So! I’ve seen a lot of comments regarding my video style, how I went about what I did etc. this was my first car TH-cam video and anxiety is a h*e 😂 so! I may, at some point do an update referring to this video in a more composed manner. As it’s my most viewed, and I believe the viewers (you) deserve more concise, composed information! Though I don’t use my TH-cam channel much, I do a lot of cat work. Which, I upload to TikTok more often…but, if it helps some confusion, I can attempt to clarify this video, and shorten it further. As stated in the video, first take was 13m longer…I appreciate every comment negative, constructive or positive. If I can remember in free time amongst many of my activities to upload a concise more comprehensive version of what’s happening in this video (if needed, most get it but some need clarification), I’ll do it. Thank you :)
Good job getting it out. I went to a local auto wrecker and they had several HHR/Cobalts that they had disassembled. Got 2 bolts for free, When the mechanics are taking the front end parts off they just throw them inside the car with the parts, Don't just call, actually make the effort to go in to the business, They are more likely to just grab them for you. Good luck out there!
Same thing on my 2009 Cobalt. I bought a Sawzall saw and a 9" Diablo blade. I cut to get access to the cage and remove it. For those wondering; no, that doesn't work. not weakened the structure it's just to protect road debris. On the driver's side the bolt is unscrewed 1/2" I made a cut and on the other side completely welded in the rust and nothing moved and I had to make two cuts. For fast delivery with Amazon 2 metric bolts for $72. I chose 9/16 x 5 grade 8 instead; 10 bolts with nuts for $51 which was perfect and delivered the next day. If you started the job and are in a bad situation; don't waste your time and cut.
Much thanks for translating in English ❤️ if you have any knowledge on where to get specific parts for an SS keep in touch, might end up posting about mine eventually in the future. Much love, merry belated Christmas and soon to be happy new year!
I have a 2001 Ford escape that is similar to the Cobalt with control arm design. I replaced the control arms but one of bolts must have backed out then "smashed" on the ground in a dip and tore the capture nut off on the inside of the sub-frame. Hoping your video can help me.
I’ve worked on one Ford Escape extensively and had another prior years before. I also hope my video will help but upon having worked on several GM vehicles and what I have done to our 2012 escape I would say the design would differ. That being said I wish you the best of luck and I’m sure it would be relatively similar regardless. Thank you for commenting I appreciate it and I hope it works out for you. If you have any questions I may be able to answer whenever we put the escape back up on the lift. Merry Christmas and happy new year my friend
Getting read to do my 2011, think I'll spray the nuts with some wd a couple of times and days in advance, hit it with some heat before I try the impact, and hope for the best. If it doesn't come apart, I'll use your method. Good work. Thanks for the info.
@@superuser13 I appreciate the input thanks! I believe we attempted that too but what works better than WD is PB Blaster. It’s a red and white can with yellow font, it works wonders. So if you want you can give that a shot too if things don’t work out. Keep me updated on the progress!
@TrinityInMe_3 done deal, they came right out. My biggest issue was getting the wrong control arms. I had to surface grind 2.5mil off each end of the bushing. But it's all back together now. I'm at Concourse de Maryhill hill climb racing this weekend. Will post some video on my channel when I get back home.
@@dannydanko4627 hey so I’m not entirely sure I assume the cage alone is to prevent the nut screwing off entirely from vibration. If you were to replace it with a regular nut (good luck) but if you can, double if not triple down on it to help lock eachother in. We I believe (I’m going off memory it’s been a while), believe welded the cage back down? Since this procedure I’ve had no problems. I’ll ask my dad if he remembers exactly what we did because I know we attempted to replace the cage, nut and all
@@dannydanko4627 my dad says a lock washer will help. Use lock tite (good stuff not meant to come off again). Good luck trying to assemble it all it’s by no means easy at all. Also I’d recommend painting the cage or around there to prevent rust. But the cage and nut when ordered is as one piece so I’m not sure how you plan on doing this but good luck.
