Subframe stuck

[Cletonius]

Car is a 01/90 325.

I havr the differential and subframe bolts are all removed. The diff will move downward but the subframe is stuck somehow. The bolts are completely out, but it just rocks like they're still connected. Is there anything underneath that I could damage by pulling down on the trailing arms? Is there anything that sticks down once the bolts are removed?

I thought the thing would drop down once those bolts were out? All the diy I read have the bolts get stuck. Mine weren't stuck at all, they popped free easily and weren't corroded. They had the glue on top inside the car so I assume they were original.

[FredK]

Here's how I do it:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showpost.php?p=955671&postcount=87

[jlevie]

If you have driven the subframe bolts up and out of the bushings the only thing left that will hold the subframe up are the inner sleeves of the subframe bushings. Try a prybar on each side to pull the sleeves out of the body.

[Cletonius]

Thanks. The bolts popped out with one hit.

I got some lag bolts to thread into the aluminium. Gonna try that and the prying.

[mr ilia]

Here's how I do it:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...1&postcount=87

This has worked for me very well. Try this first. Use 5/8 lagbolt, just scew this in and hit it with the ling bot or 3/8 wrench extention and the subframe will pop out.
Mine did, and I'm in the rust belt and was on the original bushings.

[Cletonius]

The left side is still stuck in the body, we cut it with a sawzall and removed the subframe without it.

We've been prying on it and using penetrating oil and the thing is still stuck. I don't want to torch because its next to the fuel tank.

Any suggestions?

[Xaq]

I had the very end of the inner sleeve break off in the body, ended up drilling and chiseling it out in pieces.

[Cletonius]

This is what I've got:

[IronFreak]

is the bolt still inside that of just the sleeve?

[JGood]

Yeah, that tends to happen on rusty cars. Just drill/chisel all of that old inner sleeve out. It's a complete PITA.

[Cletonius]

is the bolt still inside that of just the sleeve?

The bolts came out very easily, one hit. They had no corrosion whatsoever on them.

Yeah, that tends to happen on rusty cars. Just drill/chisel all of that old inner sleeve out. It's a complete PITA.

This is really the only issue, everything else has been fairly easy.

Edit: I'm thinking about trying to turn it with a pipe wrench. Good idea/bad idea?

[Madhatter]

got access to a slide hammer or can rent one? if you can get a pair of jaws in there, it would pop it out in a second. Alternative, cutting a thread and screwing in a bolt would have it out pretty quickly, but you might not have taps so you could probably try something like a big wood screw which will have a coarse tapered thread that should bind as you tighten it up. All you need is some twisting motion and I reckon it would pop free.

[Cletonius]

got access to a slide hammer or can rent one? if you can get a pair of jaws in there, it would pop it out in a second. Alternative, cutting a thread and screwing in a bolt would have it out pretty quickly, but you might not have taps so you could probably try something like a big wood screw which will have a coarse tapered thread that should bind as you tighten it up. All you need is some twisting motion and I reckon it would pop free.

That's how I started. I threaded 5/8" lag bolts into the bushings and hit them from above. I'll see if there's enough material left to thread

[wakeboardr42393]

I just did this a few days ago and had the same problem. The subframe was just hanging there with trailing arms attatched. It wouldnt' come off even after prying with pipe and jumping on it and playing with jack with it for a few hours. I searched the internet and found another idea:

First, I popped the bolts out with a hammer, this was easy, just tapped the bolts with regular hammer form the bottom. then, i got a sledgehammer and took some good whacks at the metal part in the bushing after i soaked them in penetrating oil for a bit. (no luck yet, but i feel that this hepled make the next part easier.) then got a piece of solid steel rod about 10-20 inches long, that would fit inside of the metal part of the bushing, stuck it about halfway in from the bottom side (no pun intended:dot:), and just pushed and pulled on the rod with all my might. after and few pushes and pulls, I saw some movement. so i just went to town pushing and pulling forcefully in alternating directions for a minute or 2, and it got progressively looser, having more movement, and finally fell out.

it wasn't very difficuly or time consuming using this method, after i figured it out. :). I tried this way because i already had a steel rod that fit pretty good.

[Cletonius]

I ended up getting it out.

I broke off as much as I could with a chisel, then a ran a small drill into the aluminium. I then used a screwdriver and mallet to break out the bushing.

Once it was out we examined it. Looks like the installation glue from above managed to work its way into there somehow. Its clearly a tan glue like what was on top of the bolts inside the car.

Reassembly this weekend. Any harm in putting some antiseize in there ?