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2003 - Lateral bolts, Wheel Bearing, Struts, Shocks, Crossmember Replacement!

('03-'05) 
6K views 81 replies 6 participants last post by  FOZ_WGN 
#1 ·
Alrighty I’m embarking on this mission and first things first; I gotta get this lateral bolt off. It is certainly rusted living up to its reputation as difficult to remove.

Ive been soaking it for days with PB Blaster and the thing won’t budge even with a long piece of pipe as leverage on the breaker bar. The breaker bad was even beginning to bend.

Next move is to try to heat it up with a Mapp torch. The nut on the other side appears seized and will need to come off but what’s this line going to the brakes?

How can I remove this line so I can add heat to this area without damaging it? I already removed the bracket being held by a 12 mm but it’s still in the way.

I gotta old license plate to protect the boot above but not sure it will hold up. I would love to get this entire hub out without damaging the boot. Any thoughts before I try more things?

Knowing myself I could damage something so I’m posting here before moving too far ahead. Thanks!
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#5 ·
That line that is in the way on the other side (last picture) is your parking brake cable.

You're doing the wheel bearing? Do you have a bearing driver set? They changed the design on the 2009+ models. But that one is a bit of a bugger to do without the right tools!

Eric does a pretty good job explaining everything... (first thing he talks about is the bolt you're fighting with) He's in the rust belt and I hope that yours isn't as bad as he's dealing with...

 
#7 · (Edited)
@GusV I actually watched this video 2 years ago! I dont have ”big nasty” to go to town on it. That’s an air compressor based hammer tool right? What’s it called exactly, luckily my rust isn’t as bad as the one in South Main Auto’s video. Cutting it is a possibility with an angle grinder I would guess would be the tool to use.

It’s pretty darn rusted into the long piece back of the whole hub so I’m concerned cutting will only help a little and perhaps I could hammer the remaining bolt out of there.

I’ve had luck with super rusty things in the past with enough effort and heat from a torch. Is there a way to remove that parking break cable so I can make that rust glow?

For the wheel bearing, I’m not gonna fuss with a press. It’s gonna be a lot easier to just grab a used hub with a good wheel bearing in there for $50 from my local subie shop.

@bman400 that makes sense,I highly doubt my Dewalt will do the trick. I might have to ask my friend if he has something. I may look at harbor freight. I’m curious how much $$$ an air compressor and impact gun would set me back.
 
#8 ·
You will need an impact wrench, cordless or pneumatic to help here. The nut will not be the problem based on the looks of it. A few hits with the impact wrench and it will come out no problem. Hopefully you're filling the void where the long bolt's body is exposed with rust penetrant.

Your biggest problem is going to be the long bolt itself. I would go buy replacement long bolts and nuts and return what you don't end up using. You may even end up replacing the bushing(s) if they are seized to the long bolt.

Be patient, this will take a few days.

And when you reassemble that long bolt, lather it liberally with anti-seize and you'll save yourself the heartache for next time.
 
#11 ·
Your biggest problem is going to be the long bolt itself. I would go buy replacement long bolts and nuts and return what you don't end up using. You may even end up replacing the bushing(s) if they are seized to the long bolt.
Replacing the bolt and bushings is definitely happening.
Hopefully you're filling the void where the long bolt's body is exposed with rust penetrant.
I certainly am!
+1 Impact Wrench should help here if heat doesn't.
Getting heat in there seems tricky without damaging anything. Is that parking brake cable removable at all? I'd like to get some heat in there if possible.

Regardless I made the decision and have added this to the Arsenal:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WTQW7JA
Pneumatic tool Handheld power drill Drill Hammer drill Tool

It should be here by Friday, I'm pretty excited to see how powerful this thing is. If I don't like it I may end up returning it.

I do still like the idea of getting an air compressor for the various tools it can use other than just the impact wrench but it may be a lot pricier. How do Air compressors work? do you need 120V outlet to run them? I would need it be a bit portable since I have no electrical outlets nearby.

My friend had one built into his work truck, but I hate to ask. I feel like I've exhausted all the help I can ask from him.

