front suspension excentric bolt

[Damien B.]

Hi
I m looking for some advice, on my satellite the previous owner did some of his own upgrade to the fromt suspension he liked to have the front of the car super low but it s not my cup of tea so i lifted the front with the torsion bar bolts and after that i tried to redo the alignment of the front tires but i noticed something

On the drive side instead of have the excentric bolt inside the engine bay i have the washer and the nut and inside the tire space the excentric bolt so i cant set up the upper control arm
Today i removed the nut and the washer and the round part with a D hole and tried to push out the excentric bolt but it wouldnt budge probably because of the shocks

Am i in for disassembling the whole front suspension to put the bolt in the proper place or is there a way to extract the bolt without to much hassle ?

Picture of the excentric bolt inside the the front suspension

 

[66 Sat]

What model year is your Satellite?
If you tap the other end of the bolt it should come out, but you might have to take some load off the upper control arm first - I think I had to unwind the torsion bar on that side and jack the lower control arm up slightly to relieve the tension when I replaced one of the bolts (body of car jacked off the chassis, with a separate jack for the lca).
Take the front wheel off too (obviously) to create more room for yourself.

 

[gkent]

The bolts can rust inside the bushing and be a bugger to get out. Spray the thing down with WD40 and let it soak in.

 

[66 Sat]

If it's rusted in there you might be in a whole lot of trouble, as it can spread to the frame rails.
Ask me how I know...

 

[Damien B.]

The bolt isn't rusted at least the part that was sticking out inside the engine bay.
But it was pressed toward the exterior towards the frame probably by the shock absorber still being bolted to the front suspension.

Since I m missing some of the tools to remove the front suspension I guess I ll have to find a workshop in France that is willing to work on a classic

 

[66 Sat]

You only need basic tools - a few spanners and a socket set. Why not buy the tools and do yourself? It will be cheaper in the long run as the tools can be used on the next thing that goes wrong or for basic maintenance.

 

[Damien B.]

I have the socket set a torque wrench but I m missingss stuff like the upper ball joint removal tool but what I m lacking the most is space.
I live in France and the garage I found to park my satellite is just enough to put it in and I have duke of hazzard my way in and out.
I m also not sure I can do that on my own.
If I pop the upper control arm from the shock, will I need to replace the upper ball joint? I don't really want to start something then realize I missing some part.

 

[VFilms]

What model year is your Satellite?
If you tap the other end of the bolt it should come out, but you might have to take some load off the upper control arm first - I think I had to unwind the torsion bar on that side and jack the lower control arm up slightly to relieve the tension when I replaced one of the bolts (body of car jacked off the chassis, with a separate jack for the lca).
Take the front wheel off too (obviously) to create more room for yourself.

66 Sat is correct. I just replaced my upper control arms and obviously had to remove the bolts. However, my suspension has never been altered so this may not apply to your situation.
Bolts and eccentrics slide in from the engine bay and nuts and eccentrics in the wheel well. With the load off the suspension they should just tap out, making sure not to damage the threads - use a wooden block, plastic/rubber mallet. If they do not tap out, as Stanton said they may be rusted inside the bushings. If so, in the British vernacular they can be a bugger to get out. I can provide detailed photos if necessary.

 

[gkent]

You need to get any load off those bolts first - to aid in both removal and reinstall. And for access remove the shock. 1) raise the front and remove the wheel. 2) remove the lower shock nut 3) place blocks under the lower control arm and lower the car to take the load off the suspension 4) remove the shock 5) pound out the eccentric bolt. No special tools required. When you have one bolt out slide a thinner bolt or something in its place to keep the upper control arm from dropping right out.

 

[Damien B.]

Thanks a lot for all those replies
I ll try to work on it next week
I just hope i ll be able to put back the shock properly since i have no idea what the torque specification are, i m scare to over torque or under torque and have the bolt\nuts move

 

[gkent]

30 foot pounds is a fairly safe number for the shock bolts.

 

[Damien B.]

Thanks, i m sorry to ask so many dumb question but prior to owning that satellite i never had any experience in mecanics

 

[Damien B.]

just a quick update
i managed to swap the excentric bolt at the right place
took me a bit of time between removing the battery tray, the shock absorber, dislodging the upper ball joint, releaving the torsion bar then bolting everything back in place.
Thanks to all those who gave me tips on what to do and how to do it.