It won't budge! I've got the lower nut n bolt out no hassle (well, not much), also the nut off the camber bolt, but I can rotate the bolt - very stiffly, but it doesn't want to come out.
Yes, have tried hitting it, protecting the end with a piece of wood,.. I'm wondering, does the head of the bolt have to be aligned in a certain orientation in order for it to be removed?

 

no, seems its simply corroded in place, penetrating oil and keep rotating, etc and it will work free

 

lift suspension using car lift to free bolt
put bottom bolt and remove top one first

 

Hi, thanks for the advice 👍...... it's on axle stands at the mo, do you mean jack the hub/wishbone up a little..... the strut and hub have moved out of alignment so sadly I can't get the lower bolt back in now and it doesn't seem to want to move back into alignment. Would it help if I slackened off the strut top bolts to give the strut a bit more 'wobble'...?

 

Yes jack a hub/ wishbone ,at rear I jacked it under disc. You should be able to push hub back to suspension mount .
You do not need to unbolt top hat,camber bolts are pain to remove sometimes ,You need to take off them first than normal bolt.

 

Honestly boys the top bolt is the camber bolt that's probably why you can't get the bottom bolt back in. Slack the top bolt and turn till you get the bottom bolt back in moving the strut while turning. Then you should be able to nip up the bottom bolt in a position that you can get the top bolt out. If you had an air gun or battery gun a wee spin loosens everything up

 

Thanks Guys! Think I understand what to do now 👍

 

PM If you need any info.

 

first post says it's camber bolt ,Yes we know that
I have no camber bolts on the front on my gd sti ,not sure was there from a factory.

 

EVERY Subaru has front top camber bolts installed from the factory..............??

 

Buy a cordless impact gun. Refit bottom bolt. Remove top bolt first.

Seriously, buy a cordless impact gun. You'll wonder why you struggled needlessly working on cars for so long.

 

do not buy impact for spinning camber bolt

 

I DO have a battery impact gun, bought it from Lidl a few years ago, but it didn't budge the strut nuts at all! I'm in good company there tho', as a guy on YouTube with a PROPER impact gun had to use a long extension on a breaker bar to crack them. No, my technique/trick on very tight /old fixings is to heat it up with my heat gun on hottest till the easing oil is smoking, and to use 6 sided sockets to reduce the risk of rounding the nut.

 

Buy it for everything else as well!

 

Why?

 

Mine has a claimed 600nm of torque (although I suspect it's more like 400nm) and there is nothing on a Subaru it's failed to undo. Use 6-sided impact sockets as you say, along with matching spanners and go BBBRRRRRRRR.

Obviously you don't want to use it on sensitive parts likes like brake calipers etc, where there is a risk of snapping bolts or stripping threads. But on whacking great strut bolts, no problem. Heat works well too but you still need to turn the fixing.

Especially suited to suspension work as you can use it on wheel nuts, strut bolts, spring compressors etc.

 

These:

 

No one is insinuating getting up to take off speed, just very tedious with a ratchet.

 

If the bolt is partially siezed it will twist and cancel out the 'impact' from the impact gun so the only force actually trying to turn the bolt is the motor.
I dont like using heat on bolts either. Fine for helping the nut off the end but to penetrate enough to help the bolt out might overheat the hub (making the casting more brittle) or weakening the bolt (causing the head to snap off).
I dont claim to be a metallur...Metaler...expert but I have seen both happen in similar circumstances.

Best to use a big bar, WD40/Deblock and persistance! If you are feeble like me put a jack handle/scaffold bar over it. It applies the turning torque gradually rather than pulsing it.


(Experienced car mechanic with monster battery gun and big bar who has watched colleagues destroy ££££ worth of battery/air guns when they could have used a bar! )