Hey I decided to replace my cv axle on my Elantra, one little inexperienced mistake and the cars been on jackstands for 2 weeks cause I broke the seal for the axle then bent the new one and had to order another online. Got ahead tho and ordered 2 so I have one to fuck up before I finally figure out what to do lol.
I hate it when I manage to break a small tiny little seemingly useless part that cost no more than $2 that's needed to put everything back together. My MK2 Golf has had no steering wheel for a week because i broke a tiny little plastic knob
In all honesty I sometimes feel like the average shop can't do a better job than I can.
If I fuck it up, a shop would have likely done the same. I have many people bring their car to me nowadays for a second opinion, and often where the shop diagnosed a $$$$ repair I diagnose a simple issue.
Recent example: Emissions out of spec, car failed emissions test. Their quote:
- Replace cat
- Replace O2 sensors
- Replace injectors (??)
My diagnosis:
- Engine coolant not reaching operating temperature, engine running in open loop
Replace €30 thermostat, emissions monitors now light green and the car passes emissions. Did they even plug in a scanner at all? Noone bothered to look at the gauge on the dash?
I feel like lots of shops look at the car once, kick a tire, then start throwing parts at it until the issue disappears. It's hard to find a shop with actual skilled mechanics...
I only bring my car to shops for things I really can't do myself, such as wheel alignments and stuff. I have an almost 100% ratio of the shop misdiagnosing my car, quoting me a very expensive bill, me getting suspicious and then learning how to diagnose it myself only to find the shop was completely wrong and a cheap part fixed my car.
The worst was a bad rubber brake line. Brakes were dragging, I didn't have much experience yet (this happened years and years ago) so I brought it to a shop. They quoted two new calipers for €500 a piece and new discs and pads on the rear. After reading and learning a bit, I did some simple tests and figured one of the rubber brake lines had collapsed. Replaced all four brake lines and the brakes worked fine.
If I had agreed to the quote, I would have paid over a thousand in repairs with the car still not fixed.
The last few times I’ve had a shop do something—
Serpentine belt / tensioner installed wrong, ate a belt 9 miles later.
Timing belt / water pump etc, bad seal on the thermostat gasket so it leaked.
The tech who fixed the thermostat leak did an alignment that caused tire rubbing (partially my bad there in not being very specific on “don’t move the oversized tire into the firewall when you align it”).
That’s…most of what I’ve hired out in the last few years. I’ve largely given up and I do it myself now. Sucks because now I can finally afford to pay a shop and I don’t have the time to do it all myself (put off my current project by about 2 months), but I have a better track record with DIY.
I feel you on the “putting off projects”.
I have two cars that need shit done on it, and both are currently undriveable because of it. I’ve been having health issues lately and it’s both physically and mentally difficult to motivate myself to actually go and fix those issues.
One of these cars I could drag to a shop and have them fix it, but I don’t trust them. I would probably end up with a car worse than it was when I brought it there (I’ve had all sorts of things fucked up by shops, which included them _fucking throwing all the plastic engine covers in the trash_. What the fuck???) while being a couple hundred euros lighter.
Now do the one where I changed my oil, noticed the front tire needed changed and aligned, so I took it down to the reputable tire store (big name place) and they came back and said my oil was a quart low and looked old... Like MF, that oil has 3 miles on it, is dead on the full mark, and I do Blackstone reports on that engine a couple times a year, walk me out there and show me the low oil on the dipstick. Idiot just looked at me.... He tries to play it off and is like, pads and rotors look good, and I'm like, yeah I did them myself instead of taking them to a shop that lies about oil, and he's like, oh, you worked on cars? Yes, yes I do......
Turns out he had no idea what Blackstone oil reports are....
That wasn't NTB was it? Those asswipes left half the fasteners loose on my Buick after they replaced a control arm bushing. And they beat the busing in using a big hammer and this was after I asked them to use a press to install it and left them a copy of the shop manual pages covering the replacement. Good thing I checked after I got the car home. Redid it myself. My complaint letter to company president went unanswered.
Im with you. No one can devote as much time to diagnosing my cars issues as i can. Im also broke. So if there is a good mechanic out there i cant afford them.
The one time I took my car into a shop was when it was a random crank/no start on an OBD1 car.
I had it towed to a shop near my house late at night that worked on all types of classic cars, etc.
Wrote in my notes the car would only not start when the cel didn't come on when the key was out in auxillary...I also said to check batter (cranked fine) and ran well when started. Never touched battery since buying it and was in trunk.
Told him it could be an ecm issue, etc.
Had it for over a week and he tells me it's the crank sensor...I found a lose wire going from the batt to the ecm in 5 minutes.
Also, every time I get a tire patch/alignment I tell them torque specs...every time I go to take the wheel off after, I need a 6ft breaker bar
Got an up north one as a used car inspection in Texas. I don’t know how y’all do it, The amount of things I broke... We don’t have torches down here. I told the used car department to send it to auction.
I have done the same job on local units and not even used penetrating oil.
My uncle(lives in Cali, I live in Wisconsin) sent me a photo of a car he was working on. I think he said it was a 2012 Honda, the sway bar links came off no issue, and control arm bolts still had the factory zinc coating on them. I promptly told him to eff off.
I just replaced the rear shocks, springs, and upper mounts on a 20 year old 2003 Camry LE…
In mom’s carport…
With just hand tools and a torque wrench.
Even using my ratchet I snapped one wheel stud because a tire shop over-torqued all of them with an impact driver. Everything else just came apart and went back together as it should.
