Hi All,

I'm doing new wheel bearings and upper control arms (2000 A4,B5, ATW, quattro, fyi) Thanks to PB Blaster and a BFH, the pinch bolt came out fine. (no small miracle for Ohio)

However, the strut screw/bolt in the lower control arm is stuck in the bushing; the nut came off fine. I don't want to twist the bolt too much, for fear of ripping the bushing, but I have to get the strut out. Heat doesn't seem to be an option, but I might be wrong.

Anyone have any neat tricks for this? I may try to move the rear arm out of the way so I can whack the screw with a hammer, or at worst case break out the sawzall and cut the bottom U of the strut.

Those are the overwhelming force options, but I'd hate to miss a neat tool or method that would do this without cursing.

thanks,

 

You may want to prepare yourself to replace the front lower control arm. Unfortunately, once the fastener gets stuck in the bushing tearing the bushing is sort of inevitable. I would guess that your best chance for saving the bushing would be to remove the control arm, strut still attached, and take the whole thing to a press. The key is going to be supporting the inner sleeve while pressing the bolt out.