Eccentric alignment bolts are pure evil

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I posted last week about alignment bolts frequently being rusted into place and not wanting to come out. On my Sedona, it ended up being worst-case. In the process of trying to remove a bad rear lateral arm on Friday, I unknowingly was hammering so hard that I completely bent the mounting points for the arm. I was hammering from underneath the van, so I couldn't see what was happening. With no effective way to bend it back myself, and with the arm STILL stuck in place, I hobbled the van to a local shop I've used before. It ended up that the subframe mounting was so bent, it couldn't safely be bent back. They had to source a used subframe (which was actually reasonable in cost), and 2 new lateral links, since both of the old ones were completely seized and had to be cut, even the good one. Van should be ready by Saturday, but the total cost is just over $1,200
frown.gif
seeing that this is a work vehicle and I can't be without it for more than a few days, I really had no other option.

TLDR; don't bother hammering, just cut those darn alignment bolts out.
 
That's where oil rustproofing pays off.

When I brought in my Mazda 3. which is infamous for rust, for an alignment after an LCA and strut change, I was told that it may take longer than normal because of rust and the age of the car. They did it about 20 earlier than normal because nothing was stuck.
 
I live in the salt belt. Whenever I buy a new car, I take out the adjuster bolts, put a nice coat of silicone grease on them and reinstall, same goes for the tie rod threads. Never have a problem with them seizing after that.
 
For some reason my e90 BMW needs to be aligned every 6-12 months. Each time, some part is seized. Both front tie rods and both rear toe adjusters have been replaced at least once.

Had it at Firestone last week. They "couldn't align" the rear, and one of the rear's toe is "in the red zone".

I'm not sure what to do. I suppose I should go under it myself and try to free them up.
 
I think Firestone is one of the last places I would take a vehicle in for repairs .

I have heard Fluid Film helps prevent rust ?

Rusty fasteners = torch . Get it red hot and spray with penetrating oil . Repeat as necessary .

God bless
Wyr
 
Can confirm. Firestone is lousy. I still do go there once a year for a free (lifetime) alignment for my truck I hardly drive but beat on. The alignment is always different. The steering wheel is straight and it pulls or the steering wheel is crooked and tracks straight. Never is really good but tire wear is fine so I don't really care. If it was a DD I would never go back.
 
Originally Posted By: WyrTwister
Rusty fasteners = torch . Get it red hot and spray with penetrating oil . Repeat as necessary .

A torch is not always a good idea. Some eccentric bolt's receiving bushings are integrated with a rubber donut. A torch would NOT be a good idea here.

I am thinking of my Honda Pilot rear as I write this, it has rubber there around the metal collar that receives the eccentric bolt, on the inside end of the rear a-arm. I had to free up an eccentric bolt last year in order for the (local, trusted) tire shop to finish the alignment job. I would have had them risk breaking the bolt, but it was on a Saturday and they didn't want to break my car for the weekend until they could get parts on Monday.

Anyway the bolt laughed at my air impact because: rubber bushing absorbed impacts. LOL. 3 foot breaker bar on one side and impact gun on the other got it moving again. I had it parked in their parking lot Monday morning.

Originally Posted By: Trav
Removing rotten bolts is like the black art of torture, enough to get it to succumb without killing it as you found out.

LOL great line. I just kill'em and get it over with. Of course I'm DIY and not on the clock. Fortunately my Honda eccentric was not broken, just stuck.
 
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