La même chose sur mon Cobalt 2009. J'ai acheté une scie Sawzall et une lame Diablo de 9". J'ai coupé pour avoir accès a la cage et l'enlever. Pour ceux qui se pose la question; non ça n'affaibli pas la structure c'est juste pour protéger les débris de la route. Coté conducteur la bolt c'est dévissé 1/2" j'ai fais une coupe et de l'autre coté complètement souder dans la rouille et rien ne bougeait et j'ai du faire deux coupes. Pour une livraison rapide avec Amazon 2 bolts métrique pour $72. J'ai plutôt choisi 9/16 x 5 grade 8; 10 bolts avec les écrous pour $51 qui était parfaite et livré le lendemain. Si vous avez commencé la job et que vous êtes mal pris; ne perder pas votre temps et couper.
Me neither. I ask myself that every time I work on something there’s always a flaw of some sort 😂 with newer vehicles of any kind it gets worse as it’s for profit. The car in the video is an 08 which I’m grateful is more mechanical than computer! But where there’s a will there’s a way
Hey! Sorry for the delay, from what I remember (bear with me it’s been forever!) I do believe we kept the same cage. We found and alternative instead of replacing the cage. If I’m not mistaken it took a weld rod to get it right, I would have to Rewatch to help me confirm via memory but I do not believe we got a new cage. I believe we simply welded what we could down. Car hasn’t had any problems since this “surgery” and it’s almost 350k now :) hope this helps. Again apologies for the delay
Now, the real trick is to get the bolt out without cutting it so it can be used again, in your case it seems it wasn’t too stuck into the bushing since it came free fairly easily. It really was just a captive nut problem which could be dealt with the same way as you did it. Life is a lot easier with a welder!
Problem is uh my sister mayyy have sorta diiiid roll the car therefore bending the bolt and we didn’t know until the tire wore out and blew 😭 we do have weld machines and did think of that, I believe we even tried welding to I forget either the cage or bolt to help remove? It’s been so long…we really didn’t have much of a choice and we couldn’t fix the cage after…overall not a fan of the cage/bolt design but 🤷♂️ the car is still on the road 😂
@@demelom2596 if I could do it myself (other than dad helping with torch) you can do it! Cars are really easy, sometimes just takes thinking out of the box. You’ve got this! If something doesn’t work once but YOU THINK it will? Keep on it. Research doesn’t hurt either but trust, you got this! Sorry for the late reply lemme know how you do/did!
sorry John just saw this. I believe I went to a local GM dealer for the new bolt, as well as the cage nut (if I remember correctly). Theres also GMPartsOnline, or a website similar you can check out (it has diagrams and part numbers on the site)
Well I just did 1 found it easier to Sawzall rhe control arm off at the bushing running down the bolt. Then you remove entire control arm. Then spin then you can clamp the vice grips on the sleeve only
I’m going off memory but I believe we tried all that and anything that seemed like it wouldn’t work 😂 after many attempts of such we said screw it and just snip snip 😂 the sleeve itself from memory was seized to the bolt, no amount of holding prevented spinning. BUT that being said, that IS a good tip for anyone who hasn’t had happen what I did!
Upon review of the video and a talk with my dad here's what made it accessible: So theres supposed to be a cage, just like a square metal piece over top of the nut (within the cage), in my case one or 2 of the welds broke. The cap I'll call it is welded on the 4 corners, and 2 had broke. I used a chisel to break the other 2 welds, using other chisels as spacers in order to access the welds to break them. Once that cap is off, the nut is exposed, and the nut itself was rust welded pretty much to the bolt. On the HHR I believe there is also 2 holes from the rear side, looking toward the front (looking at where the 21mm bolt is), which also is a small access point. From that hole it was determined that we could create space for more access. Hope this helps, it was quite some time ago and I've since worked on 2 other cars so my memory is a little rough
it would have to be purchased from a dealer since it's a high strength bolt, I tried searching myself and that was the only solution. Sorry to hear about that :c
Thank you I appreciate it! I’m much better at such things now and clearly was nervous then 😂 I Apologize for a late response as my MacBook had stopped working forever ago! Hope this vid helps you or someone you know :) happy new year
It’s always the last bolt eh? I’ve been there. But, silver linings in everything! I’m sure you got this, and I hope my video has helped to some degree. Apologies for the late reply as my MacBook crapped the bed a while ago :c
If you do end up doing some cutting what we attempted (may have succeeded in doing, I forget by now) was welding to further support. Because once that’s all cut it’s not the same. I hope it works out for you my friend and happy new year
I honestly can't tell you the size off memory. I tried researching the specs but couldn't find anything specific. I wouldn't recommend replacing with a temporary bolt just because of how heavy duty the bolt is. Because of it being a high grade big boy who means business I wouldn't put a temporary replacement unless, the temp is grade 8/10 because I believe the bolt itself from GM is grade 8. Anything less might lead to something happening. I personally have a gm dealer in my town, but if you dig deep enough you might find the bolt on GMpartsdirect or genuinegmparts websites. The head of the bolt is also 21mm
@pamminton5988 I apologize for having not seen this sooner. My MacBook crapped itself and I haven’t been able to keep up my channel therefore keep up with comments. If you haven’t found it out by now I recommend going to a GM dealership or someone competent online where you can specifically point out what you need via a diagram. I again am sorry, I appreciate your comment and I wish you a happy new year
We did! We rely on diablo for such cuts. Wish it didn’t have to be on my car but, circumstances 😂 sorry for the delayed response as I’m revisiting some of my media :) hope your car adventures are well and good!