In the mean time I keep putting PB blaster on there, and hope to tear into this with the 700 ft lb Dewalt Impact Wrench after work on Friday.
Do yourself a favor and have a shop press a new bearing into the hub for you, I would only install used bearing in emergency to get me home....don't want to do this job again due to used bearings.
You speak a lot of sense there, I may end up doing as you suggest depending on the cost. With all the rust, seems just getting the bolts off to be a big enough hurdle as it is so I want the easy route but I'm sure with a new bearing and the job done right will be worth it. Let's see if and how much easier this impact wrench makes my life.

I still have the struts and cross member to tackle and each side will need the rusty lateral bolt removed and replaced with a new bolt and bushings. This is gonna be a fun one!
 
#9 ·
+1 Impact Wrench should help here if heat doesn't.

Impact Drivers are for putting screws into timber.
Impact Wrenches are for thicker bolts going to much higher torque values

I would assume a corded electric impact wrench would be cheaper than an air compressor and Air impact wrench but air compressor can run an air chisel too....
 
#14 ·
@bman400 Thank you for explaining all that about air compressors! I certainly want a good one whenever I am able to settle down with an actual garage in my life.

I got the impact wrench but have not been able to give it a shot at removing this bolt yet. I finally have a day off to do it today and then it ends up raining all day long, so thats a little disappointing, oh well. I'll get after it soon enough!

I'm curious does anyone have an opinion on battery's for a tool like this?

I believe if you buy the whole package it comes with the 5 amp hour 20v Max XR battery. I bought the tool only and I just have the regular old 20V Max Lithium Ion ones. I'm assuming that just means it will last longer before dying. From my limited research it seems the "XR" is referring to the brushless tool, not the power I believe.

Would the power of the impact wrench be lessened at all by not using a 5AH battery?
Pneumatic tool Green Drill Computer keyboard Yellow
 
#17 ·
Turns out the new toy was not able to do the trick.
I was able to get after it this evening and it's not budging even with the impact wrench.
I've liberally applied PB Blaster all over every part of this bolt several days over the last week and a half.
I attempted to add heat with mapp torch but couldn't torch long enough, things got too hot. The license plate I was using as a heat shield started to get hotter than I like so I didn't go any further as it was too close to damageable things like the cv boot.

Any thoughts?
I'm I using my new impact wrench correctly? It just wont budge and the tool is on it's highest setting.
I really don't to have to break down and pay a shop to do my dirty work if I can help it.
 
#18 ·
You are using the impact wrench correctly.

That is frustrating to hear the toy didn't do its thing - Especially when they quote "
"1/2 inch cordless impact wrench has up to 700 ft-lbs of max torque and 1200 ft-lbs of max breakaway torque"

If you want to avoid heat, the next option would be cutting the bolt as it appears it is only threaded on the end to a nut and passes through the rest of the parts with no threads so perhaps splitting/cutting the nut is an option, then air hammer/ hammer and chisel the bolt out? But that really is not a nice job to do and I would be inclined to let someone else deal with it at that point.... You may be looking at new bushes for the arms too.

I ended up paying someone to change the bushings and let them fight with the bolts. The poor guy spent 9 hours on that bolt on just 1 side of my Forester......

Hopefully someone else can come up with some ideas........

Would Amazon let you return the toy if you wished? If you have a power outlet nearby, what is Harbor Freight's returns policy like, if you could use a mains powered impact wrench if those are more powerful ?

It might be worth talking to your neighbour with the air compressor on a truck you mentioned and see if he has an air powered impact wrench and or air chisel/air hammer (Same thing) you could make use of ?

