Zeph Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Hi, I have a 1995 300tdi which recently failed it's MOT on the outer sills and the rear sway bar ball joint links. I bought the ball joint links to fit myself as it looked like an easy job, however whilst trying to remove the cotter pins the end broke whilst trying to straighten the pins and now wont budge, has anyone got any ideas how i can get the bolt off Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Welcome What I usually do is get a set of wire cutters (or the wire-cutting part on a big pair of pliers) get a good grip on one end or the other and just force it through the hole. If all else fails you can usually use brute force to twist the nut off and snap the pin but it will often wreck the thread - shouldn't be a problem if it is heading for the dump anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeph Posted April 2, 2008 Author Share Posted April 2, 2008 Welcome What I usually do is get a set of wire cutters (or the wire-cutting part on a big pair of pliers) get a good grip on one end or the other and just force it through the hole. If all else fails you can usually use brute force to twist the nut off and snap the pin but it will often wreck the thread - shouldn't be a problem if it is heading for the dump anyway! Thanks for the reply, I'll give it a go tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynall Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 Hammer a socket over the nut this cuts off the excess pin then wind the nut off never had one damage the thread yet! then if you need to reuse it drill the pin out on a vice. Lynall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeph Posted April 3, 2008 Author Share Posted April 3, 2008 Well I've admitted defeat ! I managed to remove one of the castle nuts on one of the links, but the bottom 24mm bolt wont budge, (using 2 1 meter strong arms one on each side i even used a jack), on the other joint the castle nut started to turn along with the theaded part so I gave up. The garage is charging £20 to remove and fit the links tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeph Posted April 4, 2008 Author Share Posted April 4, 2008 Update ! The garage were not able to undo the nuts , he said they need to be burnt out but his oxy-acet wasn't working, my problem now is the car is booked in for new sills and an mot retest on monday at a different garage (this guy wants £80 to burn out 3 bolts + the £150 to weld on the sill repair panels) so things aren't looking too good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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