Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 13:57:33 -0400, micky
wrote:


Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms

http://www.justanswer.com/car/

On 2014-10-17, micky wrote:

Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms


http://parts.bernarditoyota.com/part...iagram=8513645

Describe what you are doing using the numbers on the diagram. I am
guessing you're replacing control arm #8 and #11 is the problem part?
There's not enough detail in these drawings of the fasteners. You'll
neeed to provide photos.

micky wrote:
Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms

Sounds like you need a set of through hole sockets. Those are shallow
compared to normal sockets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw-ihOjjF1o

These are ok for those once a year use items.
http://www.harborfreight.com/21-pc-s...set-67974.html


--
Steve W.

On 10/17/2014 1:57 PM, micky wrote:

Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms

Maybe you can put the jacks and stands in different place,
to let the nut and bolt down.

Alternatively, you may need to use a hole saw and cut some
metal from above, and make your own hole. So you can get
at the nut from above.

I changed a fuel pump on my Blazer one time, saw through
the back floor.

No real experience with this, just guessing.

-
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 15:12:10 -0400, "Steve W."
wrote:

micky wrote:
Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

BTW, when I realized I couldn't get the bolt off, I tried hammering on
it with a mini-sledge, in order to bend it back straight. I could
easily hit the right spot and it would have worked if only it had bent.
I gave it a lot of good whacks. Then I tried a full size sledge, at
least 4 times as heavy, maybe 6, but I couldn't swing it as well.

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

To cut away part of the soup bowl. But see below the problem that
might leave.

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms

And I couldn't find any text instructions on this repair either.

Sounds like you need a set of through hole sockets. Those are shallow
compared to normal sockets.

Plus iiuc no space is used by the ratchet handle, right? I've seen
these, I think, but it never occurred to me to use it here. Yet it
might just work. And 19MM is included in the set.

I'm going to go get them tomorrow or Sunday. Maybe I should call to see
if they're in stock. The webpage doesn't say. Maybe I should print out
the webpage to get the sale price (22 from 32).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw-ihOjjF1o

These are ok for those once a year use items.

Exactly. If I use them so much that they break, I'll know if it's worth
buying a quality version, or not.

http://www.harborfreight.com/21-pc-s...set-67974.html

...... After my initial enthusiasm, possible reality is setting in. I
reread the shop manual, and it could go either way.

The FSM says, just to remove the the forward lateral control arm, to
first:

Disconnect the O2 sensor on the center exhaust pipe.
Disconnect both ends of the center exhaust pipe, and remove it.
Disconnect both ends of the strut rods (trailing control arms) on both
sides of the car (although possibly one could only disconnect one
end and let it dangle).
Disconnect both ends of the rear control arms (which they call the No. 2
lower Suspension arms.) although here too maybe I could just
disconnect it from the center plate.
Remove the stabilizer bar brackets on both sides (though here they say
nothing about disconnecting the bar from the knuckles, which sort of
implies that above the arms have to be fully removed.)
Support the suspension member with a floor jack. (The susp. member is a
thick plate or a sandwich in the middle of the car that the control
arms and stabilizer bar attach to.
Remove the suspension member (4 nuts, 2 bolts, and 8 stoppers!)
Lower the suspension member.

Only then can one remove the forward control arm.

Acc. to them. (You can see why I didn't want to do all that.)

But I've learned that shop manuals often make things harder than they
should be. (1) One GM car I had, the FSM said to use a press to remove
and replace lug bolts, but the guy at Atlantic Wheel and Rim told me no
one does that. They remove it with a drift and a hammer, and the
install it by putting on a lug nut and tightening it! And I did that
and it took only a few minutes and worked fine. 2) And it said to
remove the rear half axle (RWD, '67 Pontiac Cataline) one should use an
axle puller. Well my bearing started rumbling when I was 2 hours from
home, and even at home I didn't have an axle puller, but I unbolted it
and it came out like a hot knife through butter. I pulled no harder
than if it were lying on a hardwood floor. 3) And one guy on the web
yesterday was led by Toyota manuals or webpages to think he had to
remove the steering wheel and the air bag to change the bushings on a
front contorl arm. In reality he only had to loosen a couple bolts and
move the rack a little bit.)

OTOH, the drawing shows the bolt that attaches the center end of the
control arm I need to replace, shows it to be quite long, meaning maybe
that even if the wrench above loosens it, I won't be able to back it out
far enough to remove it. (Don't worry, I'm going to try anyhow, but
what I think will happen is that I will break the wrench. I know I'll
need a cheater bar, but I may also have to hit it with a mini-sledge.)

Now I suspect that the soup bowl that surrounds the head of the bolt is
there precisely so no one will try to remove the bolt before he lowers
the suspension member in the middle below the obstacle that is now
preventing me from using a simple 1/2" or 1" socket wrench.

And this certainly accounts for why the dealer wants $210 labor. Now
what is strange is that Firestone is so cheap, only 1.1 hours and $121
labor. Can even a good mechanic really disconnect all those things
above, replace the control arm, and then connect them all again in 66
minutes? I guess I'm still thinking of hand tules, but an air wrench
makes things go a lot faster.

So if I can't do this with the wrench above, I could go to Firestone,
but they will insist on buying the part from Toyota. Even if I bought
it from Toyota 2 days earlier and had the receipt for it, they said they
wouldn't use my part. So they certainly won't use the junk yard part.
I'm going to ask them, If I sign away the warranty on the rear end, will
they do it then? What if I buy the 170 dollar lifetime wheel
alignment too? This control arm is as good as new and they should all
be able to see that.

Or I'll try to find an independant shop that won't have such strict
rules, and will let me sign away the warranty on the rear.

Or I could go to Toyota, who want $158 for the part and $210 for labor.
Same decision I had before, except I'll have wasted $50 on a part I'll
never use. But no more than 50.

