Need lowering help
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
Need lowering help
So I'm trying to lower my c5 and my one of my front bolts are frozen/stripped. Iv been spraying it with pb blaster and tomarow I'm going to try and turn it with vice grips again but if that don't work can I lower the a arm and hammer the bolt to push it out the bottom iv been told by a few people on another forum to do that. Also can I ever get a new bolt and what ever it screws into back in there if I hammer out the old?
Thanks
Thanks
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 18,681
Likes: 47
From: Reno is so close to Hell you can see Sparks , State Of Confusion
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14
I sure wouldn't hammer it out, That will screw up the spring, Let it set overnight with a lot of allfree on it and be sure to take the weight of the car off it. Taking a hammer to it is some kind of redneck **** there...lol
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
I wasent sure if it was a good idea or not I was told by some other people that's what they had to do. I'm really stuck on what to do I need to get it done soon beacuse it's sitting in my dad's business taking up space and I don't want to have to align it with out it being lowered beacuse I could not get the bolt to turn
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,300
Likes: 115
From: Odessa FL
St. Jude Donor '10-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
So hammering it out is not a good idea. The spring is a composite material and you will just hammer out the boss that the bolt screws into. As noted try soaking it in a penatrating oil and then using a socket with an extended breaker bar. Applying some heat to the bolt, stay away from heating the spring, may help. Also you cannot buy the bolts separate from GM, only comes with the entire spring. You can buy aftermarket bolts made for lowering however. In an extreme case you can weld a larger nut to the bolt to use a larger socket to gain some leverage in getting it out. And as noted also make sure you take the tension off the spring when attempting to remove the bolt. Good luck.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,413
Likes: 138
From: Texas
I had an issue getting my bolts out of the front (replaced with longer bolts).
I ended up putting the bolt in a vice (while attached to the spring) and then turning the spring itself. It went slow but it came out and I was able to get the new bolt in. It had some resistance but didn't seem to damage the threads.
If you have a lift and the right tools, getting the front spring out is not very difficult.
I ended up putting the bolt in a vice (while attached to the spring) and then turning the spring itself. It went slow but it came out and I was able to get the new bolt in. It had some resistance but didn't seem to damage the threads.
If you have a lift and the right tools, getting the front spring out is not very difficult.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
I got the bolt to turn but it quickly snapped so I cut the bottom of the bolt. It sits pretty low but I lowered the back on stock bolts but it does not sit low at all. It hardly lowered. I put a 1/8th peice of rubber between the spring and a arm in the front also.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 18,681
Likes: 47
From: Reno is so close to Hell you can see Sparks , State Of Confusion
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14
I had an issue getting my bolts out of the front (replaced with longer bolts).
I ended up putting the bolt in a vice (while attached to the spring) and then turning the spring itself. It went slow but it came out and I was able to get the new bolt in. It had some resistance but didn't seem to damage the threads.
If you have a lift and the right tools, getting the front spring out is not very difficult.
I ended up putting the bolt in a vice (while attached to the spring) and then turning the spring itself. It went slow but it came out and I was able to get the new bolt in. It had some resistance but didn't seem to damage the threads.
If you have a lift and the right tools, getting the front spring out is not very difficult.
Wow, A C5 stock looks like a 4x4 and you installed longer bolts?
Pro
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 666
Likes: 2
From: western springs illinois
So I'm trying to lower my c5 and my one of my front bolts are frozen/stripped. Iv been spraying it with pb blaster and tomarow I'm going to try and turn it with vice grips again but if that don't work can I lower the a arm and hammer the bolt to push it out the bottom iv been told by a few people on another forum to do that. Also can I ever get a new bolt and what ever it screws into back in there if I hammer out the old?
Thanks
Thanks
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Pro
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 533
Likes: 6
From: Indian Trail NC
Had the same problem on the left side, let it soak a couple days with PB blaster, it broke loose. You'll have to use a quality wrench ( Mac, snap on or Matco) use a cheap wrench it's gonna strip the bolt head. 
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,037
Likes: 120
Frozen bolts
I wasent sure if it was a good idea or not I was told by some other people that's what they had to do. I'm really stuck on what to do I need to get it done soon beacuse it's sitting in my dad's business taking up space and I don't want to have to align it with out it being lowered beacuse I could not get the bolt to turn
