A very common problem with those parts. What happens is that the bolts pass through steel sleeves inside the rubber control arm bushings. When new or only a year or two old those bolts will still move in the sleeves. However, add in a few rainstorms or worse salt and snow or running in a salty area like near the ocean and the rust starts to form. Inside the sleeves the rust bonds the two parts as solid as welding. The methods of removal then become brute force and a torch. The end result is that you cut the bolts off or burn the bushings out or both to get them apart. That means replacement is the only option if you need to do an alignment and things have rusted enough that they won't move. One benefit though is that it also means you now have new bushings, ball joints and adjustments with the new parts.
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/lower-control-arm-bushing-replacement
Is the process if you have nice rust-free parts. However, in the case of the sleeves being rusted to the bolts this is the more common type of approach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VsiQTsHjxg
That is a different design but still the same problem of the bolt being rusted into the bushing sleeve, on a much newer vehicle.
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Friday, September 23rd, 2022 AT 3:02 AM