"micky" wrote:

Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/rep...00c15280092983

3 arms...
One runs front-to-back.
Two run side-to-side.
If it's the front of the two side-to-side arms (#1), then as the page above shows,
you need to remove everything else, then drop the "suspension member", the
subframe thing in the middle that all the side-to-side arms connect to.
Have fun.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 18:53:54 +0000 (UTC), Brent
wrote:

On 2014-10-17, micky wrote:

Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms


http://parts.bernarditoyota.com/part...iagram=8513645

Describe what you are doing using the numbers on the diagram. I am

What a clever idea, and thanks for finding this page for me.

guessing you're replacing control arm #8 and #11 is the problem part?

Not a bad guess. But no. I'm replacing #2, which this page (and
probably Toyota in general) calls the Ft. (Front) Lateral Arm**. It
goes from close to the center of the car to the wheel knuckle. It's the
bolt near the center which is the problem, part #4. Which screws into
#25, the suspension cross member.

**Some places call this the "forward" arm, which I think is a better
choice than front, since it's in the rear. There is, as you know and as
the picture shows, also a rear arm. *Lateral* arm is not a bad choice
of words, given its position from middle to side, but the same rod is
often called the locating arm and the control arm. So then it would be
the forward rear control arm.


BTW, part #8 is called the trailing arm, even though Toyota just calls
it the strut rod. I'm not sure why it's called "trailing" since it's in
front of the axle, but maybe when the axle goes down, it follows. Same
thing when the axle goes up. So it's trailing. Maybe.

I found a good page that didn't say how to take this off, and the author
wasn't talking esp. about Toyota, but he did go into the use of the
trailing arm for suspension. It said the pro's were that it was cheap
to make, and didn't handle too badly, but the cons were that it took a
lot of space away from the trunk (does it really?), and it didn't handle
that well either, esp. iirc on curves. One wouldn't want this style on
a performance car he said.

There's not enough detail in these drawings of the fasteners. You'll
neeed to provide photos.

I should have taken pictures, but I may be trying again tomorrow or
Sunday. (I sort of gave up today and put the car on the ground about
4PM)

Please read my reply to Steve, to see different aspects of the problem.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 21:58:31 -0700, "Sanity Clause"
wrote:


"micky" wrote:

Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I

I think it's a heat shield for some part of the exhaust system.**

would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/rep...00c15280092983

This is loading now. I looked and couldn't find something like this.
Thanks. (I have to remember how good Autozone is on instructions. )

3 arms...
One runs front-to-back.
Two run side-to-side.
If it's the front of the two side-to-side arms (#1),

That's right.

then as the page above shows,
you need to remove everything else, then drop the "suspension member", the
subframe thing in the middle that all the side-to-side arms connect to.
Have fun.

I don't want to do all that. :-( Every bolt will be stuck The way
they say to do it, there will be 18 of them, plus 4 more rusty ones if I
have to remove the center exhaust pipe, and I bet I do. (Yep, it's in
the webpage you just gave me.) Plus I'll have to replace the gasket at
each end of the pipe. I wonder if the pro's really do all that.
If so, it makes $121 or 210 (Firestone or Toyota), labor only, look
rather like a bargain.

There's so much to do, so many parts to put back in the right spot,I
don't want to take it to any but the most organized, clean shop, where
I'll feel some confidence they'll get it right.


**I have the shop manual, and it shows three areas of swelling in the
pipe from the engine to the tail pipe, but even in the exhaust system
section (2 pages) none are labeled. I figure the last one is the
muffler and the one before that is the cat. conveter (though I thought
those were wider and flat, but I guess they don't have to be.)

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 17:34:45 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 10/17/2014 1:57 PM, micky wrote:

Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms

Maybe you can put the jacks and stands in different place,
to let the nut and bolt down.

Alternatively, you may need to use a hole saw and cut some
metal from above, and make your own hole. So you can get
at the nut from above.

I changed a fuel pump on my Blazer one time, saw through
the back floor.

No real experience with this, just guessing.

I"m still ignorant and curious about what it is that the bolt will back
into if I pull it out. I'll try to figure it out tomorrow.

Plumbing supply store, 10AM.

Finish paper pattern for convertible rear window 11:30 AM.
Transfer paper pattern to make plastic pattern. (What do you call the
material that all those signs strapped to tellephone poles and on wires
stuck in the ground are made of? By people who have no respect for
public property. They start off as white, two layers with parallel
ribs of the same material every eighth of an inch.
Test plastic pattern in the window opening. Trim it to fit better.
Think about transferring plastic pattern to lexan sheet.

Plant bush before it gets too cold, if it's not already. 63 tomorrow.
I bought the bush to replace a rose bush my neighbor mowed down, by
accident. But then I saw two or three inches of one stem still there,
and it even sprouted one flower, so I can't plant the new one there, and
I don't like any of the other spots.

Sidewalk has heaved again, 8 years since the last time. Mailwoman
may trip this winter. When I have time, lift it up with 2x4's, use 2x4's
like oars (no kidding) to move it to the side, and rest it on 4x4's, so
I can cut out whatever root is lifting it. (I thought I got them
permanently 8 years ago.) Then put it back. 10 years ago I had the
lifting out down to less than 10 minutes, and the returning down to 5,
doing it by myself. (Though the first time I did it, it took about 2
hours.) A visting cement contractor got one of his guys to cut the
two square piece of sidewalk to two one-square pieces. Still very
heavy.
-
.
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

Sounds like you need a set of through hole sockets. Those are shallow
compared to normal sockets.

In a pinch, these can be made from cheap normal sockets on a bench grinder.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Scott Dorsey wrote:
Sounds like you need a set of through hole sockets. Those are shallow
compared to normal sockets.

In a pinch, these can be made from cheap normal sockets on a bench grinder.
--scott


Somewhat. The ones I have are about the same thickness as a common
socket with no ratchet. They are real handy for tight spots.

I figured they were a gimmick. 'Till I bought a set....