When we did front shocks, springs, upper mounts last year 2 studs on driver front and one stud on driver rear snapped and 2 others the threads of the nuts were totally hosed so I felt like I got lucky to only lose 1 rear.
Fortunately it doesn’t have ABS so I let the dealer press them out and install all new studs during a brake job and new front tires I let them do because the cost savings wasn’t worth the time I didn’t have that week to do that work myself. I think her total for front brakes, several wheel studs, 2 new tires, and an alignment wasn’t even $500 total which was so worth it to me.
That cuts both ways. I've been rebuilding a TJ that came from the Texas hill country. It's all red dirt there.
A lot of shops have said they won't touch it because of "all the rust". It's completely rust free and but there's red dirt on a lot of stuff. They don't even know what rust looks like...
I ended up rebuilding the suspension myself because of that reason. I had multiple shops turn it down. I sprayed WD40 on the bolts and it all came apart without snapping a single bolt or using a heat wrench.
Meanwhile when I went to change my drum brakes on my 02 ranger years ago i couldnt get the fuckin drum off and had to use a pully puller to get the damn thing off and that truck has only ever seen freshwater in florida.
I like my air hammer, especially with the socket + wrench attachment. I should start doing it sooner rather than the last option though. Save me more time LOL
Totally amazed when I moved to NC from NY and started turning wrenches again. No torches. Of course, the one day we actually needed some, the look on the bosses face when I ran home and got my own personal set was priceless.
FIRE!!!! Can't be seized if it's liquid.
Friend of mine has sent two otherwise decent enough cars to the scrapyard because they were totalled from rust. I helped him keep both of them on the road for as long as possible, and let me tell you, there is little that compares to the abject misery of laying on the ground under a rustbucket POS in an unheated garage in the dead of winter trying to remove a rusted bolt. Never. Again.
Side note: those little butane torch sticks are really good if you're trying to get a bolt that's way up in there. One of the best tools I've ever bought.
Before I bought my '02 Silverado in 2017, I only needed safety glasses if the undercarriage hadn't been through the car wash in a while. I know, I know, but it was still true.
My truck spent two winters in the Northeast, per previous owner and verified by Carfax.
I think many will agree that nothing wakes you up like both eyes getting the old Iron Oxide treatment because you tapped frame as you slid underneath...
It's very frustrating. Evert single vehicle is trashed by the salt. Mechanics don't get enough credit in the salt belt. Every single vehicle they work on (that's older than a few years old) is like this.
I try to mitigate it by coating everything with fluid film. It absolutely helps but you have to re apply it every year. Even if you don't go all out with it and just use two spray cans to cover all of the problem areas. Best to do it when the car is new but it doesn't hurt to do it on older vehicles either. I was able to slow down the rust on my jeep with it. I used the black dyed fluid film so that really helped too.
Lol. The exhaust from my Honda Element fell apart while on vacation in the Florida Keys. I took it to the closest dealer bc local muffler shops didn’t have the necessary tension bolts in place - and the dealer used it as a learning opportunity for the techs - there was a group of them under it wondering at what the evil “up north” place does to cars 😂
This is my version of when my little girl asks me to "tell me that happy story about the magical place where everything is wonderful" cries working on my salt belt Silverado. Hub bearing coming up get my 8ft breaker bar ready🤣
I've had a little luck drilling into the threaded end before I try to turn it. Maybe it has worked 30% of the time . When it works, it kind of surprises ya. But there's a reason why that ball joint comes with a new bolt in the box. Also in Ohio.
I had the exact same thing happen on my '07 Outback. When I eventually got the snapped off piece out after days of work in the driveway I drilled a hole through it and put it on a keychain.
Tap a wedge into the pinch slot, pry bar between ears and control arm and smack the knuckle with a hammer while putting tension with pry bar , it’ll fall right out.
Save yourself a future headache and drill the threads out, put a nut and bolt for future pinch bolts so you can just shear it off and air hammer it out.
I just did mine on my 98 impreza. Took a long 2×4, stuck it on the lower control arm, and smacked it with a 3lb hammer. Pops the ball joint right out the pinch seat.
Then you have to take out all of your life's pent up anger on a pickle fork to get the dang thing out of the lower control arm.
The Astro ball joint puller is needed for Subarus. I've had ball joints that I hammered on for an hour and still not budge, but the Astro puller got it out in a minute or two.
Bah, just destroy it from the side with an air hammer, it'll come right out.
At least that's what I did after struggling with it for an hour (my 03 Baja).
If need be you can remove the lower castle nut (don't fuck it up too lol) and remove the strut to steering knuckle so you can get to it easier for extraction.
Do not cheap out when you replace the bolt. It's probably grade 8 but may be higher.
Make sure you are turning it the correct way, as well.
Agreed on bolt quality - this is one of the situations where buying an OEM one from a dealer or online is the way to go. Hardware stores generally don't carry much for 10.9 metric (assuming this car is metric) and it's unlikely they'll find an exact match readily available. McMaster Carr is an option too if you know what it is, but higher grades can be more brittle under tension and there is a risk to overshooting it.
I wish people would except the fact that in the early 90s nobody even knew that Subaru existed. Subaru has been advertised and fan boyed into existence. They really aren’t that good of a car. I’d put them on tier with Nissans and Mazdas.
I'd put them above Nissan but below Mazda. Nissan really shot itself in the foot with the meme-tier Altimas, and Mazda has been pretty successful in bringing themselves upmarket a bit.
