Seized bolts... Cambelt about 3 years over due..

[Roverdrive]

Well put car into garage for cambelts which were last done in 2014!!, and had phone call from garage that they can't bolt out, so now rock/hard place scenario of potentially snapping bolt or snapping cam belt, neither of which bodes well.... (or cheap)

[mowog73]

Which bolt?

[Roverdrive]

Goes through engine mount?

[Roverdrive]

Garage currently trying to remove engine mount to body rather than from block....

[ArntyR]

Um, I did this recently and supported the engine with a jack to undo these two (that was hard enough) and used it to lift the engine enough to get the belt through the gap it creates.
Or do you mean they're having trouble removing one of these? I soaked mine overnight first tho'...

Mind you, it would've been a bonus to get the whole engine support arm out of the way though

[Roverdrive]

They're trying to undo those ones after failing to get the other side out, or at least they were a couple of hours ago... may have mentioned a few times that my car was blocking their lift, not heard since...

[Charless]

They can be more than pesky! It helps to treat them first before any attempt to actually move them. I think they may have been threadlocked in the factory. They are also steel sat in aluminium so they corrode together too. Then you also have the weight of the engine bearing on them. So soak them repeatedly with Plus Gas or equivalent for as long as possible beforehand(not just WD40). Carefully applied heat will help too and will make any remaining threadlock compound soft - it can also help to break the corrosion lock. Inductive heat is best but rather specialised - a small blow torch can be used carefully. The weight of the engine can be neutralised by using a jack with a bit of wood under the sump to support it. Finally they are offset so you want a (min 1/2" drive) UV joint or big wobble bar to put the maximam torque into their longditudinal axis.
They are big bolts but I have had one shear before releasing - illegitimi.
Best of luck with them, and don't forget you are going to have to shift them again in 5 years time so plenty of copperease on reassembly!

[Roverdrive]

Thanks for info, I suspect after I see the bill for this from garage, I'll be going back to doing more of my own maintenance...

[Roverdrive]

And now the car is returned, the bill only made me cry a little... Apparently also had a few missing bolts unattached breather pipes, the wrong size belt on anyways, now has right size belt, new water pump, service with new plugs.,... No if only I could afford to put petrol in it to take it out for a run...

guess thee fitting of the SS water pipes is something I'll be doing myself, and also been told it'll need a lower ball joint on passenger side, so will start reading how to do that one..,.

[Fraser]

Lower ball joint is a bit peculiar; you have to drill out or grind-off the rivets holding it on. The replacements are supplied with bolts to replace the rivets. The part is not expensive at all, the labour charge will be the big part of the bill if you take it to a workshop.
https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-NAM9425E ... EnEALw_wcB

[ArntyR]

...and the s/s pipes will be easier - after you've removed the undertray bolts...

(They're held in place by loadsa little captive (10mm?) bolts that easily get rusted into place. I reckon they'll need to be soaked overnight and treated with 'respec'' as you gently unwind them. Charless' copper-ease remedy will go down well on reassembly, too. The attached pic shows six of the little blighters on the lhs...)

[John SS]

Lower ball joint is a bit peculiar; you have to drill out or grind-off the rivets holding it on. The replacements are supplied with bolts to replace the rivets. The part is not expensive at all, the labour charge will be the big part of the bill if you take it to a workshop.
https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-NAM9425E ... EnEALw_wcB

And be aware that the retaining rivets are made from the hardest material known to man. They will fall about laughing at HSS drills and take a lot of grinding. Not difficult, just time consuming.

[mgtfnut]

And be aware that the retaining rivets are made from the hardest material known to man. They will fall about laughing at HSS drills and take a lot of grinding. Not difficult, just time consuming.

Not really, I found them easy to drill with a cordless drill after centre punching the rivets.
Just had to remove the "cotter" pin to release the bottom joint, undo the top ball joint,swing the hub assy away and not tension the flexi brake pipe. The joint was supported from underneath, with some bricks and wood packing as I remember, to get a good direct down push on the drill.
That was back in 2008 - elongated the holes for camber adjustment, used flanged nuts and bolts and a small tack weld to secure.
Fiddly, but the alignment remains in spec.

[RobboMC]

Not really, I found them easy to drill with a cordless drill after centre punching the rivets.
Just had to remove the "cotter" pin to release the bottom joint, undo the top ball joint,swing the hub assy away and not tension the flexi brake pipe.

I removed the lower arm completely from the car, which means a lot more work, but I had the sub frames dropped anyway. find someone with a decent drill press and they drill out easily, or perhaps replace the whole arm if it's looking rusty.

It's the shaft of the ball joint that is made of the hardest material known to man.
You must line up the cut-out for the bolt exactly and push the bolt back in BY HAND. even a light tap with a hammer will destroy the bolt. At elast the bolts are cheap to replace. The nut is a special lock nut so probably worth getting new ones.

[Roverdrive]

Well I'll find out, just not quite yet, was told ball joint should have been an advisory on the MOT, so will see if Andy has one I can grab on way home or across to other site. Might look at SS bolts to replace a few, underneath as I go and look at what else the car would benefit from, so I can just spend the day fitting bits....

Finding it more frustrating with the fact I put code in radio wrong and haven't managed to stay in the car long enough to get it to reset, so now noticing all those little rattles and noises, a little wobble from wheel (might be that ball joint) but also creating a list in my head of poly bushes and chassis braces, might have to just borrow Mrs' car for a few days....

[Geoff.F]

DO NOT fit any Stainless Steel bolts as they have a very low tensile strength. OEM Only.
Geoff.F

[Roverdrive]

DO NOT fit any Stainless Steel bolts as they have a very low tensile strength. OEM Only.
Geoff.F

Ah OK