Boiler shim install question

Scar0 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 26, 2010 11:11 pm

Trauma5951 wrote:

Which craftsman o you have?

Mine is a 44595, not the most spendy, but reliable so far.

Scar0 · **Posted:** Sat Jun 26, 2010 11:17 pm

Oops double post...

Trauma5951 · **Joined:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:11 pm **Posts:** 96

So the install went horribly wrong. I removed every bolt except for the ball joint, and when I went to remove it, it go stuck on rust and will not tighten back up or loosen. I snapped a socket wrench trying to get the nut off... (Only 1/4 inch wrench)

I reosrted to putting degreaser all over it to try and break it free and then I attempted to vice grip the lower half that has the 10mm head on it that the larger nut spins off of. This of course resulted in the lower head being completely stripped.

So far my friend suggested mix acetone and tranny fluid and it makes the ultimate liquid wrench. As a last resort he suggested heating the nut off...

Basically m car now has a very loose ball join on the driver side front tire and I am in trouble if I cannot retighten it... I didn't even get to put the shims on.

Very upset and I'm worried my entire A arm will need to be replaced...

Trauma5951 · **Joined:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:11 pm **Posts:** 96

was able to re-tighten it...

when all else fails, find a bigger vice grip... i found the biggest.

Jeepin_it_real · **Posted:** Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:20 am

did you get the shims on?

Trauma5951 · **Joined:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:11 pm **Posts:** 96

No. I was only able to retighten the ball joint I did not have the time to take the entire front apart again...

I am going to have to do it another day. There is a strong line of rust at the bottom of the threads on the upper ball joint, i need to degrease/wire brush the heck out of it or i will not be able to release the ball joint. I didnt even try the passenger side.

Scar0 · **Posted:** Mon Jun 28, 2010 2:49 am

Ouch! Does not sound like fun at all.
Hope you get it done soon.

Trauma5951 · **Joined:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:11 pm **Posts:** 96

yea il do it during the week... i was so worried the entire A piece would have to be replaced because of that bolt... if i took it to a mechanic they would of charged me $300 for labor and parts if im lucky and they would have said they had to cut the bolt there's nothing they can get it off with.

Jaws of life > mechanic shop.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Mon Jun 28, 2010 9:10 pm

I'll have to go look, but if I still have my factory a arms, I'll sell them to you cheap....

Trauma5951 · **Joined:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:11 pm **Posts:** 96

Thanks digger but im pretty sure they are ok. And i have noooo idea how to change those arms.

The only thing that is stripped is the 10mm head on the bottom of the ball joint bolt.

I am pretty sure that all i need to do to get the nut off is wire brush at the line of heavy rust for a bit and il be good.

DirtyKK · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:12 am

ya that 10mm will never turn. its best to just wack the shat out of it with a hammer til it comes loose. :2cents:

Trauma5951 · **Joined:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:11 pm **Posts:** 96

I know it does not turn, but the entire bolt inside the arm as a whole does spin freely as a pivot point... that 10mm is to hold it still while unscrewing the nut i believe? Problem was the nut got stuck on a line of rust, just above the 10mm head. I stripped the head trying to hold this thing still and break the nut free. I clamped vicegrips down so hard my head almost exploded trying to close them and it still spun.

Therefor i went and grabbed the above picture off of our heavy rescue in my firehouse.

20,000 lbs of hydraulic clamping power > vice grip. Did not even budge. If that did not work, i was going to get the generator and go for 40,000 lbs of force.

Trauma5951 · **Joined:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:11 pm **Posts:** 96

boiler shims officially installed did it all myself

feels good!

Most i ever changed in a car other than electronics was brake pads so this was a decent step up.

Car looks so much better amazing what a difference in stance a 3/8 front lift makes.

Only hitch while installing them the second time, was i did not realize i needed a second jack to put everything back together :banghead:

had to call a friend to drop off a jack lol.

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:37 pm

Thats great to hear!

Now, just take it apart 9 ro 10 more times and you will be a pro at it like me :shock:

Trauma5951 · **Joined:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:11 pm **Posts:** 96

Luckily that A-Arm bolt is still good. The only thing with it is because the 10mm head is stripped, you have to hold a vice grip on it and use an open wrench for the first few turns of the bolt.

I hope to lift her in the future when i have the spare $2500 lol.

Total cost of the install was about $190

$137 for Torque wrench, 10 inch extension, 3/8 adapter and set of 8 deep sockets (some long booty bolts on the suspension darn!)
$48 for boiler shims
$5 for homebrew Tranny Fluid/Acetone Ultra Liquid wrench substance.

Now i will have tools for the future... If i paid someone to do it, i am sure they would have charged me for a minimum of 3 hours of labor which would end up far more than the tools cost me.

Sadly, in the process of getting really angry the first time, i accidentally dropped one of the battery tray bolts and 1 of the fuse box holder bolts into the great abyss below them...

Diggerfreek · **Posted:** Wed Jun 30, 2010 11:40 pm

Oh well.... Just pull one of them and match it up at depot or lowes.... or I'll get ya part numbers....

Scar0 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:08 am

Great to hear you got it done. Any Pics of the "after"?
You can get a magnet to fish out those lost bolts. Another great tool investment I had to make when I lost a bolt inside and intake manifold once. :oops:

It was cheaper and faster than taking the manifold off again...

Trauma5951 · **Joined:** Thu Apr 15, 2010 12:11 pm **Posts:** 96

Scar0 wrote:

Great to hear you got it done. Any Pics of the "after"?

il work on that.

Also, to magnet them i have to know where they are lol. They are lost in the darkness.

Scar0 · **Posted:** Thu Jul 01, 2010 6:36 pm

Just poke the magnet down there and see what you can fish out. The nut I lost in the intake was around a corner and I was able to snag it out of there. It took a couple of tries, but I did get that little bugger. Just glad it did not slip past the valves into the cylinder.

Boiler shim install question

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