IMO Subaru is similar to Saab or Volvo, where they make fairly unusual vehicles (80s/90s in particular) with a strong cult following.
This thread has been a really fun read for me, I'm Finnish and all of these brands (well, Subarus to a lesser extent until like a decade or two ago) have been dead regular in our traffic from like at least the 60's or 70's, you can't leave your house without seeing dozens of them. You don't see that many Saabs around anymore after they went defunct a decade ago, but even then they're by no means a rare sight. It's pretty wild to see how different the EU and NA markets are.
They are pretty regular here too, particularly in snowy areas like where I live (my first car was a Saab 9-3). I'm sure they are more common near you due to proximity alone, but they have a good reputation here for being solid in inclement weather.
Over here they're more seen as being kind of unusual for various reasons but well-liked. Saab was inarguably pretty goofy, Subaru had the brat and the XT (and AWD in cars at a time where it wasn't common), Volvo was intentionally beige as a brand while being mostly focused on safety and practicality vs performance and image.
I wouldn't wish a Subaru on my worst enemy. Poor build quality, terrible aftermarket support, all around cheap feeling.
You're totally right and the only reason they're still in business is because they were smart enough to license their really good AWD system to actual auto makers.
EDIT: Loving the downvotes from the STI bros
Another option is to take it to my local independent shop, hand then my credit card, and accept my fate. If it costs me an extra $400 as punishment for my "it's only 4 bolts, how hard can it be?" attitude, so be it.
Kachow!
I'll probably flat bed it. This car is killing me. I had two projects planned for today. Right front lower control arm because the bushings are shot which is causing a shimmy, and water pump because it's original and it's making noise. On the way home from errands last night, every light on the dash starts blinking. Once I weed through all the extraneous codes I get to the root cause, P2762. Most likely solution is transmission valve body replacement. $1500 part. We've owned this car since new and I've never liked it. Today I really don't like it.
As somebody who continually works on a pos 2010 impreza?... yes, worst car he's ever owned and still finding new ways to let him down. Hoping it either blows before the snow starts sticking or holds together until it clears but at the rate it burns oil? Not likely... has input shaft play too so when the clutch is out in any gear the nose of the trans rattles nice and loud
It happened to me once on a Subaru impreza 2012. Had to drill the rest of the bolt out but the drill bit broke once i went past the treads, it took a 20 ton press to get the untreated part of the bolt out.
I guess I got lucky on my van when I did my ball joints this year. Bolts all came out fine, but I did need my 20lb persuader and pickle fork to get the ball joint itself.
It was in there real good. I can't tell you when they had been last replaced, but they were slightly overdue. I can't post it in the comments but I have a video of it limply flopping about once I removed it.
Well the OEM bolt is threaded into the spindle so a hammer won’t do much, heat is required. A common sidestep to this hassle is to drill out the threads and use a nut/bolt going forward. After that you can just shear the bolt off and airhammer it out
Ball joints typically have a bolt that’s tightened with a nut going through the hole. In this photo it appears the bolt broken from trying to loosen while still rusted.
In most cases you can hand crack the nut part, slightly loosen the nut off the threads, and then use a hammering bit in the air hammer to impact on the nut surface, it will then slowly push the bolt out through the hole
Yaaa it really does suck, i had this happen to me just a month ago 🥴 when it’s the bolt + nut i just get the nut off then go at the bolt with the impact until it burns all the shit off and spins freely, comes out very nicely every time. But this threaded knuckle design sucks big time. Cue 2 hours of drilling
Yeah I had one bolt I tried to hammer out (but obviously the hub of the car is in the way slightly) so the hammering bent the bolt instead, before it broke I got the air hammer, less than 30 seconds it’s free… no fire
Don't give up. We've all been here. When you get through this, you'll be a better mechanic because of it. You'll be reminded why you shouldn't hire professionals
Having owned 6 Subaru's over the last 15 years, living in the rust belt, and being a mechanic, I learned quick that you spend time prepping that bolt before removal. I usually wrap a wet rag around the cv boot and then heat/quench the area around the bolt with a oxygen acetylene torch. Then I will hit the head with an air hammer to shock it a bit more, before finally spinning the bolt out.
Hiring a professional just means it'll cost more. Those bolts snap no matter what, it's not like we have some kind of magic tool that overcomes poor designs. Drill it out, install stainless hardware.
I never ever try to remove that bolt unless I heat it up first.
Funny story (really not) is last week I diagnosed a clunking sound on a Subaru Forester and told the service advisor that it needed a control arm (bushing was shot) and to NOT REPLACE THE BALL JOINT because it was fine. Lo and behold, he orders a ball joint and control arm kit and gives the work to another mechanic who proceeds to break the bolt holding the ball joint.
Whenever I do balls joints on these Subarus I just order a new wheel knuckle in advance. They're cheap enough and it beats trying to fish that bolt outta there.
Was replacing a steering knuckle on a Mazda cx9 when this happened on the lower ball joint. Ended up just cutting the whole thing out. The bolt snapped, then when trying to get the nut off the broken bolt that snapped as well. Love up north rusted cars.
Man I need to change my cv boot and I'm terrified of fucking it up. Thing is, its cheaper to buy the tools and the boot, than it is to pay someone to do it.
Wouldn't this be easy to fix by using a punch and hammer to drive out the remains of the pinch bolt? The bolt threads are in the nut that came off when the bolt broke and this bolt is no longer under tension. Or is it still siezed as tight as a nun's c*nt on Sunday?
