I have an 80 Jag XJ8 IFS on a 47 Cadillac that I'm building. The lower A-Arm is mounted with a bolt that runs through the cross member. Jag dealers call this bolt a Fulcrum Bolt (#36 on this part diagram) I removed the nuts on both ends and try to hammer out the bolt. No, luck. I then using a small drill bit and a pick, drilled out the rubber bushings on each side to free resistance from the lower A-arm, Still would not hammer out. With the lower A-arm free to slide back and forth, I decided to cut the front end of the bolt short so that I could get the Lower A-arm off and out of the way so not to get damaged. The rubber bushings have a metal sleeve on the inside and a flat washer on the back end. These were seized on the bolt and had to be chiseled off. So now I have just the bolt... 1/2˝ on the front side and about 3˝ on the back side. I have my dad's old oxyacetylene torch. But have to get the tanks filled first... And a neighbor brought over an air hammer. Going to give them a try this weekend. I don't have much experience with a torch. Will heat help? Or make the metal expand? How much heat? I don't want the bolt to just bend or mushroom when I hammer it. Let it cool down for a sec, then hammer? Or hammer from the opposite side that I heat? Also, do I heat and then cool with compress air to make the metal shrink? Or will that make the bolt brittle, and snap off when i hammer on it? Thought I would post for some advise before just trying! Any other tricks to try out? Thanks in advance.
The Jalopy Journal
