[Len 911]

How the hell do you remove the banana bolts ..I cannot get them to brake loose..what is the trick...engine and trans still in car...or should I just wait until I ever drop the motor and trans....

[ducatithunder]

Impact and universal after a quick soak with PB or Kroil. If that doenst work try to try some heat with a torch. I have seen others cut the bolt with a saw when the nut has been rounded. Good Luck.

[HoodPin]

KROIL is your friend. IMHO, nothing better. Spray it well, and wait at least an hour. Creeps into threads better than pretty much anything else.

[Vicegrip]

I have not been able to figure out how to get an impact on those bolts. I heat the nut with a torch or better yet my induction heater to "Goot-un-Hott" AKA light tendrils of smoke come from the metal but no flaking of coatings or internal glow. Heat has 100% worked every time. Heat and off the shelf hand tools to remove the lock nuts.

Once you get the nuts off the bolts you are in for the slow boat ride, river styx, level 12.75 of Dante's hell. Regardless of the bolt head and nut orientation the trans and torsion bar tube are in the way of removing the bolt. You can remove the trans. You can also do a dirty trick.

IF the bolt heads are on the trans side and there are no oval shaped deep dents in the T tube then this is stock and you are in for a bit of work.
Find and order two new bolts and nuts. Remove the nut then put it back on just a bit. Push the bolt out a bit. Cut the bolt head off. Yes it is a hardened bolt.
use a carbide toothed demolition blade in a saws-all. (The folks in Mexico are using this same blade cut the bars in the new non climbable, super duper wall sections that Mexico is NOT paying for) . They are the Tits and rough cut metal like butter!
Pull the now headless bolt out. Do the same on the other side, Do your thing to the now liberated banana arms.
Ok, now the arms are all done and the new bolts are in hand. Take a rounded off steel drive and a good slugging hammer and go all Thor on the T bar tubes but in the right spot and right amount. You will be making a dent in the tube that is just enough of a dent that the new bolt can be inserted from the formerly "nut" side. Sounds bad but Porsche did the same thing. Google this a bit and you will see lots of images of stock and "aftermarket" T tube dents. That in after someone pointed out the 100% pure fucking stupid pain in the ass for no reason bullshit move Porsche did to us. "
If you cut about 1/2 inch off the new bolts you can make a much smaller dent and still have 100% engagement with the nut.
YMMV. I strongly recommend you measure twice cut once and coat the bolt end well with a sealant once done.

[Len 911]

Would it matter if I heat the bolt head side and not the nut..I have an induction heater but cant get to the nut side..the nut is to the tranny so the bolt will pull out towards the trailing arm side. Should I get it glowing red so the heat will go through the bolt and to the nut

[86911TLCAB]

from the picture the nut is on the trans side...so cutting it off may not work that easily...

the key here is the dent in the torsion tube...you need to make it such that you can get a19MM socket (I think) attached to a long 1/2 inch breaker bar and create enough leverage to break it free...once you get it to break free, then put the closed end of a wrench on the back side...and keep turning till you get the nut off...

[BillC]

Originally Posted by Len 911

Would it matter if I heat the bolt head side and not the nut..I have an induction heater but cant get to the nut side..the nut is to the tranny so the bolt will pull out towards the trailing arm side. Should I get it glowing red so the heat will go through the bolt and to the nut

Generally, heating the bolt head won't do any good, unless the head is somehow rusted in place. By the time you've heated the bolt head enough to affect the nut, you've probably set the car on fire.

You really need to heat the nut, which does two things: 1) helps break the rust free; and 2) causes the nut to expand slightly, reducing the "grip" it has on the bolt.

Mini-ductor sells a "bearing buddy" coil that's basically a soft wire that you can wrap around whatever you need to heat. The soft wire allows you to feed the wire through holes and small gaps to wrap the target. Here's a link to one on amazon.

[Vicegrip]

You need the inductor too.

If the bolt head is not trans side you are in good shape. You need to get good enough tools to break the nuts free. It can be done cold with 18 inch length tools and arm power. Box end on one side and a breaker bar or long box end on the other. Heat makes for less effort and chance of a slipping tool and the outcome of that. Trust me. I gave myself a black eye breaking loose a stuck bolt under a car. Took the round end of the wrench right in the face. A fine moment for sure.

[Len 911]

I tried again tonight and no luck..they will not budge..going to leave them in until I have to drop the engine...sad face....

[BillC]

Originally Posted by Vicegrip

You need the inductor too.

He has one, as mentioned in post #5:

Originally Posted by Len 911

..I have an induction heater but cant get to the nut side..

I suggested the soft wire for the inductor in the hope that he might be able to feed it up and around the nut a few times, since he can't get a traditional coil in there.