--
Steve W.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 13:57:33 -0400, micky
wrote:


Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms
If the nut is "fixed in place" perhaps you don't need a wrench at all
- just crank the bolt out. If the nut DOES turn, you need an offset
box wrench. Harbor freight Pittsburgh - item#32042 gets you a full
set 6-22 mm for about $15.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 18:53:54 +0000 (UTC), Brent
wrote:

On 2014-10-17, micky wrote:

Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms


http://parts.bernarditoyota.com/part...iagram=8513645

Describe what you are doing using the numbers on the diagram. I am
guessing you're replacing control arm #8 and #11 is the problem part?
There's not enough detail in these drawings of the fasteners. You'll
neeed to provide photos.

I'll bet it's 9 and 10. You use a socket on 9 and 10 is kept from
turning by it's design.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 01:02:33 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 18:53:54 +0000 (UTC), Brent
wrote:

On 2014-10-17, micky wrote:

Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

It is the "lateral arm - front"

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

OK - you NEED an offset box wrench

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms


http://parts.bernarditoyota.com/part...iagram=8513645

Describe what you are doing using the numbers on the diagram. I am

What a clever idea, and thanks for finding this page for me.

guessing you're replacing control arm #8 and #11 is the problem part?

Not a bad guess. But no. I'm replacing #2, which this page (and
probably Toyota in general) calls the Ft. (Front) Lateral Arm**. It
goes from close to the center of the car to the wheel knuckle. It's the
bolt near the center which is the problem, part #4. Which screws into
#25, the suspension cross member.

**Some places call this the "forward" arm, which I think is a better
choice than front, since it's in the rear. There is, as you know and as
the picture shows, also a rear arm. *Lateral* arm is not a bad choice
of words, given its position from middle to side, but the same rod is
often called the locating arm and the control arm. So then it would be
the forward rear control arm.


BTW, part #8 is called the trailing arm, even though Toyota just calls
it the strut rod. I'm not sure why it's called "trailing" since it's in
front of the axle, but maybe when the axle goes down, it follows. Same
thing when the axle goes up. So it's trailing. Maybe.

It is "trailing" because it trails from the pivot, connecting the
"axle" behind the suspension pivot - so "trailing arm" is technically
correct.

I found a good page that didn't say how to take this off, and the author
wasn't talking esp. about Toyota, but he did go into the use of the
trailing arm for suspension. It said the pro's were that it was cheap
to make, and didn't handle too badly, but the cons were that it took a
lot of space away from the trunk (does it really?), and it didn't handle
that well either, esp. iirc on curves. One wouldn't want this style on
a performance car he said.
The big advantage is extremely low unsprung weight.- which makes for a
good ride - and depending on design it can produce a VERY low roll
center - which makes for good cornering handling. The big drawback is
it is so light it bends easily when abused - which is also a strong
point because IT bends before the chassis or unibody (generally, if
you are lucky)
There's not enough detail in these drawings of the fasteners. You'll
neeed to provide photos.

I should have taken pictures, but I may be trying again tomorrow or
Sunday. (I sort of gave up today and put the car on the ground about
4PM)

Please read my reply to Steve, to see different aspects of the problem.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 00:46:08 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 15:12:10 -0400, "Steve W."
wrote:

micky wrote:
Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

BTW, when I realized I couldn't get the bolt off, I tried hammering on
it with a mini-sledge, in order to bend it back straight. I could
easily hit the right spot and it would have worked if only it had bent.
I gave it a lot of good whacks. Then I tried a full size sledge, at
least 4 times as heavy, maybe 6, but I couldn't swing it as well.

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

To cut away part of the soup bowl. But see below the problem that
might leave.

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms

And I couldn't find any text instructions on this repair either.

Sounds like you need a set of through hole sockets. Those are shallow
compared to normal sockets.

Plus iiuc no space is used by the ratchet handle, right? I've seen
these, I think, but it never occurred to me to use it here. Yet it
might just work. And 19MM is included in the set.

I'm going to go get them tomorrow or Sunday. Maybe I should call to see
if they're in stock. The webpage doesn't say. Maybe I should print out
the webpage to get the sale price (22 from 32).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw-ihOjjF1o

These are ok for those once a year use items.

Exactly. If I use them so much that they break, I'll know if it's worth
buying a quality version, or not.

http://www.harborfreight.com/21-pc-s...set-67974.html

..... After my initial enthusiasm, possible reality is setting in. I
reread the shop manual, and it could go either way.

The FSM says, just to remove the the forward lateral control arm, to
first:

Disconnect the O2 sensor on the center exhaust pipe.
Disconnect both ends of the center exhaust pipe, and remove it.
Disconnect both ends of the strut rods (trailing control arms) on both
sides of the car (although possibly one could only disconnect one
end and let it dangle).
Disconnect both ends of the rear control arms (which they call the No. 2
lower Suspension arms.) although here too maybe I could just
disconnect it from the center plate.
Remove the stabilizer bar brackets on both sides (though here they say
nothing about disconnecting the bar from the knuckles, which sort of
implies that above the arms have to be fully removed.)
Support the suspension member with a floor jack. (The susp. member is a
thick plate or a sandwich in the middle of the car that the control
arms and stabilizer bar attach to.
Remove the suspension member (4 nuts, 2 bolts, and 8 stoppers!)
Lower the suspension member.

Only then can one remove the forward control arm.

Acc. to them. (You can see why I didn't want to do all that.)

By jove, they are right. That bolt is about 4 or 5 inches long and you
only have about an inch and a half of space to get it out before you
hit what - the floor?? The only way to get it out without dropping the
crossmember would be to make a hole in the floor, lined up with the
bolt, to extract the bolt through - which would allow you in with a
socket and extention to remove the bolt.

You are stuck.

But I've learned that shop manuals often make things harder than they
should be. (1) One GM car I had, the FSM said to use a press to remove
and replace lug bolts, but the guy at Atlantic Wheel and Rim told me no
one does that. They remove it with a drift and a hammer, and the
install it by putting on a lug nut and tightening it! And I did that
and it took only a few minutes and worked fine. 2) And it said to
remove the rear half axle (RWD, '67 Pontiac Cataline) one should use an
axle puller. Well my bearing started rumbling when I was 2 hours from
home, and even at home I didn't have an axle puller, but I unbolted it
and it came out like a hot knife through butter. I pulled no harder
than if it were lying on a hardwood floor. 3) And one guy on the web
yesterday was led by Toyota manuals or webpages to think he had to
remove the steering wheel and the air bag to change the bushings on a
front contorl arm. In reality he only had to loosen a couple bolts and
move the rack a little bit.)

