Warning - Broken control arm bolt!

[tmontague]

How was the broken bolt extracted?

[yaris2011-07]

Originally Posted by tmontague

How was the broken bolt extracted?

Yup, looks bad. I needed to drop the subframe and then heat up the bolt bolt with a propane torch. Once heated, I used a good pair of vise grips and was able to remove the bolt.

The most difficult part of this procedure was getting the control arm bushing to release the bolt since the bolt was rusted solid to the bushing sleeve.

[tmontague]

Originally Posted by yaris2011-07

The most difficult part of this procedure was getting the control arm bushing to release the bolt since the bolt was rusted solid to the bushing sleeve.

I had the same issues on my '05 vibe when I replaced the control arms, took an extra 6hrs and I ended up having to burn out the bushing and enlarge the subframe hole to fit the metal insert through. It was seized so bad I never got it unstuck. An impact was useless as the bushing dampened the impacts.

Now on any car I own I pull the control arm bolts and antiseize the whole thing so it never seized to the bushing sleeve. Takes some time but saves hours down the road

[yaris2011-07]

Originally Posted by tmontague

I had the same issues on my '05 vibe when I replaced the control arms, took an extra 6hrs and I ended up having to burn out the bushing and enlarge the subframe hole to fit the metal insert through. It was seized so bad I never got it unstuck. An impact was useless as the bushing dampened the impacts.

Now on any car I own I pull the control arm bolts and antiseize the whole thing so it never seized to the bushing sleeve. Takes some time but saves hours down the road

I also ended up burning part of the bushing while lowering the subframe.
I torched the bushing sleeve a number of times, so the heating and cooling process along with alot of hammering on the bushing sleeve helped to release it from the bolt.

[dogsridewith]

I think this may happen because Toyota skipped a drain hole(s) somewhere. I did an oil change in dry conditions a day after I'd washed the car or there had been a rain event. Car on a lawn sloping somewhat nose down. Drove front wheels up on low ramps to level for oil change. Some time passed in steps of the oil change. And here's water dripping from that subframe area! (pretty sure I checked to see that it wasn't coming from the rubber HVAC tube)
(Warning - Broken control arm bolt! subframe Mind of Toyota)

[yaris2011-07]

Originally Posted by dogsridewith

I think this may happen because Toyota skipped a drain hole(s) somewhere. I did an oil change in dry conditions a day after I'd washed the car or there had been a rain event. Car on a lawn sloping somewhat nose down. Drove front wheels up on low ramps to level for oil change. Some time passed in steps of the oil change. And here's water dripping from that subframe area! (pretty sure I checked to see that it wasn't coming from the rubber HVAC tube)
(Warning - Broken control arm bolt! subframe Mind of Toyota)

Agreed. Some extra drain holes or extra sealing to prevent water from entering the bushing sleeve would help to prevent this situation.

[Cartel]

I'm trying to show a local shop theses pictures and its useless linking this thread cause you dont display the images without signing up first.

thanks

[thetut]

Right click on the image.
Select "Copy"
Open Paint program
Select "New"
press Ctrl + V
Save file and copy it to your phone or tablet.
Show it to your mechanic and let him revel in the destruction.

[Billiam]

We bought a '10 LB a couple of weeks ago with 126k on it. The 1st thing I did was change the oil to some M1 High Mileage 5/30. The 2nd thing I did while it was on the ramps was to check these infamous bolts. I was very nervous putting the breaker bar on them. Thankfully they both came out with out any drama. Despite water dripping from the passenger side hole when the bolt was removed, both bolts looked great. I lathered them completely in antiseize as well as the holes and reinstalled them.

I'm way out of warranty and on my own. So checking these will be part of my regular maintenance

[Cartel]

Well I ordered the bolts.
Toyota argued with me about the part number and how they are non-returnable.
Apparently 90119-14126 was superseded by 90119-14144 and 90119-14151 wouldn't match up for him, he basically talked me into getting the 14144 bolts.

I pulled mine out, the drivers was pretty loose.

I then dipped the new bolts in marine grease from top to bottom and made sure they were really gooped up with excessive amounts of grease and put them in.

My car has under 45,000KM on it so they were not bad.

The bolts were $26 CAD for both.
I cranked the wheel to one side and layed beside the car to get them out without lifting it.

I wanted the garage to just inspect mine while getting a wheel alignment next week but decided to just replace them myself first.

The new ones only had 1 mark compared to 2 on the original.

[tmontague]

those are in decent shape, keep them as spares just in case

the marine grease has worked well for me and I now only check them every couple of years as the water seems to keep away from the marine grease really well

[Whiplash]

Post.

[dogsridewith]

Originally Posted by Whiplash

Post.

exactly

[Whiplash]

I have some reading to do.

[tmontague]

bumping up an old thread. I was installing some subframe collars today and pulled my control arm bolts I replace 3-4 years ago. I hadn't pulled them since 3 or so years ago. Well they look brand new with zero rust on them. All I did was coat the thread and the neck of the bolt in anti seize and then coat the neck in marine grade grease. The grease squeezes out when you tighten the bolts back up but that stuff is sticky and keep the water that pools in the area from contacting the metal.

apparently this is a great method of keeping the rust away.


this is after it was wiped off, it was crazy dirty.

Torque spec on the bolt is 118 ft/lbs

*take note* the bolt neck is what corrodes and snaps off so anti seize on the threads is a good idea for corrosion resistance but it will not fix the underlying rust issue with these bolts. Coat the bolt neck in marine great which is sticky as heck and will not allow water to sit against the metal and corrode it

[komichal]

Ah, thanks for reviving this thread. It reminds me that I need to check it on mine as well.
I have no idea whether my car can have this problem or not (VIN code: VNKKL98310A....) So it seems I have to go for visual inspection.
Local winters are salty so I may have some issue with this.

[kenora]

well it looks like I did some house cleaning and got rid of the steering rack bolt pics but here are the LCA bolts... the passenger side shaft has eroded (rusted away) more that the other but I'm glad I'm changing them..
If some needs to see the steering rack bolts I can take another pic ... I saved the bolts to show friends the crap Toyota put in these cars..

[myfirstyota]

Originally Posted by kenora

well it looks like I did some house cleaning and got rid of the steering rack bolt pics but here are the LCA bolts... the passenger side shaft has eroded (rusted away) more that the other but I'm glad I'm changing them..
If some needs to see the steering rack bolts I can take another pic ... I saved the bolts to show friends the crap Toyota put in these cars..

I'm very impressed you were able to get the rack bolts out and replaced without dropping the subframe. Or did I miss that step?