Rusty Bolt / Penetrating Oil

I think I will lose this battle but maybe you folks have an idea.

2003 Subaru WRX (son's car)

Subaru has this nightmare setup on the rear suspension where a long bolt passes through both lateral links (front/rear) and the axle housing. The links have rubber looking bushings around a steel bushing that the bolt passes through. Once they rust it's bad news. Using a pneumatic impact I managed to get both bolts off of our 2002 but the right one isn't budging on our 2003. It soaked all night in Liquid Wrench 2 nights ago and PB Blaster last night. I don't expect success today unless the Blaster works miracles. With the proximity to the fuel tank and the rubber bushings I'm not comfortable with using my MAP torch on it. I will probably end up cutting it out with a sawzall if I fail again today. New bolts are on the way but I seriously doubt that I can cut it out without damaging the axle housing (knuckle) / lateral links. More parts and money but I've been meaning to clean out that bank account...

I keep reading that a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF works miracles with rusty bolts. Is that worth trying or is it more internet guru nonsense? At least those products are available. Or does anyone have another idea? The bolt head isn't going to take much more abuse from my impact wrench. I probably could cut the head off of the bolt without too much collateral damage and see if tightening the nut will break it loose but I don't have a lot of confidence that it will work.

If I could time travel I would take it to our local bolt extraction specialist and let him do it. Ya live and learn.

13 years in New England junk yards has made that particular bolt one of my most hated designs.
A real oxy/acetylene torch (a little plumbers torch isn't going to do), a large half inch drive ratchet, a BFH and an air hammer.
You need extra stupid hot heat, and finesse with the big ratchet to get it turning back and forth and then pound it out.
I have a moderate success rate using that method.

I tried everything I had to throw at it. I even removed my pneumatic quick connectors (was turning a 1/4 NPT into 1/8 ) which probably got me up to the full 1,000 ft/lbs of torque. It sure felt stronger. No joy. As carefully as I possibly could, I cut both sides between the knuckle and the lateral links using a sawzall. Not sure yet but the parts may still be useable if I can get the bushings out. Sorry, when I get the bushings out.

Past a certain point it's not tenacity, it's stupidity. I really thought they would break loose if I kept at it long enough. That worked for our 02 WRX but the 03 was tougher than I am.

Those bolts are the WORST. I count my blessings every day that goes by and I don't have to fight one of those.

Not that it'll help now, but there's a video of Eric O at SMA going to war with one of these bolts. And another one of him just cutting it out. :silly:

Yeah, I follow Eric. His video convinced me to try cutting it out, which worked. I figured once I had the axle housing (knuckle?) off, I could at least get the rest of the bolt out of it. No joy. My machinist put it in a huge vise, heated it with oxy acetylene, and popped it out like he does it all day long, which he does. Better still, if I fail to get the remainder of the bolt/bushings out of the lateral links, he is going to come to my house and get them out. That's not a misprint. He did it once before. He's a candidate for friggin' sainthood in my book.

If I EVER have another one of these I am buying a new lateral link bolt and 2 bushings and just taking it straight to the machine shop. It is unlikely I will ever have the resources that he has.

At the risk of getting too verbose, Amazon notified me that my new lateral link bolts arrived. Apparently the online inventory that you see on the web means nothing. In the box was a "so sorry, we ain't got it yet" note and a free Subaru key chain to make up for it. And it still shows as in stock. And ya can't cancel a completed order and that's the status of mine. Maybe I have crossed over to being a grumpy old man but it would take a lot more than a key chain to make this up to me. At least if they would have shipped me a dog turd and a crude photo of the parts guy's behind I might have gotten a laugh out of it...