ElCamino body bolts

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jjjaffo

Apprentice
Jul 2, 2022
52
45
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Monroe Wisconsin
I have read quite a bit on this site about lubing and removing body bolts for bushing replacement. In the trunk of cars it is said to drill small holes to insert the lubricant straw to spray the bolts. What do you do on an Elky? I'd hate to drill holes in the bed if I don't have to, but this thing has to come apart this winter. This cruck feels really loose when driven. Loose like when you step on the gas it yaws one way and when you let off it yaws the other way. Just doesn't feel right. I plan to stiffen up the frame with boxing and bracing, install new body bushings, jounce bars, suspension work and good anti sway bars. Gotta tighten this thing up.
 

CopperNick

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Feb 20, 2018
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For stiff, you might possibly consider Poly-urethane or Delrin for your bushing material. Complete kits consisting of the entire set of biscuits and sleeves and bolts, etc are available from Energy Suspension, among others.

If you are planning to blow the whole car apart and are not planning on keeping the old body mounts then a battery driven sawzall could be your friend.

Before electing that option I would strongly suggest saturating all the mounting bolts with Deep Creep or PB Blaster or any highly recommended penetrating solution. Don't hit them once, like make it a daily ritual for multiple weeks to soak those bolts. Then use a 6 pt impact socket and the longest power/Johnson bar in 1/2 drive that you have and gently lean on the bolts to see if you have any movement. The bolts themselves are likely to be metric, think 15 mm head and the equiv of about a Gr 5, but they will have suffered a lot of damage or decay and the shank diameter, when you extract one, will likely be a lot thinner than what a new one would be. if you get one to move, however minimal, STOP. Add another spritz of the penetrating oil and move on to the next. No movement, keep dousing them.

A STRONG WARNING AT THIS POINT!!!. Do not mix penetrating fluids and any kind of heat!! Even something as cold as Mapp Gas can cause certain penetrating solutions to "crack" or decompose and some of the chemicals used in them are toxic at the least and potentially lethal in certain instances.

As an example, although not specifically a penetrating solution as such, CRC makes two versions of its brake cleaner, one Red Label and the other Green Label. The principal difference is that the Red version contains CHLORO-FLUORO-CARBONS aka CFC's. In the presence of high heat temperatures, such as what an Oxy/Acetyl Big Red wrench can generate, the CFC will crack and create Chlorine Gas. Totally toxic and highly debilitating.

Knew a bike wrench named Brewdude, Steve Garn, years ago, who had that happen to him while working on a project. He thought he had managed to escape most of the fumes and exposure but it turned out that the real damage hadn't happened immediately! He went to bed and woke up, ( minor miracle in itself), the next day to discover that he was so sick that he ended up in the hospital in intensive care.
The level of exposure, however slight he thought it to be at the time, was sufficient enough that it permanently damaged his lungs and a few other organs into the bargain. He actually wrote a special column for a now defunct magazine that outlined what had happened to him as a warning and benediction to others about the level of hazard and injury that existed. The can labels do carry warnings but the writing is so small most users ignore it. You can go on line and download the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for the products, penetrating fluids and oils and chemicals; the mfgrs are required to offer a library of them for consumers.

So I guess that the take away here is to either not mix the methods you plan to use to encourage those body bolts to break loose and come out or, if you do, be sure ahead of time that the combination of methods that you go with is benign to your health.



Nick
 
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jjjaffo

Apprentice
Jul 2, 2022
52
45
18
Monroe Wisconsin
For stiff, you might possibly consider Poly-urethane or Delrin for your bushing material. Complete kits consisting of the entire set of biscuits and sleeves and bolts, etc are available from Energy Suspension, among others.

If you are planning to blow the whole car apart and are not planning on keeping the old body mounts then a battery driven sawzall could be your friend.

Before electing that option I would strongly suggest saturating all the mounting bolts with Deep Creep or PB Blaster or any highly recommended penetrating solution. Don't hit them once, like make it a daily ritual for multiple weeks to soak those bolts. Then use a 6 pt impact socket and the longest power/Johnson bar in 1/2 drive that you have and gently lean on the bolts to see if you have any movement. The bolts themselves are likely to be metric, think 15 mm head and the equiv of about a Gr 5, but they will have suffered a lot of damage or decay and the shank diameter, when you extract one, will likely be a lot thinner than what a new one would be. if you get one to move, however minimal, STOP. Add another spritz of the penetrating oil and move on to the next. No movement, keep dousing them.

A STRONG WARNING AT THIS POINT!!!. Do not mix penetrating fluids and any kind of heat!! Even something as cold as Mapp Gas can cause certain penetrating solutions to "crack" or decompose and some of the chemicals used in them are toxic at the least and potentially lethal in certain instances.

As an example, although not specifically a penetrating solution as such, CRC makes two versions of its brake cleaner, one Red Label and the other Green Label. The principal difference is that the Red version contains CHLORO-FLUORO-CARBONS aka CFC's. In the presence of high heat temperatures, such as what an Oxy/Acetyl Big Red wrench can generate, the CFC will crack and create Chlorine Gas. Totally toxic and highly debilitating.

