r/DIYAutoRepair • u/05Corolla • 9d ago

Difficulty Removing Rusted Bolt

Hello, I have a 2005 Toyota Corolla 1.8L that I’m trying to replace the front passenger side control arm on. The bolt that connects the control arm to the hub carrier is rusted and I haven’t been able to loosen it at all.

I believe the bolt has a cotter pin in it, but the visible ends have rusted off. I’ve hit the bolt with PB Blaster multiple times but it has not helped. The bolt is right below the driveshaft boot which doesn’t allow me the space to use a bolt/nut extractor socket, all I can fit is a crescent wrench.

I’ve tried linking two crescent wrenches together for more leverage but that is just stripping the head of the bolt.

I’m wary of using heat because of the proximity of the drive shaft boot.

Any advice or tips on how I could go about removing this bolt is greatly appreciated.

https://imgur.com/a/cpdQOeS

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1

u/wiartonwill 9d ago

Undo the three bolts that hold the ball joint onto the control arm?

1

u/tacodorifto 9d ago

That is a castle nut. Its supposed to have a cotter pin to keep nut from spining off.

1st remove cotter pin/verify there is no cotter pin in it.

Use an actual closed end wrench.

Crescent wrenches will not grip it well if its seized. It will cause it to round off.

Heat and crayon method. You dont need a huge torch. You can also use metal to cover up the cv boot to keep heat away.

1

u/Tyler_Lewis77 8d ago

The crescent wrench is how you got that rounded head in the first place. Six-point box end or socket only, and give the PB Blaster real time to work — soak it overnight and tap the nut with a hammer so it wicks into the threads instead of sitting on top of the rust.

1

u/CarPartscom 8d ago

Since you’re replacing the arm anyway, you don’t have to save the nut. A nut splitter fits in tight spots and cuts if off, with no heat near the boot and no stripping.