It might be worth searching Nasioc and other Subaru forums in case there is a trick to that bolt ? The Forester and Impreza both have those bolts. I'm not sure of the Legacy/Outback setup and if that is different

On the plus side, if you manage to get this bolt out.........Since you've done a head gasket job already, you're 2/3rd's of the way to being a Subaru technician - Just need to rebuild a shortblock and you're pretty much an honorary Subaru Specialist Technician :LOL:
 
#20 · (Edited)
That is frustrating to hear the toy didn't do its thing - Especially when they quote "
"1/2 inch cordless impact wrench has up to 700 ft-lbs of max torque and 1200 ft-lbs of max breakaway torque"
You're not kidding!
the next option would be cutting the bolt
Yeah, I'm definitely considering it. I'm a little concerned though if I'm not able to get it out and will need to bring it to a shop anyway. I assume there is no way to tow a car on jack stands right?
You may be looking at new bushes for the arms too.
The bushings are definitely toast and need to be replaced.
I ended up paying someone to change the bushings and let them fight with the bolts. The poor guy spent 9 hours on that bolt on just 1 side of my Forester.
Another reason I'm scared to bring it to a shop. I was quoted 1 1/2 hours per side just to replace the lateral bolts at $120 per hour and I'm afraid with all the rust that could quickly snowball so DIY is preferred!
Would Amazon let you return the toy if you wished?
Yeah totally, Amazon is easy to return to. Harbor Freight is pretty easy too, I could check that out. My buddy could possibly throw me a cord from over his fence. I'm actually going to see if he has any ideas as well
It might be worth talking to your neighbour with the air compressor on a truck you mentioned and see if he has an air powered impact wrench and or air chisel/air hammer
He might come through, he knows I ran into that road block with impact wrench and said he'd come by sometime soon and possibly help. same guy that got that broken head bolt out so I'm hopeful he has some ideas.
It might be worth searching Nasioc and other Subaru forums in case there is a trick to that bolt
Great idea! I need to do this! So challenging right now fitting all of this between my full time on my feet all day job, but I shall overcome!
On the plus side, if you manage to get this bolt out.........Since you've done a head gasket job already, you're 2/3rd's of the way to being a Subaru technician - Just need to rebuild a shortblock and you're pretty much an honorary Subaru Specialist Technician :LOL:
Hell yeah! So true, I've actually thought about applying to Subaru but not sure I wanna be a mechanic all day long and then still have my own car to work on after work, but I sure would learn a bunch. I really do love learning the nuts and bolts of all this car stuff. I feel like next time I buy a used car I will now what to look out for way better than before.
Is the nut off on the other end? you should be able to fit the socket over the nut by moving the parking brake cable slightly.
No the nut is still on but great idea! I'll see if I can impact wrench it off, that might give me something to hammer on and hopefully loosen it from within the knuckle and the bushings
but I think as long as you're aiming the mapp torch away from what you don't want to get torched
Thanks dude, you give me a bit more confidence and trying a bit more heat with this endeavor
If you keep trying and it just isn't coming out, you'll probably have to cut the long bolt between the lateral link and knuckle.
I'll save this as a last resort, I'm gonna give it some more love with the torch and impact. I like your idea of going forward and reverse as well to break the seizing.

I have a few spare old ones if you want them just message me
I appreciate the offer! are they used old ones? I should probably grab new ones I assume right?

It really does take cycles of heat, rust penetrant and impacting over and over.
Thanks, this gives me more confidence too . I am pretty a pretty stubborn individual. I do believe if I just keep at it long enough I will emerge victorious.

How badly do the bushings seize to the bolt? If I just completely melt the bushing as you did will eventually the bolt just free up from that spot?

I really do believe this bolt is rusted through out the exposed part of the knuckle and where goes inside the knuckle so it's pretty darn gnarly!

it's 9:30pm, and I got work at 8:00am so I'm gonna try and give this a few more whacks and call it a night.

Thanks for chiming in with your help y'all!
 
#19 ·
is the nut off on the other end? you should be able to fit the socket over the nut by moving the parking brake cable slightly.

My guess is that the bolt is seized to one or both bushings. Worst case, and it's slightly possible, is that it's also seized to the knuckle.

