removing lca

[eran tomer]

hello
the rear bolt of the lca can't come out because of the output shaft flange.
what's the common solution for this problem?

i tried to remove the shaft with a slide hammer but no success.
someone advised to cut the bolt head, remove it and put a new bolt from the opposite direction, but i'll have to order it and who knows when it'll arrive if at all.

meanwhile i got a generic m16x2 bolt but 8.8 grade and no cone tip. will it be ok to use this?

 

[454cid]

8.8 is a lower grade metric bolt. You're going to want a 10.9 like GM used. The cone tip is for assembly on the line, as far as I know. Most of the hardware is designed for fast assembly.

 

[Frank Enstein]

10.9 or 12.9 will work.

 

[Marauder]

I recently had to deal with this myself. What seemed to work for me was I loosened the mounting bolts (axel to frame) for the front axel, removed the 6 bolts holding the inner CV axel and separated so flange can spin, then scrape and wire brush the outer edge clean.
I then floor jacked the axel just enough for the flat of the bolt head to slide out with some help of a orange impact hammer…. The flange rolled over the flats without issue or concerns of damaging anything.

 

[Supercharged111]

I loosened the front diff on the opposite side and removed the bolts on the applicable side to sneak the LCA bolts out. Also undid the CV axle itself. I reinstalled the bolts opposite of factory.

 

[454cid]

10.9 or 12.9 will work.

Are they 12.9 from GM? I should admit that I was assuming 10.9 as that's what most automotive bolts are. I don't actually remember what mine said when I had them out. It's wet out, so I don't really want to go look, right now.

 

[Frank Enstein]

i believe 10.9. i can't imagine stronger would be bad

 

[eran tomer]

gm bolt is 10.9.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

10.9 is metric equivalent of SAE Grade 8. 8.8 is metric equivalent of SAE Grade 5. Anything on suspension, steering, chassis, motor and transmission mounts, etc. should be Grade 8 or equivalent for strength and safety. If factory spec is Grade 8 or 10.9 that's what I would stick with.

gm bolt is 10.9.

 

[Schurkey]

hello
the rear bolt of the lca can't come out because of the output shaft flange.
what's the common solution for this problem?

WHAT VEHICLE?

I pulled the lower control arms off of two K1500s, my '88 and the Treasure Yard truck which was a few years newer--perhaps '92.

I had no problems getting the bolts past the CV flange on the output shafts of the front differential. OTOH, I had zero success getting the torsion bars out of the control arms. I installed ball joints and Polyurethane control arm bushings on the original arms. Separated them from the frame, but still hanging from the torsion bars.

Had to cut the torsion bars to remove the lower arms from the parts truck.

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I've got an 8-lug '97 K2500 that will get lower ball joints and Poly control arm bushings as soon as I work up the ambition. This truck has the larger front differential--which MIGHT mean that the CV flanges on the output shafts stick out farther. Perhaps enough to interfere with removal of the control arm bolts. I'm not really expecting this, I'm just acknowledging that the front differential is different than the K1500s I've dicked with previously.

meanwhile i got a generic m16x2 bolt but 8.8 grade and no cone tip. will it be ok to use this?

The "cone tip" is meaningless other than for assembly ease. You could grind a taper on that bolt assuming it's long enough, and you straighten the threads after grinding. (I wouldn't bother putting a taper on it.)

More concerned about the lack of strength.