Knew a bike wrench named Brewdude, Steve Garn, years ago, who had that happen to him while working on a project. He thought he had managed to escape most of the fumes and exposure but it turned out that the real damage hadn't happened immediately! He went to bed and woke up, ( minor miracle in itself), the next day to discover that he was so sick that he ended up in the hospital in intensive care.
The level of exposure, however slight he thought it to be at the time, was sufficient enough that it permanently damaged his lungs and a few other organs into the bargain. He actually wrote a special column for a now defunct magazine that outlined what had happened to him as a warning and benediction to others about the level of hazard and injury that existed. The can labels do carry warnings but the writing is so small most users ignore it. You can go on line and download the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for the products, penetrating fluids and oils and chemicals; the mfgrs are required to offer a library of them for consumers.

So I guess that the take away here is to either not mix the methods you plan to use to encourage those body bolts to break loose and come out or, if you do, be sure ahead of time that the combination of methods that you go with is benign to your health.



Nick
I'd like to thank you for doing such a good write-up. That is very handy and potentially life saving information to have. Now, on my Elky, what's to best way to get at the bolts under the bed to lubricate them?
 

SS_Malibu

Royal Smart Person
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Sep 27, 2021
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Coppernick is known for his extensive and detailed write-ups. I think it has something to do with the glasses his cat wears.
I'm not too sure how to get to the body bolts under the bed other then twisting, turning and swearing to get at them. (The swearing part doesn't really help but makes you feel better) Be sure to replace your steering components while doing the suspension as that will tighten things up a bunch as well.
 
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CopperNick

Comic Book Super Hero
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Feb 20, 2018
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And there you have it. Think SS_Malibu has some kind of a formula tucked away in a drawer somewhere that calculates how much swearing, in how many different languages, plus the number of busted knuckles required, that will result in a body bolt coming loose and being removed. Usually it is about one busted knuckle per bolt, so you may need a willing "helper" to make up the difference once you run out of fingers to damage.

As for my avatar, the shades just keep people from seeing how bloodshot his eyes are.....................



Nick
 
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jjjaffo

Apprentice
Jul 2, 2022
52
45
18
Monroe Wisconsin
Well, been a while but had time today to start on the body bushings. Most came out. The one behind the left rear tire snapped, but I was able to remove it. The one behind the right front tire, #2, the cage nut started spinning. haven't fixed that yet. I got the drivers' side up and replaced everything including new bolts. It took me 5 hrs to get that far as I've never done this before, but it's back together and the bolts are all started on that side. Hoping to get the passenger side done this weekend. All I can say is wow those bushings were trashed! Found out the bushings on the rear suspension are junk too. No biggie though as I bought all new UMI suspension parts. All that explains why the car seemed so wiggly when on and off the gas.
I did notice it sits higher now. I'll actually have to readjust my bumpers a bit.
 
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CopperNick

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Feb 20, 2018
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CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PERSEVERANCE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY!! A lot of people would rather sew a set of seat covers from scratch than tackle body mounts.

On the topic of bagged out rear suspension bushings, are you planning to hang on to the stock rear control arms or going with boxed set such as those from UMI or Hotchkiss? Reason I ask is that the factory versions are highly flexible right from the factory, being open along one face as they are. it is an easier task to do the total swap than just the bushings and then have to revisit the exercise a second time to finish the task

Just me here, thinking aloud.



Nick
 
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Built6spdMCSS

Geezer
Jun 15, 2012
5,788
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Florida Beach
Did the ones on my SS, definitely an adventure. I went for the 100% stiff haha..

20221112_162434.jpg


20221113_173016.jpg
 

jjjaffo

Apprentice
Jul 2, 2022
52
45
18
Monroe Wisconsin
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PERSEVERANCE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY!! A lot of people would rather sew a set of seat covers from scratch than tackle body mounts.

On the topic of bagged out rear suspension bushings, are you planning to hang on to the stock rear control arms or going with boxed set such as those from UMI or Hotchkiss? Reason I ask is that the factory versions are highly flexible right from the factory, being open along one face as they are. it is an easier task to do the total swap than just the bushings and then have to revisit the exercise a second time to finish the task

Just me here, thinking aloud.



Nick
My friend, body mounts are not something I'd like to do again anytime soon lol. As for the rear, yes I have UMI upper and lower control arms to put in also. The uppers are adjustable and have the heim joints. I also have the shock tower brace from UMI and the little braces that go from the upper arm mounts to the lower arm mounts. I will be making a brace to tie the rear frame rails together and I bought that triangulated brace from UMI for the front. Can't believe these cars didn't have jounce bars. I still gotta order the new front and rear sway bars yet but little by little I'm getting this thing sorted out.
 
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jjjaffo

Apprentice
Jul 2, 2022
52
45
18
Monroe Wisconsin
Did the ones on my SS, definitely an adventure. I went for the 100% stiff haha..

View attachment 217848

View attachment 217849
Nice. I opted for the poly kit from Summit since it also had the core support bushings, and bought a complete bolt kit. I see you used 4 jack stands. My front dropped more than I was comfortable with so I supported the front crossmember too along with the jack stands.
 
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