I could be wrong and I understand your concern with the CV boot, but I think as long as you're aiming the mapp torch away from what you don't want to get torched, you'll be fine. I've once torched the trailing arm bushing that's in the same knuckle until it melted off and the boot remained fine. It really does take cycles of heat, rust penetrant and impacting over and over. You can even impact it both tightening and loosening since the nut is off and you're just trying to break the seizing. If you keep trying and it just isn't coming out, you'll probably have to cut the long bolt between the lateral link and knuckle. I think I previously said you'll probably have to replace the bushings. I have a few spare old ones if you want them just message me. Once you cut the bolt on the side of the bolt head, use the nut as a "puller" by tightening it so the remaining long bolt body is moved within the knuckle. Or you can cut the nut side and impact the bolt head - vice versa. The goal here is to just not have both bushings preventing the removal. Once you break the seizing, it's just a matter of finessing it out.
 
#21 ·
That's probably not a bad idea to just melt the lateral link bushings. However, the steel of the lateral links is different from the cast-iron knuckle. I'm not sure how well the steel would hold up. It's just me overthinking it. But yes, if you melt both lateral link bushings, then you can work on the long bolt seized (if it is) to the knuckle. it should come out easier then as the bushings are no longer resisting your impact wrench. It really isn't worth saving the bushings unless you can figure out a way to do so but I think most folks just replace them once they are seized.
 
#22 ·
Change of plans! Lol
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So last night I was messing with it going back and forth with impact wrench adding lots of heat and rust penetrant . It was barely moving but just a tad after removing the nut and washer.

Denny Dynamite came by to have a look. He’s my machinist friend who helped me do the heads. He said “trust me, we need to use the breaker bar.” I said okay and he proceeded to leverage it pretty good with pipe extension. Just as it appeared he got the bolt spinning it snapped right off. Denny said “crap now I have to help you finish this repair” lol, I don’t mind!

So new game plan. We’re gonna cut out the hubs from control arms and just replace them. The crossmember is severely rusted, it’s what I am most concerned about giving me a hard time. Instead of fumbling with these lateral bolts we’re going to just replace everything with non rusted parts. Crossmember, Control arms and the hubs on both sides. I called up Super Rupair and they’ll give me everything for $250.

Now I know I should use new wheel bearings and I might replace those later once I get all this other stuff replaced. I’m gonna use liberal amounts of copper anti seize so if one of the used bearings that come in the hubs starts failing I will have a much easier time removing the hub to do the job in the future.

Tackling this rust and getting the rear suspension replaced is what needs to happen. And now I got Denny’s help.
I’ve got very limited funds currently so I’m even considering getting non rusted used struts as well. I’m sure many will advise against it but it might be my best easy cheap solution for now.

Lots of moving parts here! Wish me luck!
I hope to get this thing on ramps soon and start wrestling all the rusted bolts on the crossmember.

any thoughts on how to remove the cross member once unbolted with out removing the differential? Could I potentially slide it via one of the wheel wells once the strut, hun and control arms have been removed?

Thanks!
 
#23 ·
This is a sound plan. The rear diff is bolted to the rear subframe so not sure exactly what you mean. I guess you could leave it bolted to the driveshaft and unbolt the rear two nuts secured to the rear top studs of the rear diff. The rear subframes between the SG and GD are not exactly identical so I could be wrong but I don't see how you can swap rear subframes without removing the rear diff.

The easiest thing to do, IMO, is to unbolt the rear diff yoke from the driveshaft, unbolt the tophat nuts and roll the entire rear setup out of your car and then go from there.

Be very careful removing the 4 bolts securing the rear subframe to the chassis. Some heat, where possible, may be good. You just don't want to snap the welded nut on the inside of the chassis and now you're going to have to tear apart the interior to access the space and replace/weld the nut.
 
#24 ·
This is a sound plan.
That's reassuring, thank you! lol and thank you for the response, it really helps my mental readiness for this job.
The rear diff is bolted to the rear subframe so not sure exactly what you mean.
I thought I saw a video where a dude was able to do so without dropping the diff but upon further research and analyzing the area, I think the diff has to come down in order to pull this off.
The rear subframes between the SG and GD are not exactly identical
Sorry this is probably obvious but what is SG and GD?
The easiest thing to do, IMO, is to unbolt the rear diff yoke from the driveshaft, unbolt the tophat nuts and roll the entire rear setup out of your car and then go from there.
Thanks for the tip! I think I'm going to need a better jack for this. I grabbed the $40 husky one from Home Depot, but it's just not that good.
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I don't feel comfortable with the small surface area of this jack to lower the diff. I think I may go pick up this 2 ton one from harbor freight, I'd feel a little better.