OTOH, the drawing shows the bolt that attaches the center end of the
control arm I need to replace, shows it to be quite long, meaning maybe
that even if the wrench above loosens it, I won't be able to back it out
far enough to remove it. (Don't worry, I'm going to try anyhow, but
what I think will happen is that I will break the wrench. I know I'll
need a cheater bar, but I may also have to hit it with a mini-sledge.)

Now I suspect that the soup bowl that surrounds the head of the bolt is
there precisely so no one will try to remove the bolt before he lowers
the suspension member in the middle below the obstacle that is now
preventing me from using a simple 1/2" or 1" socket wrench.

And this certainly accounts for why the dealer wants $210 labor. Now
what is strange is that Firestone is so cheap, only 1.1 hours and $121
labor. Can even a good mechanic really disconnect all those things
above, replace the control arm, and then connect them all again in 66
minutes? I guess I'm still thinking of hand tules, but an air wrench
makes things go a lot faster.

So if I can't do this with the wrench above, I could go to Firestone,
but they will insist on buying the part from Toyota. Even if I bought
it from Toyota 2 days earlier and had the receipt for it, they said they
wouldn't use my part. So they certainly won't use the junk yard part.
I'm going to ask them, If I sign away the warranty on the rear end, will
they do it then? What if I buy the 170 dollar lifetime wheel
alignment too? This control arm is as good as new and they should all
be able to see that.

Or I'll try to find an independant shop that won't have such strict
rules, and will let me sign away the warranty on the rear.

Or I could go to Toyota, who want $158 for the part and $210 for labor.
Same decision I had before, except I'll have wasted $50 on a part I'll
never use. But no more than 50.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 17:34:45 -0400, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 10/17/2014 1:57 PM, micky wrote:

Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms

Maybe you can put the jacks and stands in different place,
to let the nut and bolt down.

Alternatively, you may need to use a hole saw and cut some
metal from above, and make your own hole. So you can get
at the nut from above.

I changed a fuel pump on my Blazer one time, saw through
the back floor.

No real experience with this, just guessing.

-
.
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
It's not a nut he has to reach or remove. It is a long bolt. No
clearance to get a socket on means NO WAY to get the bolt out - except
drop the crossmember or cut a hole in the body where it interferes.
Cut a nice hole with a hole saw and you can get a rubber plug to fit
it to close it up when you are done.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 01:42:10 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 21:58:31 -0700, "Sanity Clause"
wrote:


"micky" wrote:

Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I

I think it's a heat shield for some part of the exhaust system.**

would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/rep...00c15280092983

This is loading now. I looked and couldn't find something like this.
Thanks. (I have to remember how good Autozone is on instructions. )

3 arms...
One runs front-to-back.
Two run side-to-side.
If it's the front of the two side-to-side arms (#1),

That's right.

then as the page above shows,
you need to remove everything else, then drop the "suspension member", the
subframe thing in the middle that all the side-to-side arms connect to.
Have fun.

I don't want to do all that. :-( Every bolt will be stuck The way
they say to do it, there will be 18 of them, plus 4 more rusty ones if I
have to remove the center exhaust pipe, and I bet I do. (Yep, it's in
the webpage you just gave me.) Plus I'll have to replace the gasket at
each end of the pipe. I wonder if the pro's really do all that.
If so, it makes $121 or 210 (Firestone or Toyota), labor only, look
rather like a bargain.

There's so much to do, so many parts to put back in the right spot,I
don't want to take it to any but the most organized, clean shop, where
I'll feel some confidence they'll get it right.


**I have the shop manual, and it shows three areas of swelling in the
pipe from the engine to the tail pipe, but even in the exhaust system
section (2 pages) none are labeled. I figure the last one is the
muffler and the one before that is the cat. conveter (though I thought
those were wider and flat, but I guess they don't have to be.)
Looking at the picture on the link above, the GAS TANK is in the way
on the left side, and the exhaust heat sheild AND the gas tank are in
the way on the right side. You are "screwed". In a PINCH you could
possibly cut the head off the bolt, remove the bolt from the back
(nut) side and reinstall a new bolt the way it would have made sense
in the first place - but I suspect the spare tire well gets in the way
there. Removing the gas tank is another alternative way to get the
bolt out. I think paying someone $200 would be a bargain for you at
this point.

On 10/18/2014 1:03 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
Sounds like you need a set of through hole sockets. Those are shallow
compared to normal sockets.

In a pinch, these can be made from cheap normal sockets on a bench grinder.
--scott

He said box and open end didn't work.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 18 Oct 2014 13:03:09 -0400, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

Sounds like you need a set of through hole sockets. Those are shallow
compared to normal sockets.

In a pinch, these can be made from cheap normal sockets on a bench grinder.
--scott

If the goal is to get through the hole, but what i livk about thes is
that they barely thicker than a normal socket is long. I bought a set
this monring. Thanks Steve. (The web page says regularly 32, but at
the store, they were marked the same as the web, 22. I didn't need to
print the webpage, which is good since i couldn't get my printer to
work.) I think I will likely ruin the ratchet, but they say they have a
lifetime guarantee. It was one thing to guarantee Craftsman and
probably Snap-On, etc. But what I can't help thinking is that this is
junk?

As the bolt comes out, the wrench will be pushed up (that is, forwards).
The bolt head is too big to go through the hole, but at that point I
think I'll be able to use a regular open end wrench**.

But I think I won't be able to loosen the bolt without a cheater bar,
and I'll break the ratchet when I use a cheater bar. And if not, the
bolt will be too long to come out (although in the dealer parts
department computer exploded view for another part I needed, the picture
of the bolt was much longer than the bolt was). I've started
thinking I don't have to remove all those control arms, just the 4 bolts
and 2 nuts and 8 stops holding that center plate on, and it might fall
enough to get this bolt out. But that too seems like a lot of work
with a chance of success at maybe 1/3.

