Removing upper control arms..help!!

[87TTypeKid]

Now, I have big hands/arms that dont fit into the crevices to get at the nuts and bolts holding the drivers side upper control arm in place, so I was wondering if there's an easy way to get it off? I read that the two bolts are splined and have to be tapped out from the nut side, but a buddy of mine was telling me that the splined nature of the bolt is unneccessary and I should be able to just hit it with the impact wrench and spin it out. Is this a good idea or a bad idea? Second, if this isnt the way to go, how on earth am I supposed to knock those bolts out? There's maybe an inch or two of clearance and thats hardly enough to get anything in there to hit them with.

 

[zeus87gn]

Been there, and done exactly what you are about to do.

If you rip the splines out with an impact wrench, the alignment tech that goes to align your car when you are done won't be able to do it. IF he can loosen the nut enough to put in the correct shims, but he won't be able to tighten them back because he can't hold the bolt head. It is behind the control arm. If he lifts the control arm to do the alignment, he will charge you a bunch of money for his time in loosening the upper ball joint multiple times, and he will have to take all day to align your car.

On the drivers side, you should be able to remove the top bolt on your steering shaft and let it drop away and then you can take out your upper arm.

The passenger side is diffucult. Maybe remove the downpipe?

Wait, haven't you already asked this question? Or did I just answer it before?

 

[87TTypeKid]

Nah, I asked about some brake problems a while back..maybe you remember that? I did ask about the lower arms last week sometime.

Ok, well how, and with what, should I tap those bolts out? Is there really THAT much play if you decide to just rip the bolt out? To the best of my knowledge, in theory, even if those bolts could free spin, the adjustment along their axis is solid, and the arms position relative to the frame "might" only move along the length of the frame, and not in and out (as to adjust camber), but even still it would depend on how the splines flattened out when the bolt spins.

The problem? Time ain't exactly on my side, and I dont want to have to disassemble the whole car to get the arms off. But, sadly, they must, as roasted balljoints and bushings gave me insane positive camber.

Thanks.

 

[Welby]

They're splined??! Oops, I just put in new upper bushings the other day and just gunned the bolts right out. I didn't notice any splines (Maybe I destroyed them, lol.) I did have a bit of a time getting things back together, trying to get my hand squeezed in there to hold the nut with a wrench while gunning the bolt back on.
I can see how this could be a problem for the alignment guy, seeing that I tightened everything up then pulled it down to bolt up the ball joint. I guess my options are A: Don't get it aligned, or B: Learn how to do it myself at home

 

[zeus87gn]

Yes, you destroyed the splines. They aren't that noticable unless you have a new bolt to see. You could do what I did and have them tack welded so they won't move on the alignment tech.

Hey Kid, I guess you could do that. Air them out and have them tack welded back in. Just have to either grind them off next time or remove parts. That's where I am at with mine as I will be installing tubular arms soon.

 

[87TTypeKid]

I guess maybe I'm just having a hard time understanding this, but I dont see the major problem with twisting the bolts out. Is there really THAT much play after you do this? Plus, like I mentioned before, what direction would they be adjusting for the allignment? Those bolts look like they are in there pretty damn good and arent gonna be "adjusted" for anything. Are we talking about the huge bolt that goes THROUGH the control arm bushings? I'm talking about the two that mount it to the frame. I could see that big one being a slight problem if the arm were allowed to move forwards and backwards, but I dont see that happening.

This car has been off the road for too long now. School kills all of my free time and I'm getting sick of my father's 110 hp Cavalier.

 

[zeus87gn]

I'm talking about the two that mount it to the frame.

So am I. In order to get the caster/camber setting correct on the front wheels, the alignment tech has to loosen the nut on that bolt, move the top of the tire, in turn moving the control arm, and put shims between the cross arm (that goes through the bushings) and the frame over the bolt. The bolt is then tightened with the correct shims in place. If the bolt is allowed to turn, the nut can't be tightened. If the alignment tech has to take the upper ball joint loose to do the alignment, he won't be happy and will change you extra $$.

No the splines aren't very noticable, but they are there. I decided to buy new bolts from GM to try and solve the problem and they still wouldn't catch enough to hold still. Decided to tack weld them in place. You may have better luck than me if you wrench them.

School kills all of my free time and I'm getting sick of my father's 110 hp Cavalier.

Oh you poor soul.
I got stuck one of those for a time and was ready to drive it of a cliff after a week.
Finally traded it for a VW some years back.

 

[breiter]

I removed my factory upper arms a few weeks ago when I installed new tubular upper control arms along with other upgrades. I called a GM dealer and they told me I could not purchase replacement splined bolts so I used grade 8 hardware (I think 2.5 inch 5/8th bolts with lock nuts) Worked perfectly and the front-end shop had no problem. The splined bolts were probably used for assembly when the car was built. Other than than to hold the bolts in place they serve no purpose. If you are putting the factory uppers back on it will be difficult to get a socket or wrench on it. You can either spend another $150 and get the tubular arms or fight the factory uppers.

 

[NCC1701]

splined bolts are still available.........

I got some just a few weeks ago. I think you can even find them on gmpartsdirect.com. I am replacing my a-arms with tubular also. I just wish I would have ordered new nuts for those bolts. Those are on order now.
I noticed that in the parts manual online (I'll post a link when I get home),
it list these nuts and bolts as being grade 10, so that is what I am ordering.

HTH
Lorenzo

 

[breiter]

The splined bolts are metric so grade 10 really is 10.9 metric grade which is equivalent to grade 8 std thread.

 

[NCC1701]

http://perfauto.tripod.com/indexpage.pdf
Here is the link I was refering to. It has come in very handy for me recently
Metric 10.9 is equal to standard grade 8, I did not know that. I didn't know there was a conversion chart for that. :redface:
Oh well, new bolts are cheap and it sure beats reusing 20 year old rusty hardware. I ordered enough to redo my entire suspension when I get around to it. For now, just the front upper a-arms so I can drop my engine in this weekend.:biggrin:
HTH
Lorenzo