[Q] - Best way to remove lower bolt for rear lower A-arm?

[FlameRed]

Hi there. Another opportunity for you guys to mock me.

I am planning on installing a rear winch. I have the m998 WINCH MOUNTING PLATE 12469385 REAR 5340-01-485-5962



I assume the rear lower a-arm bolt goes to the the yellow arrows. I don't have much of a shop, and I am old and feeble. I remember when I did the front hitch I used four jacks to get the front lower a-arm bolt off and I almost killed myself doing it. So I can image what I am in for for these two rears.

What is the recommended way to get these two bolts off easily without special humvee tools, without a lift, and without killing myself in the process. Is it possible to rent a set of spring compressors, or maybe I'll buy the right compressor tool if that is the best way. If so, which one? To be honest it does not look like to me there is a lot of room there to mount and compress those springs.

Any tricks for someone like me that does not have a full shop?



Thanks in advance!

 

[Mogman]

I just drive the old bolt out with a new one and put the nut on the rear, always on the lift so I don't know if that makes any difference but they drive out fairly easily.
The TM calls for a 3/4-10X4.75" of course grade 8 or better.
EDIT, I just measured the ones I have in stock for that purpose and they are 5"
I use a brass hammer to knock the OEM bolt flush then just drive in the new bolt.
If the new bolt tries to hang up just short of passing all the way through I just turn it and it will "thread" its way though.

 

[Mogman]

Then you drill holes in the air lift brackets if they are not already there.

 

[Mogman]

Also you should run a big ground cable from the winch to ether the shunt in the battery box or the engine block/starter ground stud.
The frame in not normally intentionally grounded, if you use the frame for a ground without addressing that you will pass all the winch current though the parking brake cables, brake lines, U joints, diff and T/C bearings, not good...

 

[Coonass77]

I just drive the old bolt out with a new one and put the nut on the rear, always on the lift so I don't know if that makes any difference but they drive out fairly easily.
The TM calls for a 3/4-10X4.75" of course grade 8 or better.
EDIT, I just measured the ones I have in stock for that purpose and they are 5"
I use a brass hammer to knock the OEM bolt flush then just drive in the new bolt.
If the new bolt tries to hang up just short of passing all the way through I just turn it and it will "thread" its way though.

This is exactly what I did when I installed my rear winch plate, except that I also used a floor jack and some random scraps of wood to lift (ever so slightly) against the a-arm (but not the frame) to relieve some of the pressure on the bolt. You're lifting against the angle of the a-arm, so it takes a little creativity to get it cribbed just right, and it took a few tries but i was able to find a sweet spot where the original bolt could "almost" be pushed out by hand with the new bolt.

 

[Coug]

When I did my fronts, I used a large impact driver to spin it while gently tapping on it to get it started, so I wasn't fighting against the friction so much. Once it got far enough, I used the new bolt from the other side to drive it through.

 

[Mogman]

Oh yes, I forgot.
Do not tighten any suspension bushing bolt until the entire weight is back on the suspension, tightening the bolts when the suspension is hanging free is a mistake, it puts the bushings in a bind under normal loading which will make the ride much stiffer and drastically shorten the life of the bushings.

 

[NDT]

Nobody should be mocking you on this forum. That is a very legitimate question. I did mine like Mogman described.

 

[TNDRIVER]

Hi there. Another opportunity for you guys to mock me.

I am planning on installing a rear winch. I have the m998 WINCH MOUNTING PLATE 12469385 REAR 5340-01-485-5962

View attachment 909742

I assume the rear lower a-arm bolt goes to the the yellow arrows. I don't have much of a shop, and I am old and feeble. I remember when I did the front hitch I used four jacks to get the front lower a-arm bolt off and I almost killed myself doing it. So I can image what I am in for for these two rears.

What is the recommended way to get these two bolts off easily without special humvee tools, without a lift, and without killing myself in the process. Is it possible to rent a set of spring compressors, or maybe I'll buy the right compressor tool if that is the best way. If so, which one? To be honest it does not look like to me there is a lot of room there to mount and compress those springs.

Any tricks for someone like me that does not have a full shop?

View attachment 909743

Thanks in advance!

I might add.......... you need an air or battery impact wrench(beg, rent, buy). Loosen the nut and then spin the daylights out of the bolt first one way and then the other a couple of times. This will loosen/pulverise the corrosion and make the "drifting" the bolt out MUCH easier. I see you are committed to an electric winch, a 12000 mile marker fits in that hole just fine and it's a beast. For whats its worth I have very experienced hands also, been around for a while. Good luck and finished pics please.

 

[Mogman]

I just put the DuraVee a 93 M998 up on the lift to install a front mount 12K MileMarker hydraulic winch on a modified rear mount and got a good look around.
As the TM states the rear bolts are 3/4-10X4.75" so you will need to get some 5" bolts as there just would not be enough threads out of the nut to be effective.
The front ones however are already 5" seems AMG already had something in mind to mount to the front control arm bolts.