**I also keep forgetting that somewhere I acquired a couple metric box
ratchets, less than a half inch thick everywhere, that don't use a
separate ratchet. It's built into the wrench, and the hole is the same
size as the bolt head. I have to check if I have this size.

"micky" wrote in message
news
On 18 Oct 2014 13:03:09 -0400, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

Sounds like you need a set of through hole sockets. Those are shallow
compared to normal sockets.

In a pinch, these can be made from cheap normal sockets on a bench
grinder.
--scott

If the goal is to get through the hole, but what i livk about thes is
that they barely thicker than a normal socket is long. I bought a set
this monring. Thanks Steve. (The web page says regularly 32, but at
the store, they were marked the same as the web, 22. I didn't need to
print the webpage, which is good since i couldn't get my printer to
work.) I think I will likely ruin the ratchet, but they say they have a
lifetime guarantee. It was one thing to guarantee Craftsman and
probably Snap-On, etc. But what I can't help thinking is that this is
junk?

As the bolt comes out, the wrench will be pushed up (that is, forwards).
The bolt head is too big to go through the hole, but at that point I
think I'll be able to use a regular open end wrench**.

But I think I won't be able to loosen the bolt without a cheater bar,
and I'll break the ratchet when I use a cheater bar.

that is what a breaker bar is for, with or without the cheater bar as
needed.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:33:48 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 01:42:10 -0400, micky
wrote:

**I have the shop manual, and it shows three areas of swelling in the
pipe from the engine to the tail pipe, but even in the exhaust system
section (2 pages) none are labeled. I figure the last one is the
muffler and the one before that is the cat. conveter (though I thought
those were wider and flat, but I guess they don't have to be.)

Looking at the picture on the link above, the GAS TANK is in the way
on the left side, and the exhaust heat sheild AND the gas tank are in
the way on the right side. You are "screwed". In a PINCH you could
possibly cut the head off the bolt, remove the bolt from the back
(nut) side and reinstall a new bolt the way it would have made sense
in the first place - but I suspect the spare tire well gets in the way
there. Removing the gas tank is another alternative way to get the
bolt out. I think paying someone $200 would be a bargain for you at
this point.

That makes me feel better. (I love a bargain.)

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:17:20 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 01:02:33 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 18:53:54 +0000 (UTC), Brent
wrote:

On 2014-10-17, micky wrote:

Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

It is the "lateral arm - front"

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

OK - you NEED an offset box wrench


(The nut is fixed in place, and I don't have a cutting torch. )

BTW, so far, all the videos are for front control arms


http://parts.bernarditoyota.com/part...iagram=8513645

Describe what you are doing using the numbers on the diagram. I am

What a clever idea, and thanks for finding this page for me.

guessing you're replacing control arm #8 and #11 is the problem part?

Not a bad guess. But no. I'm replacing #2, which this page (and
probably Toyota in general) calls the Ft. (Front) Lateral Arm**. It
goes from close to the center of the car to the wheel knuckle. It's the
bolt near the center which is the problem, part #4. Which screws into
#25, the suspension cross member.

**Some places call this the "forward" arm, which I think is a better
choice than front, since it's in the rear. There is, as you know and as
the picture shows, also a rear arm. *Lateral* arm is not a bad choice
of words, given its position from middle to side, but the same rod is
often called the locating arm and the control arm. So then it would be
the forward rear control arm.


BTW, part #8 is called the trailing arm, even though Toyota just calls
it the strut rod. I'm not sure why it's called "trailing" since it's in
front of the axle, but maybe when the axle goes down, it follows. Same
thing when the axle goes up. So it's trailing. Maybe.

It is "trailing" because it trails from the pivot, connecting the
"axle" behind the suspension pivot - so "trailing arm" is technically
correct.

I get it now.

I found a good page that didn't say how to take this off, and the author
wasn't talking esp. about Toyota, but he did go into the use of the
trailing arm for suspension. It said the pro's were that it was cheap
to make, and didn't handle too badly, but the cons were that it took a
lot of space away from the trunk (does it really?), and it didn't handle
that well either, esp. iirc on curves. One wouldn't want this style on
a performance car he said.
The big advantage is extremely low unsprung weight.- which makes for a
good ride - and depending on design it can produce a VERY low roll
center - which makes for good cornering handling. The big drawback is
it is so light it bends easily when abused - which is also a strong
point because IT bends before the chassis or unibody (generally, if
you are lucky)

I was thinking about that, and I'm glad to hear that I figured right. I
hope that is the case for me.

There's not enough detail in these drawings of the fasteners. You'll
neeed to provide photos.

I should have taken pictures, but I may be trying again tomorrow or
Sunday. (I sort of gave up today and put the car on the ground about
4PM)

Please read my reply to Steve, to see different aspects of the problem.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:22:00 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 00:46:08 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 15:12:10 -0400, "Steve W."
wrote:

micky wrote:
Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

Please note important question marked by ####### below. Thanks in
advance. Since one answer means I'm done, I've taken the liberty of
emailing you too. I hope you don't mind.

BTW, when I realized I couldn't get the bolt off, I tried hammering on
it with a mini-sledge, in order to bend it back straight. I could

I bumped into a neighbor tonight who lives about 250 feet away and who I
think was inside at the time, who said he could hear me pounding on the
car. He also said someone on the next block could hear me.

I kept imagining it was getting straighter, so I'd rest and start
hitting it again, but it didn't unbend at all.

easily hit the right spot and it would have worked if only it had bent.
I gave it a lot of good whacks. Then I tried a full size sledge, at
least 4 times as heavy, maybe 6, but I couldn't swing it as well.

I once, using a sledge hammer, largely straightened out a chain link
fence that had been bent by a falling tree, and that I figured was
harder, because the chain links would move back when I hit them. But
the metal was a lot softer.


