pinch bolt:threaded knuckle?

[joe_mn]

2000 protege. tried to remove pinchbolt for ball joint and split my 14mm 6 point socket and rounded off bolt head. got new socket. chewed up bolt a little more but its not wasted yet. i can apply a lot of force but socket wants to skip. is pinch bolt threaded into knuckle? or is it a slip fit inside knuckle. hex nut on backside is getting mashed. bolt thread is still ok. might try new hex nut. another point? is knuckle bolt hole 1/2 threaded and 1/2 slip fit? i have heard the bolt head side is slip and the other end is threaded near the nut?

 

[stealth]

The bolt is not threaded into the knuckle it just slides in. The bolt is 3/4 smooth and the last part is threaded.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

When I did this, I had to douse the thing in PB Blaster. THen I spun the bolt from the head (Sounds like this may not be an option for you anymore) while my father hit a nut on the other end. It is really difficult, even in the best of circumstances. The knuckle is not threaded, it's just super tight. Once you get the bolt out, you still might have to spread the pinch with a a cold chisel before you knock the knuckle out. Hope that helps!

 

[joe_mn]

thanks for the info. the bolt hex is still pretty good shape. i can apply a lot of force to it but don't have impact gun. i can borrow one though. might let a shop do it. i got the new control arm. really hate to be stopped in my tracks.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

the key is to rotate it from the bolt head while striking it on the other end (hitting obviously a threaded nut and not the bolt itself to prevent mushrooming). We worked on it for a long time, and it loosens slowly. I would get a second set of hands for it if I were you. Good luck!

 

[stealth]

I removed mine by loosening the nut and then banging on the nut hard with a hammer. The bolt should slowly slide out. You will probably have to get a new nut and bolt at the dealership after this.

 

[joe_mn]

the nut is totally distorted. the interior nut threads are mashed. but bolt threads look ok. must be optical illusion. i measured the bolt threads. 0.380". nut is 14mm. store has nothing that matches up. 8mm, 10mm. is this a 3/8" bolt? fine pitch? i know the pinch bolt is OEM and to not use a plain bolt in its place.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

I had to buy a nut and bolt for both sides when I did my front wheel bearings...it cost $25 from the dealer. I've never felt so bent over in my life. You might be able to get an extra new nut from them. I would work on getting the bolt to spin in place...once it does that, it will come out with less striking force on the nut end, and the whole process will be easier. Knocking it out is near impossible unless you have loosened all the crud in there by spinning it.

 

[joe_mn]

shop put on the control arm for $70. they are pretty reasonable. they used my new control arm with no objections. some shops don't like user supplied parts. still have clunk though. sway bar end links are next. they wanted to change them out. $240 parts/labor. i will just cut the bolts off. i have a cutoff grinder. don't work so well on the pinchbolt though. napa wanted 44 for the link. the zone has it for 25. and napa will price match.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

Glad you got it done...$70 isn't bad vs all of the work you would have had to do. Definitely do the endlinks yourself. I am going to need to do those eventually as well, and that's my plan.