Not sure if I replied I apologize! But I have diagnosed anxiety and it being my first video I know how it looks 😭 even watching it back I thought of how I could’ve done better. But nonethe less despite that I hope it helped you. Thank you for the input, I’m more aware of such now :)
Also have adhd so that doesn’t help too with anxiety 😂 I can’t really recreate the video, but I could attempt to summarize in a more composed fashion via comment if you prefer
Why wait until you have the control arm off until you started filming!? I can't stand when I am working on my vehicle and try to watch to find similar issues I am having with removing or replacing a part! Not if that sucks enough but then you want to watch a actual video showing you exactly how to fix it! I am a man that believes if your going to do a job then you do it to the best standards possible!;!! No matter what the job is or that goes for everything in life what it is!! And I know that other people working on cars on their own and don't have any school training but I have a brain and I can visually watch a video and then I use my notepad and break it down step by step and then I am basically writing my instructions! Listing to someone rambling on very quickly I get so pissed because I don't lean that way! By the way it's nothing personal but set your self high standards and don't take anything less that's how winning is Done!;
I completely understand your frustration and also relate to the fullest. I apologize for having recorded after as it may have been an afterthought, simply because of the process. The caged nut or enclosed nut in a welded box above said subframe was not even visible to the eye. Believe me I tried to get in there and, it wasn’t easy. Recording whilst using mentioned tools and the processes was out of question. We had to use anything we had to even see the cage alone, and the nut itself was near impossible. The main point of this video (going off memory) was to provide guidance more than an actual how to…this car was rolled, which is the only reason we had to do this. In most cases, it would be just a snap a photo and cross your fingers you’re close to being on the nut or accessing it. I was young at the time and stressed after hearing what had happened, and not quite adapted to making such videos. So I do apologize, and I also relate. I hope despite the fact I don’t show accessing the nut above that the walk through was thorough enough! I’ll try harder to anticipate recording such in the future if need be
its not that bad xD its because my sister rolled it and it was bent that the cage broke and made it harder. Might be able to get away with just heat and prying etc
So! I’ve seen a lot of comments regarding my video style, how I went about what I did etc. this was my first car TH-cam video and anxiety is a h*e 😂 so! I may, at some point do an update referring to this video in a more composed manner. As it’s my most viewed, and I believe the viewers (you) deserve more concise, composed information! Though I don’t use my TH-cam channel much, I do a lot of cat work. Which, I upload to TikTok more often…but, if it helps some confusion, I can attempt to clarify this video, and shorten it further. As stated in the video, first take was 13m longer…I appreciate every comment negative, constructive or positive. If I can remember in free time amongst many of my activities to upload a concise more comprehensive version of what’s happening in this video (if needed, most get it but some need clarification), I’ll do it. Thank you :)
For anyone who commented along the lines of “I had this happen” or “something similar” I’d love to hear any updates! As new perspectives help us DIY!
Good job getting it out. I went to a local auto wrecker and they had several HHR/Cobalts that they had disassembled. Got 2 bolts for free, When the mechanics are taking the front end parts off they just throw them inside the car with the parts, Don't just call, actually make the effort to go in to the business, They are more likely to just grab them for you. Good luck out there!
