Hey guys, I'm working on upgrading the suspension, and as usual, I have super rusty bolts on the trailing arms and the front sway bar. I want to reuse the bolts, so I'm trying to find a way to break them lose without destroying them. Any suggestions? What lubricants or techniques do you all use or have to share?

 

PB blaster. it stinks but works great let it soak good

 

You may have to go to a u pull it yard and get some off of an Impala from the same era. I would just in case you have a problem with the rusty ones on yours.

 

I'll second PB Blaster. Make sure you give it time to soak though. Another option is hitting it with some heat from a torch. Just be careful if it's near a rubber bushing, you don't want to melt that.

If they're really rusty, you may want to consider buying new though. You'd hate to have one break on reinstall or worse yet while driving!

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I actually prefer AeroKroil to PB Blaster, but they are both good penetrants.

Make sure you have a good set of wire brushes too, to clean up the bolts afterwards and inspect the threads to make sure they haven't stripped or stretched. Please don't reinstall if they have.

 

While I can appreciate trying to save a $$ here and there, I these were my bolts and all rusted out, why not spend perhaps $20 on new ones for the peace of mind that they will not fail?

In the past I have used a heat gun to super heat bolts to remove them, takes a minute, but the heat is somewhat more controlled.