I'm going to go get them tomorrow or Sunday. Maybe I should call to see
if they're in stock. The webpage doesn't say. Maybe I should print out
the webpage to get the sale price (22 from 32).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw-ihOjjF1o
.....

..... After my initial enthusiasm, possible reality is setting in. I
reread the shop manual, and it could go either way.

The FSM says, just to remove the the forward lateral control arm, to
first:

Disconnect the O2 sensor on the center exhaust pipe.
Disconnect both ends of the center exhaust pipe, and remove it.
Disconnect both ends of the strut rods (trailing control arms) on both
sides of the car (although possibly one could only disconnect one
end and let it dangle).
Disconnect both ends of the rear control arms (which they call the No. 2
lower Suspension arms.) although here too maybe I could just
disconnect it from the center plate.
Remove the stabilizer bar brackets on both sides (though here they say
nothing about disconnecting the bar from the knuckles, which sort of
implies that above the arms have to be fully removed.)
Support the suspension member with a floor jack. (The susp. member is a
thick plate or a sandwich in the middle of the car that the control
arms and stabilizer bar attach to.
Remove the suspension member (4 nuts, 2 bolts, and 8 stoppers!)
Lower the suspension member.

Only then can one remove the forward control arm.

Acc. to them. (You can see why I didn't want to do all that.)

By jove, they are right. That bolt is about 4 or 5 inches long and you

#######
It really is? You're not just going by the picture? You know that?


Because if it's that long and I can't cut a hole in the floor, which I
probably can't, I should quit now.


only have about an inch and a half of space to get it out before you
hit what - the floor?? The only way to get it out without dropping the
crossmember would be to make a hole in the floor, lined up with the
bolt, to extract the bolt through - which would allow you in with a
socket and extention to remove the bolt.

You are stuck.

I forgot to look at the car today and see if I really could cut a hole
in the floor to reach the bolt. I strongly doubt it.

ONe time when my mother's heater was leaking, I driled a hole in the
floor where the passenger front seat carpet was the wettest, and put
what I thought would be a wick through it. The wick probably got
wind-blown and fell off, but I don't think it worked even when it was
still there.

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 22:51:46 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:22:00 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 00:46:08 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 15:12:10 -0400, "Steve W."
wrote:

micky wrote:
Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

Please note important question marked by ####### below. Thanks in
advance. Since one answer means I'm done, I've taken the liberty of
emailing you too. I hope you don't mind.

BTW, when I realized I couldn't get the bolt off, I tried hammering on
it with a mini-sledge, in order to bend it back straight. I could

I bumped into a neighbor tonight who lives about 250 feet away and who I
think was inside at the time, who said he could hear me pounding on the
car. He also said someone on the next block could hear me.

I kept imagining it was getting straighter, so I'd rest and start
hitting it again, but it didn't unbend at all.

easily hit the right spot and it would have worked if only it had bent.
I gave it a lot of good whacks. Then I tried a full size sledge, at
least 4 times as heavy, maybe 6, but I couldn't swing it as well.

I once, using a sledge hammer, largely straightened out a chain link
fence that had been bent by a falling tree, and that I figured was
harder, because the chain links would move back when I hit them. But
the metal was a lot softer.


I'm going to go get them tomorrow or Sunday. Maybe I should call to see
if they're in stock. The webpage doesn't say. Maybe I should print out
the webpage to get the sale price (22 from 32).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw-ihOjjF1o
.....

..... After my initial enthusiasm, possible reality is setting in. I
reread the shop manual, and it could go either way.

The FSM says, just to remove the the forward lateral control arm, to
first:

Disconnect the O2 sensor on the center exhaust pipe.
Disconnect both ends of the center exhaust pipe, and remove it.
Disconnect both ends of the strut rods (trailing control arms) on both
sides of the car (although possibly one could only disconnect one
end and let it dangle).
Disconnect both ends of the rear control arms (which they call the No. 2
lower Suspension arms.) although here too maybe I could just
disconnect it from the center plate.
Remove the stabilizer bar brackets on both sides (though here they say
nothing about disconnecting the bar from the knuckles, which sort of
implies that above the arms have to be fully removed.)
Support the suspension member with a floor jack. (The susp. member is a
thick plate or a sandwich in the middle of the car that the control
arms and stabilizer bar attach to.
Remove the suspension member (4 nuts, 2 bolts, and 8 stoppers!)
Lower the suspension member.

Only then can one remove the forward control arm.

Acc. to them. (You can see why I didn't want to do all that.)

By jove, they are right. That bolt is about 4 or 5 inches long and you

#######
It really is? You're not just going by the picture? You know that?


The bolt goes through the front lateral bar, through the crossmember,
and through the rear lateral bar, to the anchored nut. A few inches in
front of the bolt head is the gas tank, with an exhaust heat sheild
also in the way, and just behind the nut is the spare tire well. The
cross member WILL have to come down. I used to be a mechanic and
service manager at a Toyota dealer for 10 years, but it's been over 2
decades since I left the trade.
The Solara suspension is basically the same as a Camry.
Pounding on the link will not straigten it because it is too springy,
and mounted in rubber bushings. Which way did it bend? Up. down,
forward, or back? Sometimes it is possible to jack or push the arm
back into shape.
If the car is getting close to the "end of the line" cutting the arm
in 2 places where it is straight and fitting a piece of DOM tubing
over the ends, welding to exactly the right length, CAN be an option.
You will want it electric welded to reduce the amount of heat absorbed
- and you will need to protect the gas tank. Either way, it is a shop
job - on the hoist with someone who knows what they are doing "at the
controls"



Because if it's that long and I can't cut a hole in the floor, which I
probably can't, I should quit now.


only have about an inch and a half of space to get it out before you
hit what - the floor?? The only way to get it out without dropping the
crossmember would be to make a hole in the floor, lined up with the
bolt, to extract the bolt through - which would allow you in with a
socket and extention to remove the bolt.

You are stuck.

I forgot to look at the car today and see if I really could cut a hole
in the floor to reach the bolt. I strongly doubt it.