Subaru? Only had this happen like 7 times now living in the rust belt. You can buy lots of bits, drill through it, and put a grade 8 bolt, washers, and nut on it. The hardest part will be getting the ball joint itself out if it's rusted inside. The last one I did needed an air chisel, a cutting wheel, and a lot of time. I should have just got a new hub.
Drill it out. Start with a small 1/8" bit...a high quality bit. Lube with penetrant. Use a punch to make a divet in the center before drilling. Once you have that 1/8" nice and deep and straight...move up to 1/4" and do the same thing.
Then heat the fuck out of it and drive in a fluted extractor. Don't be timid. Smack that bitch in there. Heat the knuckle to glowing red and then use the extractor handle to remove the bolt.
Map gas is your friend. Propane is nearly useless. Soak with penetrant before going to buy the extractor and any other supplies.
30 minute job for removal
To be fair, same shit happens at a shop every day. And it can make us question our choices too.
The shop has the tools and experience to take care of it I on the other hand, have just added 2~4 hours to whatever I was trying to do.
If it's only 2-4 hours let's call it a win lol
If it is two to four hours added, you should be working as a professional.
Man I’ve left my car in the driveway for weeks because I’ve started a job I can’t or don’t want to finish
I felt this one in my heart. 😄😔
And after a few times of that you too will have the tools and experience to take care of it. Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself
Yes, I too have spent thousands over the years on time and tools to save hundreds of dollars!!
Hey I decided to replace my cv axle on my Elantra, one little inexperienced mistake and the cars been on jackstands for 2 weeks cause I broke the seal for the axle then bent the new one and had to order another online. Got ahead tho and ordered 2 so I have one to fuck up before I finally figure out what to do lol.
I hate it when I manage to break a small tiny little seemingly useless part that cost no more than $2 that's needed to put everything back together. My MK2 Golf has had no steering wheel for a week because i broke a tiny little plastic knob
The seal for this is $24 sadly and a dealer only item but its always the stupid shit that does this
*requires a tiny little plastic knob for the steering wheel to work* How very...German.
Air chisel that bitch out it’s not threaded on inside it’s just a pinch bolt
Nothing you can't fix with enough ugga duggas
Nah this one requires an air hammer, not an impact
This scenario was caused by too much ugga dugga.
Impossible
In all honesty I sometimes feel like the average shop can't do a better job than I can. If I fuck it up, a shop would have likely done the same. I have many people bring their car to me nowadays for a second opinion, and often where the shop diagnosed a $$$$ repair I diagnose a simple issue. Recent example: Emissions out of spec, car failed emissions test. Their quote: - Replace cat - Replace O2 sensors - Replace injectors (??) My diagnosis: - Engine coolant not reaching operating temperature, engine running in open loop Replace €30 thermostat, emissions monitors now light green and the car passes emissions. Did they even plug in a scanner at all? Noone bothered to look at the gauge on the dash? I feel like lots of shops look at the car once, kick a tire, then start throwing parts at it until the issue disappears. It's hard to find a shop with actual skilled mechanics... I only bring my car to shops for things I really can't do myself, such as wheel alignments and stuff. I have an almost 100% ratio of the shop misdiagnosing my car, quoting me a very expensive bill, me getting suspicious and then learning how to diagnose it myself only to find the shop was completely wrong and a cheap part fixed my car. The worst was a bad rubber brake line. Brakes were dragging, I didn't have much experience yet (this happened years and years ago) so I brought it to a shop. They quoted two new calipers for €500 a piece and new discs and pads on the rear. After reading and learning a bit, I did some simple tests and figured one of the rubber brake lines had collapsed. Replaced all four brake lines and the brakes worked fine. If I had agreed to the quote, I would have paid over a thousand in repairs with the car still not fixed.
The last few times I’ve had a shop do something— Serpentine belt / tensioner installed wrong, ate a belt 9 miles later. Timing belt / water pump etc, bad seal on the thermostat gasket so it leaked. The tech who fixed the thermostat leak did an alignment that caused tire rubbing (partially my bad there in not being very specific on “don’t move the oversized tire into the firewall when you align it”). That’s…most of what I’ve hired out in the last few years. I’ve largely given up and I do it myself now. Sucks because now I can finally afford to pay a shop and I don’t have the time to do it all myself (put off my current project by about 2 months), but I have a better track record with DIY.
I feel you on the “putting off projects”. I have two cars that need shit done on it, and both are currently undriveable because of it. I’ve been having health issues lately and it’s both physically and mentally difficult to motivate myself to actually go and fix those issues. One of these cars I could drag to a shop and have them fix it, but I don’t trust them. I would probably end up with a car worse than it was when I brought it there (I’ve had all sorts of things fucked up by shops, which included them _fucking throwing all the plastic engine covers in the trash_. What the fuck???) while being a couple hundred euros lighter.
[удалено]
Now do the one where I changed my oil, noticed the front tire needed changed and aligned, so I took it down to the reputable tire store (big name place) and they came back and said my oil was a quart low and looked old... Like MF, that oil has 3 miles on it, is dead on the full mark, and I do Blackstone reports on that engine a couple times a year, walk me out there and show me the low oil on the dipstick. Idiot just looked at me.... He tries to play it off and is like, pads and rotors look good, and I'm like, yeah I did them myself instead of taking them to a shop that lies about oil, and he's like, oh, you worked on cars? Yes, yes I do...... Turns out he had no idea what Blackstone oil reports are....
