Today was not a good day to own a 14 year old car...

[FourthGenHatch]

Today was my Rear Struts/Anti-Sway Bar install day. So I spent the morning Dremeling and then smashing off the welded nut on my KYBs since the Suspension Techniques kit requires you to remove them for the mounts to attach. So I did that and it wasn't hard at all. After that I jacked up the car and took the back wheels off. Then I tried to take off the bolt holding the right side rear Strut Fork to the LCA and snap, the freaking head of the bolt snapped right off. So I was very pissed. However after cooling off for a while I went and did the other side and since the strut and hardware was newer it wasn't a problem at all. So I managed to do the left rear Strut and I must say after I got the right tools (Craftsman Wrenches) it was pie to take off and install. Everyone who told me about it made it out to be much more of a science then it actually was. After putting the left rear side all back together and lowering it I came up with a plan. If I could unbolt the right LCA I could pull the strut down with it and just possibly buy a new LCA and hardware and put my new Strut back on and attach it. So I tried unbolting the bolt that attaches to the knuckle (I guess thats what it is) I started to strip this bolt and got nowhere. So I gave up and put everything back together. Tomorrow I'm going to take it to a shop and hopefully they can get the old bolts out without repacing anything more than the LCA and some hardware. If not I might need a lot of suspension parts. So owning a rusty 4G is not a good thing.

[88ReX]

woooh00 I had a similar problem with my right rear LCA bolt holding on the strut. I finally got it to move but it wasnt getting any easier to pull out, so I went at it for about 30 minutes and it wasnt getting any easier. FInally I stripped the head off the bolt w/the breaker bar and was supremely pissed. I decided to move the strut over from the bottum and just use a die grinder to cut the bolt however there wasnt enough space, I only got half way thru. Out came the torch, cut the bolt right in half but I there were still two ends threaded in so I tried to drill them out to no avail, yet. I end up taking the whole LCA/strut assembly off and taking a drill press to the back side. The struts metal bushing thing whatever got somehow siezed onto the LCA. I took the grinder to it and eventually broke the strut loose from the LCA. Having screwed up the threads on the back side(welded nut side) I rethreaded it and found a new bolt that fit perfectly.I spend about 45 minutes on the left side and around 6-8 hrs on the right. I'm attempting to do the front shocks this week, wish me luck!

to rusty 4Gs

[FourthGenHatch]

Yeah I really hope my fronts aren't in the same shape. I'm pretty sure they are all original so the hardware could be stuck like on that rear. But I think the front is only like 1 pinch bolt. I might get 14mm attachment for my Impact Driver since it will kick the ass of these bolts.

[Bleebdat]

Just for future reference a butane torch and pb blaster(wd-40 or any other lubricant will work) will aid in getting old rusted or seized things apart. I had a cv axle siezed to the inside of the steering knuckle that pos took a complete 8 hour day to finish.

[civicHBsi91]

liquid wrench, that stuff works, i couldent get the bolt loose to put in new tranny fluid and i sprayed that stuff on there and let it sit and it came right off

[FourthGenHatch]

Well the shop agreed that replacing the LCA is the best idea. So I asked them to try and find parts. If they have already found them by tomorrow I will just buy the crap from them unless the labor is dirt cheap. If not I will have them swap in new hardware, then order new parts from Majestic Honda... wait a week for them, then replace all the crap and have them put new bushings in.