I've decided to replace the front droplinks on my blobeye WRX wagon as they got an advisory on the MOT, and I assume it'll be cheap and easy job. How hard can it be to undo a couple of bolts and pop off a droplink? Turns out to be a right bugger in my case. I removed the bottom bolt OK, but the top one has seized in the sleeve inside the bush of the droplink. Sprayed some penetrating fluid in there, but that didn't help. Trouble is there's no a lot of room to whack things to shift it, so I gave up in the end. Any ideas how I can tackle this?

TBH, the old droplink's bushes doesn't look too bad, so I can live it with them for now.

 

I had this problem with one of mine. I used the drop link as a lever to pop itself out of the bush, requires a bit of effort but is doable. Then you can get a pair of mole grips on the seized sleeve to free it up.

 

Have you got a jack under the wishbone? If not, all the weight will be pushing down on the one bolt and you'll never get it out.

 

I'd freed the bottom end of the droplink, so there was no weight pushing on it. I could rotate the droplink, but the bush just spun on its sleeve.

 

Are you holding the centre bolt with a Allen key number 5 I think while you undo the nut

 

Some threads don't have an allen key centre. Most do. (Non O.E.0 it's likely gunged up so spray a little WD in there first and try to clean the hole out. It really does make the job easier...

Failing that the back of the bolt where it presses against the bar has a flat on it so you can jam a thin spanner in to stop it rotating. 14mm I seem to remember. Might be bigger. My last ones had the Allen key slot, previous ones did not.

 

Think you guys might be confusing the wagon and saloon drop links. The wagon uses the plastic ones that just have a hole for a bolt to go through. The bolt can end up seized to the metal sleeve.

Wagon:



Saloon:

 

Yes, that's the one I've got, the wagon one in the top picture.

 

Hack saw blade and cut the bolt.

 

Grinder. That's how I had to get mine off in the end. Just get a grinder on the nut and cut them off. You're throwing them away anyhow.

 

Yep, grinder works a treat on droplinks.

 

Good job.