6 out of the 8 alignment bolts on my car had to be cut on my racecar. I used my 4inch grinder with a cutting wheel and a sawzall to do the work. I replaced all 4 lower control arms with used pieces and liberally applied anti-seize to the hardware.

 

They're not as bad as the pictures above...thank god! I don't think they've welded themselves to the inner part of the bush...

If it is that bad however, I'll be straight on the the phone to Powerflex who do Poly bushes at a relatively decent price.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow...

 

I managed to get three out four seized bolts unstuck today without damaging anything. Unfortunately one of the bolts in the lower wishbone is welded to the bush.

The plan is to get an angle grinder to the old bolt, drill it out of the rubber bush, remove that then fit a new bush with the wishbone in situe, fitting a new alignment bolt and get the whole car setup correctly.

 

Not sure about the UK, but in the US, the a-arm bushings are not serviceable. You either need to replace the a-arm or get an aftermarket bushing like Spoon or Mugen.

 

I will be using an aftermarket bush, Powerflex. It SHOULD be relatively straight forward by cutting the old bolt either side, allowing the wishbone to drop down and drilling out the old bush...

 

^ You need to press (not drill) out that old bushing, and press the new one in.

AFAIK those bushings are sold in pairs, so you might as well do the other side too.
That also gives you the chance to put enough never-seez on all of the bolts, etc.
A lot more work, yes.
Worth it though if you want to align it again in the future.
Don't forget to pre-load the suspension to ride height before torquing the bolts (alignment bolts, shock, endlinks) down to spec.

 

The new bush has FINALLY arrived. It comes in two separate halves so no need to use a press to install it. Drilling out the old bush with the wishbone in situe will be acceptable, a tad crude, but the hell with it, I don't care about destroying the old one and will negate the need to remove the wishbone (which could easily have seized bolts).

I shall remember to pre-load the suspension when torquing up any bolts...cheers.

 

I cut out the old bolt using a reciprocating saw on either side (took about 30 mins).

A hydraulic gearbox stand was used to push the wheel up so the wishbone pivoted low enough for the next step.

I used a small (about 5mm) drill bit and drilled out all the old rubber, allowing the bush to be pushed out.

There was a steel sleeve inside the wishbone that needs a junior hacksaw blade inserting through the hole, then the handle attached, allowing you to saw it out without damaging the wishbone.

This will allow a new poly bush to be fitted. Mine was from a UK company called Powerflex and the bush itself comes in two halves, allowing fitting to take place without using a press. It took about 4 minutes. The new bolt was greased and fitted.

Alignment is getting sorted later this week. Woo Hoo!