Be very careful removing the 4 bolts securing the rear subframe to the chassis
When you say "Rear subframe" are we talking about the cross member or something else?

Picked up some Rhino Ramps for $20 on FB and I went through last night trying to loosen up some bolts and putting copper anti seize on what I can to make the the actual job easier. I was pleasantly surprised how easy the 4 bolts holding up the crossmember came out. I just used PB blaster and a breaker bar and didn't even need to use heat.
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I got them back in the holes for now. The bolts coming out of the differential have the nuts seized on there but the bolts themselves seem easy to come out of the diff. Does it matter at all if I just remove these bolts entirely since the nuts are seized?
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Also what are these called? They are not the control arms right?
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They look kind of rusty and those bushings look gnarly too so I'm thinking those should get replaced as well and might be easier than keeping them in place and trying to attach the other end to the knuckle replacement. I managed to loosen up the bolts holding them in place in both sides last night so I think it's doable.

I'm off to get more tools and potentially the replacement parts today once I'm completely ready and comfortable to tackle this. Well see how far I get!

Wish me luck and please offer more insight!
 
#25 ·
That's great you can get your machinist friend to help !!!

I'm so proud to see the copper anti seize in action (y) You can go a little lighter on it though - It isn't chocolate ice cream where more is always better LOL What you've done is fine but on final assembly I would suggest using a little less to get more accurate torque values. For example, you might use 1/3rd of a pea size for an M10 bolt and smear it up and down the threads on 1 side only.

Regarding taking down the diff, Perhaps something like this might be easier to work with the diff?
Or a used version from Craigslist if there's one local?

When picking a floor jack, I went for the highest lifting jack I could find in my budget. Mine is rated for 53cm in lifting height or 20.8 Inches

Here's the name of the various parts on the rear end

Do you know what machines your friend has access to ? If he has access to a press, it would make sense to put new bearings into the used parts you're fitting as a huge time saver for later on

SG is the 2003-2008 platform Forester.
GD is the Subaru Impreza platform from 2001-2007 from memory - Well technically the sedan version. The wagon was GG I think ?
 
#26 · (Edited)
You can go a little lighter on it though
Happy to make you proud! and I had a feeling I was putting too much on. That was the first bolt, I'm pretty sure I applied less after that but good call out, I feel like I've used half of the little can so far so makes sense I'm using too much. At least it wont seize up and plus it could potentially make my life easier later on.
Perhaps something like this might be easier to work with the diff
That's pretty nifty! I didn't know they made such a specialized jack, that makes sense. I actually did go to harbor Freight today and I upgraded to the 2 ton red low profile floor jack. It lifts just shy of 20" and so far has made it so much easier to get this car on jack stands. I imagine lowering the diff will be much better than with what I had. I took that trolley jack back to Home Depot.
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Do you know what machines your friend has access to ? If he has access to a press, it would make sense to put new bearings into the used parts you're fitting as a huge time saver for later on
Solid point! I know he at a minimum has access to a lathe, I'll have to ask him cause if he does have access to a press that would be awesome and I certainly would go for new bearings if we could work something out.
SG is the 2003-2008 platform Forester.
Thanks for clearing that up for me.

So where I'm at now is still gathering the confidence and resources phase to fully commit to getting this finished in 1 day. I'm going through every nut and bolt I'm going to have to touch and getting familiar with it by getting it loose and retightening all lubed up. Quite a few of these require heat and lots of love so I'm trying to iron out any hiccups ahead of time before I actually do the job so no surprises.

There are a few things I'm still trying to figure out:

Using used struts in a pinch just to get this all back together with something that isn't the worn out rusty struts I currently have on the car
...or waiting til later to put better new struts/shocks after every thing else is put back together. Seems that ideally I would do the struts while I am doing the replacement of all these other rear suspension parts. But if I order brand new struts that could delay this repair and I need this done ASAP.