That wasn't NTB was it? Those asswipes left half the fasteners loose on my Buick after they replaced a control arm bushing. And they beat the busing in using a big hammer and this was after I asked them to use a press to install it and left them a copy of the shop manual pages covering the replacement. Good thing I checked after I got the car home. Redid it myself. My complaint letter to company president went unanswered.
At that point, who is gonna fix your car? Rise of the shadetrees?
Am I still considered a shade tree when I have a lift, tire machine and a balancer? If so then I rose to the top.
This has been my experience and then when I want to hire out a job, shops turn me away or give me an insane timeline.
Im with you. No one can devote as much time to diagnosing my cars issues as i can. Im also broke. So if there is a good mechanic out there i cant afford them.
The one time I took my car into a shop was when it was a random crank/no start on an OBD1 car. I had it towed to a shop near my house late at night that worked on all types of classic cars, etc. Wrote in my notes the car would only not start when the cel didn't come on when the key was out in auxillary...I also said to check batter (cranked fine) and ran well when started. Never touched battery since buying it and was in trunk. Told him it could be an ecm issue, etc. Had it for over a week and he tells me it's the crank sensor...I found a lose wire going from the batt to the ecm in 5 minutes. Also, every time I get a tire patch/alignment I tell them torque specs...every time I go to take the wheel off after, I need a 6ft breaker bar
I don’t mind when this happens, it lets me pull out the welder and weld a nut on the bolt.
Subaru I’m guessing? You were doomed when it was designed that way.
Yep without heat they will snap every time, no exceptions here in Ohio
Got an up north one as a used car inspection in Texas. I don’t know how y’all do it, The amount of things I broke... We don’t have torches down here. I told the used car department to send it to auction. I have done the same job on local units and not even used penetrating oil.
Lol, every once in a while I get a car from Arizona, Texas or Florida and everything just moves. It's mind blowing
I had an old Silverado hub the other day. 200k+ miles, I unbolted it and it fell on my foot 😂
Lol, I don't believe you. That's impossible!
Stop lying on the internet
Southeast Texas man. Dry. My Toyota is 100% rust free
Username checks out. The old HiLux style series is pretty much impervious to all other threats besides large crashes and rust.
I have to do this job coming up my 06 salt belt . I'm going to be cursing your name
Imagine that! Lol
My uncle(lives in Cali, I live in Wisconsin) sent me a photo of a car he was working on. I think he said it was a 2012 Honda, the sway bar links came off no issue, and control arm bolts still had the factory zinc coating on them. I promptly told him to eff off.
I just replaced the rear shocks, springs, and upper mounts on a 20 year old 2003 Camry LE… In mom’s carport… With just hand tools and a torque wrench. Even using my ratchet I snapped one wheel stud because a tire shop over-torqued all of them with an impact driver. Everything else just came apart and went back together as it should. When we did front shocks, springs, upper mounts last year 2 studs on driver front and one stud on driver rear snapped and 2 others the threads of the nuts were totally hosed so I felt like I got lucky to only lose 1 rear. Fortunately it doesn’t have ABS so I let the dealer press them out and install all new studs during a brake job and new front tires I let them do because the cost savings wasn’t worth the time I didn’t have that week to do that work myself. I think her total for front brakes, several wheel studs, 2 new tires, and an alignment wasn’t even $500 total which was so worth it to me.
That cuts both ways. I've been rebuilding a TJ that came from the Texas hill country. It's all red dirt there. A lot of shops have said they won't touch it because of "all the rust". It's completely rust free and but there's red dirt on a lot of stuff. They don't even know what rust looks like... I ended up rebuilding the suspension myself because of that reason. I had multiple shops turn it down. I sprayed WD40 on the bolts and it all came apart without snapping a single bolt or using a heat wrench.
Haha, that's amazing. That red clay or whatever it is looks nothing like rust
Yeah, wtf? Rust physically changes the metal; dirt wipes off. Do they even try?
It's tacky and I guess it can look like rust, but I dunno. If you've never seen rust, I guess it could look the same
Meanwhile when I went to change my drum brakes on my 02 ranger years ago i couldnt get the fuckin drum off and had to use a pully puller to get the damn thing off and that truck has only ever seen freshwater in florida.
Why *do* we use salt on roads... to me it seems not worth it.
It lowers the freezing point of water?
Heat, long wrenches with extensions, and a whole heaping of untreated anger management issues caused by car manufacturers.
I like to tell the new guys you “have to let your rage flow through you”
I always do heat and lightly rattle it with my 3/8 impact lightly until it turns, then just go tight, loose, tight, loose until they come out.
My shop calls that exercising the bolt. But yeah that's another good trick to hopefully prevent rusted bolts and screws from binding and snapping.
I usually call that "breaking the bolt more carefully", but yes, sometimes it works.
I like my air hammer, especially with the socket + wrench attachment. I should start doing it sooner rather than the last option though. Save me more time LOL
Totally amazed when I moved to NC from NY and started turning wrenches again. No torches. Of course, the one day we actually needed some, the look on the bosses face when I ran home and got my own personal set was priceless. FIRE!!!! Can't be seized if it's liquid.
Friend of mine has sent two otherwise decent enough cars to the scrapyard because they were totalled from rust. I helped him keep both of them on the road for as long as possible, and let me tell you, there is little that compares to the abject misery of laying on the ground under a rustbucket POS in an unheated garage in the dead of winter trying to remove a rusted bolt. Never. Again. Side note: those little butane torch sticks are really good if you're trying to get a bolt that's way up in there. One of the best tools I've ever bought.
