i tried to lower the vette today by using the factory bolts and i rounded off the top of the first one i tried! is there any fix to this or am i ruined? all i know is i couldn't get it budge the slightest bit before it rounded off! is it normal to be that hard? it was the front so i turn it counter-clockwise right?

 

did ya try soaking in pb blaster or equiv? if not soak it a day and see if you got a pair of vice grips to even get to crack lose.

and were u using a 6 point or 12 point wrench?

 

That's what I was going to suggest plus that should of been the first thing before trying to tackle those bolts. A good soaking the day before usually helps the next day in turning. Try the above again and also see if you can heat them up with a torch and they should turn alot easier after that the vice grips.

 

12 point... i soaked a little. guess i will let it sit all night and try later. thanks

 

Get a Bolt Out Kit from Pep Boys, etc. It will get you where you want to be.

 

If the rubber bushings are vulcanized to the control arm, you'll need to get those loose first. Try the PB BLASTER and a metal putty knife to work them free. Use a jack beneath the spring to reduce tension...then weld a grade 8 hex nut to the top and it'll be much easier to adjust...

 

or from sears but they dont sell just one, but a set of either 6 or 12 for $29 and $39 respectively, this is the only solution, otherwise cut it with dremel tool and than drill it.

 

Hi tonymontana -

I bought a 6 point 10mm combo wrench from Sears just for this purpose -

There are a couple of things on the front height adjusters that you have to do -

1 - relieve the spring pressure from the bolt as much as possible - I use a piece of 4x4 on the spring end in the "window" of the control arm and jack it up slightly

2 - use a putty knife or similar tool to break the adhesion between the rubber snubber and the control arm surface by sliding the tool between the rubber snubber and the control arm (kinda like using a spatula to remove cookies from a hot cookie sheet), otherwise this will cause resistance to the bolt turning.

3 - use penetrating oil (pblaster or equivalent) on the bolt threads from the top - that will help lubricate the threads even more.

In my experience, it is not corrosion that prevents the bolt from turning, it is the "rubbery stiction" which prevents the bolt from turning.

If you do all of the three above steps, you may be able to tap a 6 point on the end of the bolt and turn it out.

I don't see how an easy-out would help in this situation, and you probably would not want to booger up the threads of the bolt, since to remove it the bolt has to be unscrewed from the bottom of the leaf-spring.

The good news is that, if you do the three steps above, the bolt will likely be pretty easy to turn, even if you have to resort to vice-grips.

best regards -

mqqn

 

Happened to me before. Even after removing the front spring completely it wouldn't budge. Buddy had to upgrade it to Z06 springs at that point.

I'd listen to mqqn. He's always right on target with his suggestions. Only additional thing I might suggest would be to disconnect the shocks and upper control arm to let the hub hang as low as possible so that it's not putting tension on the spring.

 

That was a good time huh? The bolt actually sheared off the spring. Actually kind of a blessing in disguise, the suspension is simply awesome now. Check out the pics Cozmo took yesterday from our cruise in General

 

I did the exact same thing with a six-point socket and the spring off the car. The bolt was simply stuck. Wouldn't budge with blaster heat or anything else. I was only moving it to align it like my stock springs. When it rounded, I decided to adjust the other side to make the difference on each side "equal"

I was installing Z51 springs on a base 97 FE1.

All in all the car seems to ride the same and the same height even though the bolts were 1/8-1/4" different in height.

 

Hi Jed -

As time goes on, I suspect we will see more frozen fasteners.

Your 97 example is the founding father of the C5 generation.

It would be interesting to me to be able to examine a 97 and look for subtle differences in those few first year C5's.

best regards -

mqqn

 

Actually, the frozen was on the 2002 Z51 front spring I bought here:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2026768

Mine 90k, 11 years old
These 54k 6 years old.

My 97 spring adjusters front would turn with two fingers once off the car. I suspect it has more to do with weather and less to do with age.