I don't feel comfortable leaving this car on jack stands in my apartment's parking lot, I feel like they'll give me ish about it and I just don't like leaving my car on stands over night out in the open. So I gotta bust this out in a day and in order to do that I must be well prepared.

When I do actually replace the struts how do I remove this brake line from the strut? This clip doesn't make sense to me, I've tried cleaning it up spraying penetrate on it.
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And I do have a few more questions...

Does the axle nut have to be replaced? and is there a trick to removing the indent locking the 32 mm axle nut in place?

Does the Rear diff have to be drained before I lower it? do I have to pop the axles out of the diff to pull this off?

On the rear diff how do you spin it fully to be able to access each 12mm bolt/nut? I couldn't seem to spin it any further, I was using a small pry-bar to hold it still while I loosened the first nut but I cant currently access the remaining 3 cause I don't know how to spin it.
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Here's the name of the various parts on the rear end
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Thanks for that! I never can find the right areas on that site for the parts I'm after, I gotta get better!

But one last thing, I'm assuming the area I was asking about before is the trailing arm and the trailing arm bushing based on that diagram. So is there a trick to getting these in and out? I have managed to at least loosen these bolts so should make the job easier but they do seem quite in there, I can imagine them being a real booger.

Once I'm ready to go, I'm thinking I'll be cutting both control arms and the trailing arm on each side of the car to pull it all out.

I'm getting closer and still gathering my game plan.

Thanks for your help!
 
#27 ·
I was thinking and Just realized a few things..

I probably don’t need to cut the trailing arm since I’m just replacing it. So cutting just the control arms on both sides is all I need to hit with the angle grinder.

also I don’t suppose I need to remove the knuckles from the axles to do the struts right? So I could just replace all these immediate items now and wait to get new struts in there cause I’d like to get some good ones.
 
#30 ·
Also - Make sure the front wheels are chocked to prevent them rolling if the fronts are still on the ground before you put the transmission in neutral. - Bricks or pieces of wood will do the job -Anything to stop them rolling.

Just to make sure she doesn't try and roll off the axle stands when you're torquing on any bolts underneath.
 
#31 ·
I went through the other side of the car and broke everything free and retightened it all down so I'm pretty familiar with every nut and bolt I may encounter.

I figured out the clip to the brake line bracket on the struts, the trick was to bang on it with a screw driver and hammer from underneath and it pops right out.

I feel a lot closer, gotta get all the suspension stuff from the local shop next.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Have you had much luck with the exhaust bolts to be able to drop the back section when removing the rear subframe?

That would definitely be worth attacking and refixing with copper grease ahead of time.

Does your machinist friend happen to have access to a sand blaster/soda blaster? Depending on what he might want in exchange, since you're using a used rear subframe sand/soda blasting will take it down to bare metal and remove any surface rust at the sametime. It will then give you a chance to spray paint zinc primer on it, then once cured, spray it a protective coat - Usually black but you could go with any colour you fancied - It would give some peace of mind when refitting the part, knowing it will have a while before it could rust.

The better option would be zinc priming, then powder coating as the item would look brand new but I would imagine that gets a little more expensive quick

Just a thought
 
#33 ·
Have you had much luck with the exhaust bolts to be able to drop the back section when removing the rear subframe?
Dang thats the one thing I over looked. I forgot about the fact I'll need to drop the exhaust. I'll have to get out there and start banging on it to see in what state it is in. Can I just get by loosening the rear of the exhaust? How much do you think needs to come down make enough room for the diff and cross member to come down without damaging the exhaust?

Does your machinist friend happen to have access to a sand blaster/sand blaster?
I have not seem him in days, I'll ask him when I see him, especially about the press too.

I've been thinking it would be ideal to coat this subframe with some thing like paint or rust protection but definitely a bit limited about what I can do in this apartment parking lot with tons of ther vehicles around me.

Great thought!
 
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