Aveo in Lansing MI USA

[odypilots]

After another attempt with the breaker bar on the front bolt, I took Chaveo to a local shop. I didn't have the torches and welding equipment to finish what I knew would be a broken off bolt. Sure enough, they tried all their rusty bolt "break loose" tricks, then broke it off trying to get it out. They did the 'cut the sub frame to get access to the nut, cut that out, welded a new nut in, welded up the sub frame' thing. $331 labor. $55 of that was for the front end alignment.

Being Friday, they asked me to come get it with only the driver's side done, and they'd finish the other side when I was ready, that the bushing wasn't worn out, yet. I talked quite a while with the mechanic who did the work, and he said he would approach the other side completely differently, knowing what he does, now.

He said the main problem wasn't the bolt threads in the nut being rusted, that it was the bolt being corroded to the metal sleeve that runs through the rubber bushing. He would cut the control arm off the front mount without breaking off the bolt, peel the remaining control arm and rubber bushing off the bolt, then attempt to break the bolt and sleeve loose. If that failed, he'd rip down the length of the sleeve and peel it off the bolt. He feels the bolt would come out then, removing the need to cut up through the sub frame to get to, cut off, and re weld the nut there.