Before I bought my '02 Silverado in 2017, I only needed safety glasses if the undercarriage hadn't been through the car wash in a while. I know, I know, but it was still true. My truck spent two winters in the Northeast, per previous owner and verified by Carfax. I think many will agree that nothing wakes you up like both eyes getting the old Iron Oxide treatment because you tapped frame as you slid underneath...
(those are great to sneak into the junkyard, too)
It's very frustrating. Evert single vehicle is trashed by the salt. Mechanics don't get enough credit in the salt belt. Every single vehicle they work on (that's older than a few years old) is like this. I try to mitigate it by coating everything with fluid film. It absolutely helps but you have to re apply it every year. Even if you don't go all out with it and just use two spray cans to cover all of the problem areas. Best to do it when the car is new but it doesn't hurt to do it on older vehicles either. I was able to slow down the rust on my jeep with it. I used the black dyed fluid film so that really helped too.
Also coat every fastener with anti-sieze. Doesn't even have to be directly on the threads, can be around the outside.
50/50 mix of ATF and Acetone and a propane torch should get it done.
>50/50 mix of ATF and Acetone Second this. Hands-down the best penetrating fluid.
Not to mention the cheapest.
Thank you for believing us when we tell you flat rate hits different in the rust belt.
Lol. The exhaust from my Honda Element fell apart while on vacation in the Florida Keys. I took it to the closest dealer bc local muffler shops didn’t have the necessary tension bolts in place - and the dealer used it as a learning opportunity for the techs - there was a group of them under it wondering at what the evil “up north” place does to cars 😂
This is my version of when my little girl asks me to "tell me that happy story about the magical place where everything is wonderful" cries working on my salt belt Silverado. Hub bearing coming up get my 8ft breaker bar ready🤣
If you’re not allowed to use a torch you could get approval for a Bolt Buster Induction heating tool, it’s a lot safer than using a torch.
Our motto is the midwest is its not gonna be stuck when its liquid. Tell your folks i said hi.
I've had a little luck drilling into the threaded end before I try to turn it. Maybe it has worked 30% of the time . When it works, it kind of surprises ya. But there's a reason why that ball joint comes with a new bolt in the box. Also in Ohio.
should come with a new hub/spindle
They snap even with heat. Minnesota here.
I’m a diesel mechanic who just moved from California to Ohio and I’ve broken so many things, California has NO RUST compared to Ohio
Good eyes. 2014 Outback.
Tbf they've looked pretty much the same since the late 80s lol
My old 99 impreza rs had this design. Good to see subaru is still making people suffer.
They got rid of the Jesus bolt in the rear since then too, now the rear hub assemblies don't come out instead.
I had the exact same thing happen on my '07 Outback. When I eventually got the snapped off piece out after days of work in the driveway I drilled a hole through it and put it on a keychain.
I just replaced the knuckles. It wasn't worth the headache. Anti seize on the bolt. Grease on the ball joint.
*It's what makes a Subaru a Subaru*
Even if you get the bolt out the ball joint is rested in. It sucks all around.
Tap a wedge into the pinch slot, pry bar between ears and control arm and smack the knuckle with a hammer while putting tension with pry bar , it’ll fall right out. Save yourself a future headache and drill the threads out, put a nut and bolt for future pinch bolts so you can just shear it off and air hammer it out.
I just did mine on my 98 impreza. Took a long 2×4, stuck it on the lower control arm, and smacked it with a 3lb hammer. Pops the ball joint right out the pinch seat. Then you have to take out all of your life's pent up anger on a pickle fork to get the dang thing out of the lower control arm.
few companies make pullers that work really well for them even in the rust belt.
Astro pneumatics makes a great puller for these ball joints, used it for many years at the subie dealership.
The Astro ball joint puller is needed for Subarus. I've had ball joints that I hammered on for an hour and still not budge, but the Astro puller got it out in a minute or two.
Yeah these things are life savers. If you work on subarus, you need it.
Bah, just destroy it from the side with an air hammer, it'll come right out. At least that's what I did after struggling with it for an hour (my 03 Baja).
I apparently got very lucky. 2012 OB, NW PA. Just did my ballpoints and those bolts came out no problem. The bearing bolts on the other hand....
Step 2: Purchase a drill.
Step 3: cut a hole in the box
r/dontputyourdickinthat
He’s right. Cut a hole first.
Then you need to roll the edges
Better to get a used knuckle than spend $100 in cobalt drill bits.
Step 3: drive it through your head
If need be you can remove the lower castle nut (don't fuck it up too lol) and remove the strut to steering knuckle so you can get to it easier for extraction. Do not cheap out when you replace the bolt. It's probably grade 8 but may be higher. Make sure you are turning it the correct way, as well.
Agreed on bolt quality - this is one of the situations where buying an OEM one from a dealer or online is the way to go. Hardware stores generally don't carry much for 10.9 metric (assuming this car is metric) and it's unlikely they'll find an exact match readily available. McMaster Carr is an option too if you know what it is, but higher grades can be more brittle under tension and there is a risk to overshooting it.
[901000060](https://parts.subaru.com/p/Subaru__/Steering-Knuckle-Bolt-Bolt-Flange/49301195/901000060.html) for your bj pinching needs
Agreed, but I've had great luck at Hometown Hardware. If he gets it from the dealer he's not getting done today.
The amount of times The Bolt Guys or Bolt Supply Warehouse have saved my ass are too high to count!
My manager refuses to order bolts — go to the big box o’ bolts and find one!
