I think that my upper comtrol arm bolt is stripped. I was installing my springs and was torquing the bolts and torqued it too much. So I tried to loosen the bolt and re torque it, but the bolt doesn't come out or tighten all the way anymore. Then bolt seems like it treads for alittle bit then just spins and treads again and spins more and it just keeps doing that. Any suggestions?

 

the same damm thing happened to me. Don't worry, the upper control arm bolt can come off. Yes i'm serious. Although it is welded onto the control arm, the bolt will come off if you have a big wrench and lots of muscle. Just give it a good nudge and you can take it off. Once you take it off, buy new bolts and screws (reuse your old screw if it is still good). The only downside is that the upper control arm bold is no longer welded onto the arm----if you consider this a downside. If you are totally mechanically incompetant and cannot do this, go to a mechanic w/ gorilla hands and let him do it for you.

 

Oh one more thing, this advice will cost you $5 and I do accept paypal.

 

Don't screw around with this and don't half ass it. This is one of the more critical fittings in your car and will lead to a catastrophic accident (quite possibly involving a roll) if it fails while turning at speed.

You stripped it. Are you sure you know everything you need to know to repair it? And no, I'm not usually this way about repairs. This one is clearly different.

 

I was planning on taking it to my friend that is head tech at Honda. I was just wondering if I can take it out by myself. I am pretty mechanically inclined, so I know what I'm doing. thanks for your help.

 

There's a slim chance it's not stripped at all. Those two bolts have a really shallow thread pitch; I remember it taking a long time for my air ratchet to un-do them. It could be you just haven't turned it enough - when turning, watch to see if the bolt is making any progress, even if that progress is very slight.

If you have stripped it, get the car to somebody equipped to properly repair it ASAP. Jim is absolutely right, this isn't something to mess around with.

Good luck!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jschmidt
[B]Don't screw around with this and don't half ass it. This is one of the more critical fittings in your car and will lead to a catastrophic accident (quite possibly involving a roll) if it fails while turning at speed.