Lowering C6 stuck bolt
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Apr 2024
Posts: 15
Likes: 1
Lowering C6 stuck bolt
I’ve been trying to lower my c6 for like 2 months. Nothing I do works to even budge the bolt. I did BP blaster for a week, support on the control arm with pump jack, tried pump jack on leaf, tried with my Milwaukee m12 impact, my m18 mid tq, and the m18 high tq, all it did was heat up the socket. What else can I do.
Racer
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 319
Likes: 40
From: Hemet CA
My experience is you'll do well to remove the leaf spring and get to a vice on the bench.
You've probably already seen youtubes or notes about how the ride height adjuster threads into a threaded sleeve epoxied into the spring. If you heat it to loosen it, you run the risk of loosening the epoxy but that's repairable by re-epoxying the sleeve into the spring.
I tried using a pipe wrench to loosen mine but ended up trashing the rubber pad on the ride height adjuster. I eventually removed the spring and used the vice holding the adjuster with lots of WD and penetrating oil and it came loose - no damage to the sleeve or epoxy. The length of the spring makes a nice long lever to put lots of torque on the adjuster.
Chevy doesn't carry the replacement leaf spring, so it seems that buying used or the epoxy repair is the only way to fix the loose sleeve problem at this time.
This is the replacement ride height adjuster that I used. It has the correct thread pitch for the C6. I used a pair from a well-known Corvette house that had the wrong pitch. Ended up tossing them.
Hope it helps!
You've probably already seen youtubes or notes about how the ride height adjuster threads into a threaded sleeve epoxied into the spring. If you heat it to loosen it, you run the risk of loosening the epoxy but that's repairable by re-epoxying the sleeve into the spring.
I tried using a pipe wrench to loosen mine but ended up trashing the rubber pad on the ride height adjuster. I eventually removed the spring and used the vice holding the adjuster with lots of WD and penetrating oil and it came loose - no damage to the sleeve or epoxy. The length of the spring makes a nice long lever to put lots of torque on the adjuster.
Chevy doesn't carry the replacement leaf spring, so it seems that buying used or the epoxy repair is the only way to fix the loose sleeve problem at this time.
This is the replacement ride height adjuster that I used. It has the correct thread pitch for the C6. I used a pair from a well-known Corvette house that had the wrong pitch. Ended up tossing them.
Hope it helps!
Pro
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 664
Likes: 199
From: Soddy Daisy
When I purchased lowering bolts, I had issues removing the OEM bolts. They were rusted in place.
The first one, I put a pipe wrench on the lower part of it and broke it off. Put the pipe wrench on the metal lower portion of the insert and it ended up walking out of the spring.
I put that one in a vice and heated the bolt up, then melted candle wax into it and it came right out. Pressed the insert back into the spring and screwed in the lowering bolt.
Next one, I tried heating it up while it was in the spring and melting the wax down into it. I don't recommend doing this. I think the heat was going into the fiberglass spring and damaging it, so I stopped. I got out my air hammer and walked the rest of the bolts out this way. This does end up damaging the OEM bolts. I didn't worry about that because I had new lowering bolts.
Hope this helps.
The first one, I put a pipe wrench on the lower part of it and broke it off. Put the pipe wrench on the metal lower portion of the insert and it ended up walking out of the spring.
I put that one in a vice and heated the bolt up, then melted candle wax into it and it came right out. Pressed the insert back into the spring and screwed in the lowering bolt.
Next one, I tried heating it up while it was in the spring and melting the wax down into it. I don't recommend doing this. I think the heat was going into the fiberglass spring and damaging it, so I stopped. I got out my air hammer and walked the rest of the bolts out this way. This does end up damaging the OEM bolts. I didn't worry about that because I had new lowering bolts.
Hope this helps.
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2022
Posts: 1,513
Likes: 430
From: Ruskin, FL
When I purchased lowering bolts, I had issues removing the OEM bolts. They were rusted in place.
The first one, I put a pipe wrench on the lower part of it and broke it off. Put the pipe wrench on the metal lower portion of the insert and it ended up walking out of the spring.
I put that one in a vice and heated the bolt up, then melted candle wax into it and it came right out. Pressed the insert back into the spring and screwed in the lowering bolt.
Next one, I tried heating it up while it was in the spring and melting the wax down into it. I don't recommend doing this. I think the heat was going into the fiberglass spring and damaging it, so I stopped. I got out my air hammer and walked the rest of the bolts out this way. This does end up damaging the OEM bolts. I didn't worry about that because I had new lowering bolts.
Hope this helps.
The first one, I put a pipe wrench on the lower part of it and broke it off. Put the pipe wrench on the metal lower portion of the insert and it ended up walking out of the spring.
I put that one in a vice and heated the bolt up, then melted candle wax into it and it came right out. Pressed the insert back into the spring and screwed in the lowering bolt.
Next one, I tried heating it up while it was in the spring and melting the wax down into it. I don't recommend doing this. I think the heat was going into the fiberglass spring and damaging it, so I stopped. I got out my air hammer and walked the rest of the bolts out this way. This does end up damaging the OEM bolts. I didn't worry about that because I had new lowering bolts.
Hope this helps.