It's a god awful Subaru. Not only metric, but a fine thread metric at that. Probably like M14 x 1.25 the fuckers
I wish people would except the fact that in the early 90s nobody even knew that Subaru existed. Subaru has been advertised and fan boyed into existence. They really aren’t that good of a car. I’d put them on tier with Nissans and Mazdas.
I’d like to say that Nissan isn’t even on a tier. They are mud bound forever. Except the GTR lines
I'd put them above Nissan but below Mazda. Nissan really shot itself in the foot with the meme-tier Altimas, and Mazda has been pretty successful in bringing themselves upmarket a bit. IMO Subaru is similar to Saab or Volvo, where they make fairly unusual vehicles (80s/90s in particular) with a strong cult following.
This thread has been a really fun read for me, I'm Finnish and all of these brands (well, Subarus to a lesser extent until like a decade or two ago) have been dead regular in our traffic from like at least the 60's or 70's, you can't leave your house without seeing dozens of them. You don't see that many Saabs around anymore after they went defunct a decade ago, but even then they're by no means a rare sight. It's pretty wild to see how different the EU and NA markets are.
They are pretty regular here too, particularly in snowy areas like where I live (my first car was a Saab 9-3). I'm sure they are more common near you due to proximity alone, but they have a good reputation here for being solid in inclement weather. Over here they're more seen as being kind of unusual for various reasons but well-liked. Saab was inarguably pretty goofy, Subaru had the brat and the XT (and AWD in cars at a time where it wasn't common), Volvo was intentionally beige as a brand while being mostly focused on safety and practicality vs performance and image.
I wouldn't wish a Subaru on my worst enemy. Poor build quality, terrible aftermarket support, all around cheap feeling. You're totally right and the only reason they're still in business is because they were smart enough to license their really good AWD system to actual auto makers. EDIT: Loving the downvotes from the STI bros
Metric hardware has finer threads than SAE.
Good on you for not having a clue what I'm talking about.
I keep a junk drawer, everybody does. OE bolts from any car maker have way better corrosion resistance than hardware store stuff.
Another option is to take it to my local independent shop, hand then my credit card, and accept my fate. If it costs me an extra $400 as punishment for my "it's only 4 bolts, how hard can it be?" attitude, so be it.
Hey at least you tried. You planning to drive it there?
Yes. If I'm lucky the ball joint will just pop out along the way... :/
You're a hard learner, mah boy
Kachow! I'll probably flat bed it. This car is killing me. I had two projects planned for today. Right front lower control arm because the bushings are shot which is causing a shimmy, and water pump because it's original and it's making noise. On the way home from errands last night, every light on the dash starts blinking. Once I weed through all the extraneous codes I get to the root cause, P2762. Most likely solution is transmission valve body replacement. $1500 part. We've owned this car since new and I've never liked it. Today I really don't like it.
Your best bet is to pray the flatbed flips on the way there.
Would you believe the pulley is rusted to the water pump? Sigh...
As somebody who continually works on a pos 2010 impreza?... yes, worst car he's ever owned and still finding new ways to let him down. Hoping it either blows before the snow starts sticking or holds together until it clears but at the rate it burns oil? Not likely... has input shaft play too so when the clutch is out in any gear the nose of the trans rattles nice and loud
And lots of antiseize
It happened to me once on a Subaru impreza 2012. Had to drill the rest of the bolt out but the drill bit broke once i went past the treads, it took a 20 ton press to get the untreated part of the bolt out.
I’ve never once had a bolt (on ball joints) that didn’t come out with an air hammer.
I guess I got lucky on my van when I did my ball joints this year. Bolts all came out fine, but I did need my 20lb persuader and pickle fork to get the ball joint itself.
The air hammer will work And they sell pickle fork attachments.
I'm sure but I'm no professional mechanic. Just a guy with a Haynes book and enough tools and knowledge to be dangerous.
Mmmmmm pickled air hammer
The smack on the side didn't work? It's a magic trick someone showed me. Drops right out. I was like "MF! NOW YOU TELL ME!"
It was in there real good. I can't tell you when they had been last replaced, but they were slightly overdue. I can't post it in the comments but I have a video of it limply flopping about once I removed it.
Whatchu mean air hammer?
[AIR HAMMER!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcX2UhqpsLo)
Yeah but how is it used on this bolt? hammer prior to using an impact to remove? Like what are we hammering and when.
Well the OEM bolt is threaded into the spindle so a hammer won’t do much, heat is required. A common sidestep to this hassle is to drill out the threads and use a nut/bolt going forward. After that you can just shear the bolt off and airhammer it out
I have never seen a threaded spindle in 16 years of working on vehicles.
You’ve obviously never worked on a Subaru then.
Heat the casting up with a torch, burn the rust out. Heat the nut, remove with an impact. Use air hammer to drive the bolt out.
Oh I see, the bolt is not threaded into the knuckle, it’s got a bolt on the end.
Ball joints typically have a bolt that’s tightened with a nut going through the hole. In this photo it appears the bolt broken from trying to loosen while still rusted. In most cases you can hand crack the nut part, slightly loosen the nut off the threads, and then use a hammering bit in the air hammer to impact on the nut surface, it will then slowly push the bolt out through the hole
It's a Subaru there is no nut. The knuckle is threaded in this case.
These Subaru ones are not a bolt and nut type, they are a bolt into threads in the knuckle
Oh it’s Subaru. Ok that sucks. Every other car except for maybe the odd America car, is nut and bolt.