ONe time when my mother's heater was leaking, I driled a hole in the
floor where the passenger front seat carpet was the wettest, and put
what I thought would be a wick through it. The wick probably got
wind-blown and fell off, but I don't think it worked even when it was
still there.

"micky" wrote:

you need to remove everything else, then drop the "suspension member", the
subframe thing in the middle that all the side-to-side arms connect to.
Have fun.

I don't want to do all that. :-( Every bolt will be stuck The way
they say to do it, there will be 18 of them, plus 4 more rusty ones if I
have to remove the center exhaust pipe, and I bet I do. (Yep, it's in
the webpage you just gave me.) Plus I'll have to replace the gasket at
each end of the pipe. I wonder if the pro's really do all that.
If so, it makes $121 or 210 (Firestone or Toyota), labor only, look
rather like a bargain.

It's not that hard. I'd just drive it into the middle service bay, put it up on the
hoist, get out the air-powered impact wrenches, giant box-end wrenches,
"hot" wrenches (acetylene and inductive), the 6-foot jack stands, 4-foot
pry bars, etc,etc... and have at it.

Did I mention I work in a shop?
And yes, we would "do all that", at least on one side. :-)

I've started thinking I don't have to remove all those control arms, just
the 4 bolts and 2 nuts and 8 stops holding that center plate on, and it
might fall enough to get this bolt out.

You can try, but I usually find it faster just to undo things and get them out
of the way, rather than fighting with parts that are blocking other parts,
or are trying to push them out of alignment while I'm putting that stupid
bolt back in the stupid hole that keeps moving around, dammit!!!! :-)

On Sun, 19 Oct 2014 11:37:13 -0700, "Sanity Clause"
wrote:


"micky" wrote:

you need to remove everything else, then drop the "suspension member", the
subframe thing in the middle that all the side-to-side arms connect to.
Have fun.

I don't want to do all that. :-( Every bolt will be stuck The way
they say to do it, there will be 18 of them, plus 4 more rusty ones if I
have to remove the center exhaust pipe, and I bet I do. (Yep, it's in
the webpage you just gave me.) Plus I'll have to replace the gasket at
each end of the pipe. I wonder if the pro's really do all that.
If so, it makes $121 or 210 (Firestone or Toyota), labor only, look
rather like a bargain.

It's not that hard. I'd just drive it into the middle service bay, put it up on the

Why the middle bay?

hoist, get out the air-powered impact wrenches, giant box-end wrenches,
"hot" wrenches (acetylene and inductive), the 6-foot jack stands, 4-foot
pry bars, etc,etc... and have at it.

Did I mention I work in a shop?

No. I thought you delivered presents to mental hospitals.

And yes, we would "do all that", at least on one side. :-)

I've started thinking I don't have to remove all those control arms, just
the 4 bolts and 2 nuts and 8 stops holding that center plate on, and it
might fall enough to get this bolt out.

You can try, but I usually find it faster just to undo things and get them out
of the way, rather than fighting with parts that are blocking other parts,
or are trying to push them out of alignment while I'm putting that stupid
bolt back in the stupid hole that keeps moving around, dammit!!!! :-)

I can see that too. I'd need two other people to hold the center plate
so its holes line up with the other holes. And doing this on my back
would be even harder.

If today weren't Sunday, I'd be out checking shops.

On Sun, 19 Oct 2014 00:24:00 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 22:51:46 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:22:00 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 18 Oct 2014 00:46:08 -0400, micky
wrote:

On Fri, 17 Oct 2014 15:12:10 -0400, "Steve W."
wrote:

micky wrote:
Respond as soon as possible please. Car up on stands right now. I want
to take it down by 11PM at latest.

Besides front end damage, that I've repaired, the rear forward right
lower control arm, on my 2000 Solara convertible is bent.

I have the replacement part, but the bolt near the center (of the two
bolts) is in something that looks like a soup bowl. The kind that is
flat in the center and then curves up near the edges and curves down
again at the very edge. Maybe it's meant to be a washer.

So I can't get an end wrench or a box wrench on it.

And I can't get a socket wrench on it, not a torque wrench or even a
3/8" plain ratchet or breaker bar, because there isn't enough room
between the bolt and what might be the floor pan for the rear seat. I
would bend that up and out of the way but there is a screw head in the
very spot that needs bending. Maybe I should push it up anyhow????

How should I get this bolt off???

Please note important question marked by ####### below. Thanks in
advance. Since one answer means I'm done, I've taken the liberty of
emailing you too. I hope you don't mind.

BTW, when I realized I couldn't get the bolt off, I tried hammering on
it with a mini-sledge, in order to bend it back straight. I could

I bumped into a neighbor tonight who lives about 250 feet away and who I
think was inside at the time, who said he could hear me pounding on the
car. He also said someone on the next block could hear me.

I kept imagining it was getting straighter, so I'd rest and start
hitting it again, but it didn't unbend at all.

easily hit the right spot and it would have worked if only it had bent.
I gave it a lot of good whacks. Then I tried a full size sledge, at
least 4 times as heavy, maybe 6, but I couldn't swing it as well.

I once, using a sledge hammer, largely straightened out a chain link
fence that had been bent by a falling tree, and that I figured was
harder, because the chain links would move back when I hit them. But
the metal was a lot softer.


I'm going to go get them tomorrow or Sunday. Maybe I should call to see
if they're in stock. The webpage doesn't say. Maybe I should print out
the webpage to get the sale price (22 from 32).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw-ihOjjF1o
.....

..... After my initial enthusiasm, possible reality is setting in. I
reread the shop manual, and it could go either way.

