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I decided to lower my 02 Z on the stock bolts, nothing too major. I did both rears and the drivers side front no problems, when I got to the passenger side front, the bolt head was stripped, not completely, but bad enough that I was uncomfortable putting a wrench to it for fear of screwing it up completely. Apparently whoever had it before me tried to lower it as well and didn't do too well. Does anybody have any hints for how to get that to loosen up without stripping it the rest of the way? Thanks in advance.
When I lowered mine, I followed the procedures, jacking up front, then jacking spring to take weight off bolt ... sprayed a bit of WD-40 on the bolts and turned them all but the last half turn BY HAND ... all you're doing is turning counter-clockwise from the top, like screwing them into the leaf from the bottom. So there shouldn't be any real resistance, unless they're rusted into the threads ... FWIW
i just did mine this past weekend....and there was now way i would be able to turn the bolt by hand....the bushing inbetween the control arm and spring shouldnt let it turn freely!
This bolt is not structural - but since it is only 10mm, if you do not relieve the stress on the bushing by pressing upward on the end of the leaf spring, the bolt can and will strip becuse a 10mm bolt is not designed to carry that much force.
Try pushing up on the leaf spring end to allow the bolt to turn freely - then you can almost turn it by hand, so it should not be an issue - use a box-end wrench and give it a shot.
Alright... I have a new question for you guys who know all. I use my Z06 as a daily driver, maybe 2 trips to the strip a year, and very rarely autocross, more for fun than competition so I'm not worried about it being perfect... but I'd like it as close as I can in a driveway. I lowered it front and rear keeping the same rake it had before. After that I started to wonder, since it had obviously been messed with before, how off balance was it before I even started? I know that they will all be a little different, but Is there a somewhat standard difference to measure front and rear height to keep the balance close to correct?