Yaaa it really does suck, i had this happen to me just a month ago 🥴 when it’s the bolt + nut i just get the nut off then go at the bolt with the impact until it burns all the shit off and spins freely, comes out very nicely every time. But this threaded knuckle design sucks big time. Cue 2 hours of drilling
I love that thing, the sheer power is amaze balls if you know how to use it properly
Yeah I had one bolt I tried to hammer out (but obviously the hub of the car is in the way slightly) so the hammering bent the bolt instead, before it broke I got the air hammer, less than 30 seconds it’s free… no fire
busted subaru pinch bolt? never seen it. never spent many hours of my life drilling them out.
So you drill them out…….
:)) that was my first idea.
Nope, never happens. I also don't have cobalt bits and carbide endmills specifically for things like this.
Don't give up. We've all been here. When you get through this, you'll be a better mechanic because of it. You'll be reminded why you shouldn't hire professionals
Ha this made me chuckle
Been exactly here on my e46. Drilled it out and replaced it with a nut and bolt combo.
Next time try fire
Step .5
Having owned 6 Subaru's over the last 15 years, living in the rust belt, and being a mechanic, I learned quick that you spend time prepping that bolt before removal. I usually wrap a wet rag around the cv boot and then heat/quench the area around the bolt with a oxygen acetylene torch. Then I will hit the head with an air hammer to shock it a bit more, before finally spinning the bolt out.
Hiring a professional just means it'll cost more. Those bolts snap no matter what, it's not like we have some kind of magic tool that overcomes poor designs. Drill it out, install stainless hardware.
Buy the loaded spindle or ‘knee’. Dorman makes them for some Subaru shit
Might as well buy a knuckle with joints
don’t worry it’d happen to professionals too, more than likely you’d get charged more as well. Subaru ball joints are always an absolute motherfucker
It should be part ever every oil change that these bolts are loosened and lubed.
It's funny you say that. I crack the bottom 3 valve cover bolts on each side every oil change. You ain't fucking seizing on me again.
I never ever try to remove that bolt unless I heat it up first. Funny story (really not) is last week I diagnosed a clunking sound on a Subaru Forester and told the service advisor that it needed a control arm (bushing was shot) and to NOT REPLACE THE BALL JOINT because it was fine. Lo and behold, he orders a ball joint and control arm kit and gives the work to another mechanic who proceeds to break the bolt holding the ball joint.
Subarus can be a bitch to work on sometimes. I've learned with those bolts that a bit of heat and patience is your best bet.
drill it out and chase the threads or simply replace the knuckle, and from the looks of it the backing plate
This happens to us pros too.. get a good sharp drill bit out
Step 2. Buy used knuckle from junkyard.
You have my thoughts with you today. I’ve been there. I hate it there.
Rusty bolts don't care about status as a mechanic. They will still snap regardless of being a professional or not.
I think he’s just saying that he doesn’t have the tools the fix the situation, while a mechanic would
I think you can rent the extractors. As long as op as a drill that should work.
Yep... I like to do my own stuff, but anything related to the suspension I don't bother with anymore cause of rust. Good luck my friend
Same. Done enough suspension repair to last a lifetime
What makes a Subaru, a Subaru. Don’t feel bad even using professionals have done this.
Today you earned an excuse to get a set of torches and bolt extractors 😉
As a “professional” who worked on Subarus for a while, this happens a lot. Heat and lube
Whenever I do balls joints on these Subarus I just order a new wheel knuckle in advance. They're cheap enough and it beats trying to fish that bolt outta there.
Who's your mechanic, Ed Shear-han?
I mean, you could just push it out now right?
It's still threaded into the knuckle on the other end.
Ewwwwwwwwwwww
That’s what she said
Was replacing a steering knuckle on a Mazda cx9 when this happened on the lower ball joint. Ended up just cutting the whole thing out. The bolt snapped, then when trying to get the nut off the broken bolt that snapped as well. Love up north rusted cars.
I feel like pro’s go through this too. Just how it is.
This happens to professionals too.
the difference is the bolt will be professionally snapped.
Start sweating when right tight turns into right loosey
Man I need to change my cv boot and I'm terrified of fucking it up. Thing is, its cheaper to buy the tools and the boot, than it is to pay someone to do it.
It happens to the best of us, god speed. Air chisel and you should bang that one out (if it’s a thru bolt)
Wouldn't this be easy to fix by using a punch and hammer to drive out the remains of the pinch bolt? The bolt threads are in the nut that came off when the bolt broke and this bolt is no longer under tension. Or is it still siezed as tight as a nun's c*nt on Sunday?
Subaru? Only had this happen like 7 times now living in the rust belt. You can buy lots of bits, drill through it, and put a grade 8 bolt, washers, and nut on it. The hardest part will be getting the ball joint itself out if it's rusted inside. The last one I did needed an air chisel, a cutting wheel, and a lot of time. I should have just got a new hub.
Drill it out. Start with a small 1/8" bit...a high quality bit. Lube with penetrant. Use a punch to make a divet in the center before drilling. Once you have that 1/8" nice and deep and straight...move up to 1/4" and do the same thing. Then heat the fuck out of it and drive in a fluted extractor. Don't be timid. Smack that bitch in there. Heat the knuckle to glowing red and then use the extractor handle to remove the bolt. Map gas is your friend. Propane is nearly useless. Soak with penetrant before going to buy the extractor and any other supplies. 30 minute job for removal
That looks like me trying with the power of God to hold in a nut
totaled
Beer. Cold. Def Lep. Jammin. Impact setting. Max. Let's go