archimense

This week I decided to install my new 19mm Neuspeed rear sway bar. I finally got around to doing it because I have a two day autocross event next weekend, which I wanted to have the upgraded sway bar installed for.

Well low and behold something always goes wrong when you don't have time to wait for replacement parts to arrive in the mail. While I was taking the seized nuts off the end link bolts on the rear sway bar I ended up stripping the hex socket in the end of the bolt. At this point I'm pretty much screwed.

I place an order with PureMS for some upgraded sway bar end links, but they may not arrive in time for the autocross. At this point I decide to see what I can do, since I don't want to autocross without a rear sway bar.

Here you can see the layout of the sway bar end link. The hex socket in the end of the bolt is what was stripped.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/swaybarendlink.jpg" border="0">

At this point what you should do is disconnect the end links from the suspension control arms and take the sway bar and end links out together.

Once you have them out, clamp one of the end links in a vice and prop the bar up against the wall like so.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/rearsway_1.jpg" border="0">

Here you can see how I have the nut half off the bolt before it seized and I stripped the hex socket. I tried heat, Liquid Wrench, and even a damaged screw remover in the stripped socket with no luck.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/rearsway_2.jpg" border="0">

Here I decided to just cut the nut off. Take your Dremel tool and put on a cut off wheel. Then use it to cut that siezed nut off. Be careful to not cut the bolt if you want to reuse it.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/rearsway_3.jpg" border="0">

Your cut bolt should look something like this.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/rearsway_4.jpg" border="0">

Next get your die out of your tap and die set and find a 10mm 1.50 pitch die.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/rearsway_5.jpg" border="0">

Put some pliers on the wide part of the bottom of the bolt to prevent it from turing as you run the die over it.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/rearsway_6.jpg" border="0">

Now just screw down the die to remove all the crap that caused the nut to sieze in the first place. Don't worry if you can't get the die all the way down to the bottom, you can go over it again later.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/rearsway_7.jpg" border="0">

Next get your Dremel tool again and put on a grinding stone bit.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/rearsway_8.jpg" border="0">

Then use it to grind off two opposite sides of the last half inch of the bolt. We are doing this to create flat spots so that we can use a wrench or vice grips to prevent the bolt from turning, since we stripped the hex socket in the end of the bolt. The sway bar and nut only need to make contact with the first inch of the bolt, so grinding off part of the end of the bolt shouldn't matter.

Your bolt should look something like this, although this picture kinda sucks.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/rearsway_9.jpg" border="0">

Now that you have ground two flat spots on the end of the bolt lets go over the whole bolt with the die again. Run the die part way down the bolt, and now this time run it all the way down to the bottom, preventing the bolt from turning by holding the flat spots on the end with some pliers.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/86435/rearsway_10.jpg" border="0">

Give the same treatment to the end link bolt on the other side of the sway bar.

Now you should be able to reinstall your sway bar and end links. When it comes time to put the nuts back on the end links, you can prevent the bolts from turning by putting some vice grips on the end of the bolt.

If you want to save yourself some pain and you know your end links bolts are probably siezed, then you could try runnning a die over the end of the bolt before you try to take the nut off in the first place. That may save you all this pain.

I would also recommend planning on upgrading your sway bar end links at the same time as your sway bar. That would just be less hassle to begin with.

inliner311

works amazingly on strip and rusted bolts....they step down so you might have to go through a couple size before it bits but it will and would take alot less effort than that...

archimense

That wouldn't have worked as the inner bolt would have spun as you tried to take the nut off.