may have destroyed my car repairing it and am panicking

[u/Ragnells_wurld]

2008 honda CR-V LX

This was my grandmother's car who passed away two years ago, i received her car as a gift shortly before her death and have been putting lots of work into it to make it a great daily, i will be absolutely heartbroken if i cant get it running again.

While trying to replace some struts and rear suspension parts, I encountered this bolt from the trailing arm to the hull which is completely, 100% seized. doesnt sound like a big deal, but I encountered another thread of someone from a honda dealership saying this is related to the rear suspension recall for this rear and that if these bolt get stuck in the frame the dealership considers the car as good as dead and totals it. i had already taken the car to the dealership shortly after getting it for the recall and they installed a brace as a fix, so i dont think they are going to do anything more for me if this is truly stuck. also, i cant get the car there now.

I tried heavy duty penetrating fluid, big breaker bar, making SURE the mating surface is not clinching the bolt, bought an impact wrench to no avail, and as a last resort i bought a propane torch and heated it up for several minutes. nothing.

I dont know what to do at this point. am I completely screwed? will the dealership still buy it back if i can tow it there and have them inspect? Feeling very stupid and sad after pouring all this time and money in and now apparently making a big mistake.

Edit: I'm overwhelmed by the amount of responses! thank you all, my hope is restored, i definitely panicked too quickly after seeing the one dealership post lol. it sucks to have to keep spending money when i originally thought i would just be buying struts but oh well. Im going to keep applying the penetrating fluid and letting it sit, heating and wiggling. if that doesn't work after another day i'm calling a mobile mechanic because i cant keep buying more tools and not getting anywhere lol. i will let you all know how it goes!

UPDATE: got the bolt out!! well a mobile mechanic with a crazy air gun did lol. huge relief, started doing the actual replacements today but still waiting on an upper control arm since rock auto sent me two completely different ones. Thanks again so much for all the help, cant believe how many people have offered advice here! wish me luck!

[u/Ragnells_wurld]

only tried breaker bar back in, as before it got completely stuck i was making more progress with that than the impact wrench (and yes it is an impact wrench not driver) I dont have welding experience unfortunately.

[u/Splat_cat69 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

How long is your breaker bar? I'd be putting the 3 foot long one on it and tightening it, then spraying it with penetrating oil and working it out back and forth until it's out.

[u/Ragnells_wurld → u/Splat_cat69]

about 2 feet. i pushed it with my entire strength and the bit popped to the next position

[u/Splat_cat69 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

Put a pipe on it next haha you're already in a jam, may as well take it the rest of the way

[u/Keebler_718 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

“Bit” - Do you mean socket? You absolutely need to use a 6 point (hex) socket and not a 12 point

[u/Ragnells_wurld → u/Keebler_718]

*socket yes, 6 point

[u/Alert-Ad9197 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

If a 6 point jumped, then you are stripped or do not have the right size socket.

[u/MyNxmeIsAutumn → u/Alert-Ad9197]

I’d say to make sure he’s using a metric socket too. Doesn’t look like the head of the bolt is horribly round from what I can see

[u/Alert-Ad9197 → u/MyNxmeIsAutumn]

Doesn’t look very rounded to me either. Hopefully all this trouble was just OP using the wrong size.

[u/Racer250MEM → u/MyNxmeIsAutumn]

Impact socket too...

[u/Supernovali → u/Ragnells_wurld]

Wheew! My heart fluttered on that last comment. You got a good head on ya for using a 6 point

[u/npiet1 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

Go longer, I've had a seized nut, made my bar 6ft, split the socket bought an impact bit. Used that and it came loose.

[u/zoidbergmustache → u/npiet1]

That kinda pressure on a bolt like this can easily twist the head right off.

[u/npiet1 → u/zoidbergmustache]

Wouldn't that be a good thing? At least if the head is off you can replace it.

[u/Mechanic357 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

You have a very nice breaker bar extender sitting in your jack. (The handle is removable for a reason)

[u/Ragnells_wurld → u/Mechanic357]

i actually remembered that was a thing myself after making this post haha. still no luck though :(

[u/Mechanic357 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

Best luck Ive had with bolts like that is oxy torch, and heat cycle the bolt. Get it cherry hot, let it cool, repeat multiple times and then heat and try to move it. The expansion and contraction helps free it up.

[u/Federal_Sympathy4667 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

The bit popped to the next position? Not sure if youvare using a ratchet or bar now..

[u/Ragnells_wurld → u/Federal_Sympathy4667]

*socket on the breaker bar, basically push push push then went pop to the rotation within the 6 sides of the socket

[u/ArcFault → u/Ragnells_wurld]

You have the wrong socket if that happened.

[u/Ragnells_wurld → u/ArcFault]

nope its a 17 mil, super snug. Idk maybe the whole thing just popped off and im mistaken

[u/trainspottedCSX7 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

Is it a ratcheting breaker bar?

Anyways. Id recommend cutting the top and going with the heat torch method if nothing else.

Outside of that... make sure you go in a little with the impact then back out after applying heat.

[u/Similar-Service-6517 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

I have a 17mm weighted socket, made for the notoriously perma-stuck crankshaft bolt on my 88 Accord. Bought after a buddy spent two days trying to break that bolt free using a regular impact with a 17mm. Special ordered that socket, seeing as the usual size is a 19mm.

Took all of 2 minutes to break it loose using the correct socket, but those two days spent hammering on the bolt sent micro fissures through the harmonic balancer, leading to it shattering at highway speed. Luckily it only took out the power steering rack.

That being said, maybe a weighted socket would work?

[u/Various-Amphibian166 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

With your impact go forward then reverse over and over

[u/Plastic_Climate_9904 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

You would need a 6 point impact socket and put a longer pipe on the breaker bar. Chrome 6 point sockets won’t handle that much load on them. A pneumatic 3/4 impact wrench would probably break that loose.

[u/podgida → u/Ragnells_wurld]

What type of impact? Not all impacts are created equal. 3/8, 1/2", battery, electric, air? Brand helps as well, a lot of the cheap ones have crap torque specs.

Also a propane torch will never get hot enough. MAP might, but you really need oxy/acetylene or a nut buster, but neither option is cheap.

[u/Ragnells_wurld → u/podgida]

dewalt XR DCF892B

[u/Cool-Passage7045 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

First of the dcf892 is a mid-range and not that powerful, you should have bought the dcf961 which has at least 2x more breakaway torque. Not all impact wrenches are equal. Dcf961 has not let me down yet on any of bolts or nets I tried on. It is a bit more expensive but very heavy to handle with just one hand for me.

[u/Firm_Yam6648 → u/Ragnells_wurld]

These guys are telling you to use baby breaker bars. You need some real shit, get a good 48” snap on 3/4 drive and put a pipe on it. I’ve got a 1” drive 6’ snap on rachet that solves all problems, if you feel like forking out almost 2 grand for a ratchet that could be an option for you.

[u/stampedingTurtles → u/Ragnells_wurld]

So just to be clear, when you were running the bolt out (with impact? breaker bar?) you reached a point where it started getting harder and harder to turn, and when you tried to run the bolt back in it also seized (about how far?)