]

The saga continues...

Welded the bolt twice. Snapped the weld twice. Friend who was welding noticed that there is a tiny bit of the crossmember missing, a piece that goes on top of the bolt, helps to hold it al together. Neither of us could tell why this one chunk would have been broken/removed/stolen by international terrorists. Maddening!!! So in wondering about options, I stumbled into Lada Power. Anyone 1) bought one of their crossmembers, 2) found it to work well and 3) received it before six months?

[kilrwail]

Cross members are available from Auto Ricambi.

[rodo]

Yes, they are. But the crossmembers from Lada Power are $69 and $79shipping.

[spider2081]

Have you considered posting in the parts wanted section of this site for a good used cross member?? If you decide to do that don't forget to put where you are located in case someone close to you has what you need to avoid shipping.

[rodo]

Thanks for that. I actually have a FIAT friend here who has offered one. But the Lada site had me wondering about that particular Lada part. Seems common knowledge that some Lada parts are good, some are junk, and some are sold here by FIAT vendors as FIAT parts (which...they sort of are...but not exactly). In reading around I found one source (somewhere...) that suggested the Lada crossmembers were made slightly better; others suggested that the metal was thinner and welds poorly done. Was hoping to glean more knowledge from the combined brains of FiatSpider.com.

[rodo]

Update: ordered the crossmember (and a brake regulator) from Lada Power. Just wrote to ask them about delivery ETA: 3-8 weeks. So, that is a big downside to ordering from them. Will update again when it actually shows up.