update. i have a mechanic that lives a door down from my house and he is going to try to fix it. i have to work all week so i dont have time to deal with this. too bad really, if i had 4-6 hours to mess with it i could most likely get the job done. its my last resort at this point. the mechanic thinks he can save the LCA by cutting off the welded bolt and just replacing it with a fresh one. so we will see. ill keep you all updated.

 

you nailed it man, thats exactly what happened. does heating those bushings with a heat gun soften the rubber enough to get that sawed off bolt out?

 

There's actualy a metal sleeve in that bushing. The bolt seizes inside the sleeve as Andy mentioned. If you heat it up, the rubber may melt, and the sleeve can come loose in the bushing. That still won't help you because the sleeve will still be rusted to the bolt on the other side of the hole.

Don't beat yourself up over it. It's actually a really common problem on higher mileage cars or older cars.

 

yeah, im not beating myself up that much, but the mechanic who is fixing it is i bet. the worst thing about it all is that i thought i was home free. on the last damn bolt that had to be removed, i have a problem. what are the chances ya know? and jafro, i agree, more cowbell.

 

If the bolt was turning before it snapped off in the sleeve, then you can probably tappity-tap and rotate the part in the threads out with a hammer and a punch once you get the rest of that stuff out of your way. That would save you a lot of drilling and tapping. That would greatly reducing the chances of destroying the threads.

Better place an order with Honda for that bolt right now. You won't match it in a hardware store. When you get the new one, you'll see why it seized. It's got RIBS!

 

i know all about the ribs, got the right side off with persuasion, and noticed that it was bone dry. all that remained was a few rust stains and dried up lithium grease. its at the mechanic right now so ill call him and ask if i need to put the parts on order or if he has them readily available. i told him to leave the ridhe height be and not to touch the upper strut nut because i still have to finish adjusting the ride height and preloading the shocks. then i should be good to go. then its off to the alignment shop. how much does a 2 inch drop usualy throw off the toe?

 

Enough to get an alignment for sure.

 

update: got a new lower control arm from the junk yard but those bastards didnt remove it. they gave me the whole trailing arm, hub and brake assembley including the control arm. i almost snapped another bolt trying to get the control arm out again. should be back on the road tomorrow. then off to the alignment shop. soon the civic will live again.