The FSM says, just to remove the the forward lateral control arm, to
first:

Disconnect the O2 sensor on the center exhaust pipe.
Disconnect both ends of the center exhaust pipe, and remove it.
Disconnect both ends of the strut rods (trailing control arms) on both
sides of the car (although possibly one could only disconnect one
end and let it dangle).
Disconnect both ends of the rear control arms (which they call the No. 2
lower Suspension arms.) although here too maybe I could just
disconnect it from the center plate.
Remove the stabilizer bar brackets on both sides (though here they say
nothing about disconnecting the bar from the knuckles, which sort of
implies that above the arms have to be fully removed.)
Support the suspension member with a floor jack. (The susp. member is a
thick plate or a sandwich in the middle of the car that the control
arms and stabilizer bar attach to.
Remove the suspension member (4 nuts, 2 bolts, and 8 stoppers!)
Lower the suspension member.

Only then can one remove the forward control arm.

Acc. to them. (You can see why I didn't want to do all that.)

By jove, they are right. That bolt is about 4 or 5 inches long and you

#######
It really is? You're not just going by the picture? You know that?


The bolt goes through the front lateral bar, through the crossmember,
and through the rear lateral bar, to the anchored nut. A few inches in
front of the bolt head is the gas tank, with an exhaust heat sheild
also in the way, and just behind the nut is the spare tire well. The
cross member WILL have to come down. I used to be a mechanic and
service manager at a Toyota dealer for 10 years, but it's been over 2
decades since I left the trade.
The Solara suspension is basically the same as a Camry.
Pounding on the link will not straigten it because it is too springy,
and mounted in rubber bushings.

I hadn't thought about the rubber bushings. Now that you remind me,
that's one big factor why it didn't bend back.

Which way did it bend? Up. down,
forward, or back?

Mostly so that the bend is in the front, and slightly pointing down.
Perfect for swinging the mini-sledge from the front.

Mayb 2/3rds of the way from the wheel end to the suspension member end.
It's angle is about 25 degrees.

Sometimes it is possible to jack or push the arm
back into shape.
If the car is getting close to the "end of the line" cutting the arm
in 2 places where it is straight and fitting a piece of DOM tubing
over the ends, welding to exactly the right length, CAN be an option.
You will want it electric welded to reduce the amount of heat absorbed
- and you will need to protect the gas tank. Either way, it is a shop
job - on the hoist with someone who knows what they are doing "at the
controls"

Thanks. I will suggest that.



Because if it's that long and I can't cut a hole in the floor, which I
probably can't, I should quit now.


only have about an inch and a half of space to get it out before you
hit what - the floor?? The only way to get it out without dropping the
crossmember would be to make a hole in the floor, lined up with the
bolt, to extract the bolt through - which would allow you in with a
socket and extention to remove the bolt.

You are stuck.

I forgot to look at the car today and see if I really could cut a hole
in the floor to reach the bolt. I strongly doubt it.

the bar and its bolt are someplace behind the rear seat. I haven't
taken the seat out, or even looked at the drawings in the manual yet.

Sanity Clause wrote:
"micky" wrote:

you need to remove everything else, then drop the "suspension member", the
subframe thing in the middle that all the side-to-side arms connect to.
Have fun.
I don't want to do all that. :-( Every bolt will be stuck The way
they say to do it, there will be 18 of them, plus 4 more rusty ones if I
have to remove the center exhaust pipe, and I bet I do. (Yep, it's in
the webpage you just gave me.) Plus I'll have to replace the gasket at
each end of the pipe. I wonder if the pro's really do all that.
If so, it makes $121 or 210 (Firestone or Toyota), labor only, look
rather like a bargain.

It's not that hard. I'd just drive it into the middle service bay, put it up on the
hoist, get out the air-powered impact wrenches, giant box-end wrenches,
"hot" wrenches (acetylene and inductive), the 6-foot jack stands, 4-foot
pry bars, etc,etc... and have at it.

Did I mention I work in a shop?
And yes, we would "do all that", at least on one side. :-)

I've started thinking I don't have to remove all those control arms, just
the 4 bolts and 2 nuts and 8 stops holding that center plate on, and it
might fall enough to get this bolt out.

You can try, but I usually find it faster just to undo things and get them out
of the way, rather than fighting with parts that are blocking other parts,
or are trying to push them out of alignment while I'm putting that stupid
bolt back in the stupid hole that keeps moving around, dammit!!!! :-)




I'd use the end bay myself. My middle bay currently has a DOA Ford 150
with a Triton in it... (owner decided to do his own plug swap, 1 out of
8 came out in one piece)

--
Steve W.

On Sun, 19 Oct 2014 11:37:13 -0700, "Sanity Clause"
wrote:


"micky" wrote:

you need to remove everything else, then drop the "suspension member", the
subframe thing in the middle that all the side-to-side arms connect to.
Have fun.

I don't want to do all that. :-( Every bolt will be stuck The way
they say to do it, there will be 18 of them, plus 4 more rusty ones if I
have to remove the center exhaust pipe, and I bet I do. (Yep, it's in
the webpage you just gave me.) Plus I'll have to replace the gasket at
each end of the pipe. I wonder if the pro's really do all that.
If so, it makes $121 or 210 (Firestone or Toyota), labor only, look
rather like a bargain.

It's not that hard. I'd just drive it into the middle service bay, put it up on the
hoist, get out the air-powered impact wrenches, giant box-end wrenches,
"hot" wrenches (acetylene and inductive), the 6-foot jack stands, 4-foot
pry bars, etc,etc... and have at it.

If I had more and better tools, that would help. Hard to put a hoist
in a shared parking lot, Although I couldn't afford it even if I had
my own garage. .

Did I mention I work in a shop?

No.

And yes, we would "do all that", at least on one side. :-)

I've started thinking I don't have to remove all those control arms, just
the 4 bolts and 2 nuts and 8 stops holding that center plate on, and it
might fall enough to get this bolt out.

You can try, but I usually find it faster just to undo things and get them out
of the way, rather than fighting with parts that are blocking other parts,
or are trying to push them out of alignment while I'm putting that stupid
bolt back in the stupid hole that keeps moving around, dammit!!!! :-)

Thanks. Maybe I shouldnt have, but AHR moves quickly so I started a
new thread called

Folloow--up on car t hat needs right rear lower control arm that says
what happened next. You're right. I can't spell.