Nice! Thanks for the advice and good luck to you too
Same thing on my 2009 Cobalt. I bought a Sawzall saw and a 9" Diablo blade. I cut to get access to the cage and remove it. For those wondering; no, that doesn't work. not weakened the structure it's just to protect road debris. On the driver's side the bolt is unscrewed 1/2" I made a cut and on the other side completely welded in the rust and nothing moved and I had to make two cuts. For fast delivery with Amazon 2 metric bolts for $72. I chose 9/16 x 5 grade 8 instead; 10 bolts with nuts for $51 which was perfect and delivered the next day.
If you started the job and are in a bad situation; don't waste your time and cut.
Much thanks for translating in English ❤️ if you have any knowledge on where to get specific parts for an SS keep in touch, might end up posting about mine eventually in the future. Much love, merry belated Christmas and soon to be happy new year!
This video convinced me I could not do it myself. Thanks !
You can do it!
I have a 2001 Ford escape that is similar to the Cobalt with control arm design. I replaced the control arms but one of bolts must have backed out then "smashed" on the ground in a dip and tore the capture nut off on the inside of the sub-frame. Hoping your video can help me.
I’ve worked on one Ford Escape extensively and had another prior years before. I also hope my video will help but upon having worked on several GM vehicles and what I have done to our 2012 escape I would say the design would differ. That being said I wish you the best of luck and I’m sure it would be relatively similar regardless. Thank you for commenting I appreciate it and I hope it works out for you. If you have any questions I may be able to answer whenever we put the escape back up on the lift. Merry Christmas and happy new year my friend
Getting read to do my 2011, think I'll spray the nuts with some wd a couple of times and days in advance, hit it with some heat before I try the impact, and hope for the best. If it doesn't come apart, I'll use your method. Good work. Thanks for the info.
@@superuser13 I appreciate the input thanks! I believe we attempted that too but what works better than WD is PB Blaster. It’s a red and white can with yellow font, it works wonders. So if you want you can give that a shot too if things don’t work out. Keep me updated on the progress!
@TrinityInMe_3 done deal, they came right out. My biggest issue was getting the wrong control arms. I had to surface grind 2.5mil off each end of the bushing. But it's all back together now. I'm at Concourse de Maryhill hill climb racing this weekend. Will post some video on my channel when I get back home.
@@superuser13 glad to hear! I actually had to do that with some control arm bushings myself once 😂 have fun and hope it all holds strong
Can i replace the captive nut with a regular hex nut, grade 8?
@@dannydanko4627 hey so I’m not entirely sure I assume the cage alone is to prevent the nut screwing off entirely from vibration. If you were to replace it with a regular nut (good luck) but if you can, double if not triple down on it to help lock eachother in. We I believe (I’m going off memory it’s been a while), believe welded the cage back down? Since this procedure I’ve had no problems. I’ll ask my dad if he remembers exactly what we did because I know we attempted to replace the cage, nut and all
@@dannydanko4627 my dad says a lock washer will help. Use lock tite (good stuff not meant to come off again). Good luck trying to assemble it all it’s by no means easy at all. Also I’d recommend painting the cage or around there to prevent rust. But the cage and nut when ordered is as one piece so I’m not sure how you plan on doing this but good luck.
La même chose sur mon Cobalt 2009. J'ai acheté une scie Sawzall et une lame Diablo de 9". J'ai coupé pour avoir accès a la cage et l'enlever. Pour ceux qui se pose la question; non ça n'affaibli pas la structure c'est juste pour protéger les débris de la route. Coté conducteur la bolt c'est dévissé 1/2" j'ai fais une coupe et de l'autre coté complètement souder dans la rouille et rien ne bougeait et j'ai du faire deux coupes. Pour une livraison rapide avec Amazon 2 bolts métrique pour $72. J'ai plutôt choisi 9/16 x 5 grade 8; 10 bolts avec les écrous pour $51 qui était parfaite et livré le lendemain.
Si vous avez commencé la job et que vous êtes mal pris; ne perder pas votre temps et couper.
J’ai parle un peu de français mais je pense uh je comprendre pour la majority? Alors merci pour ton response mon ami
Apologies for English. But most of what you said in French is exactly what I thought you said, and you’re absolutely right!
I don’t know why manufacturers have to make this a problem for us time and again.
Me neither. I ask myself that every time I work on something there’s always a flaw of some sort 😂 with newer vehicles of any kind it gets worse as it’s for profit. The car in the video is an 08 which I’m grateful is more mechanical than computer! But where there’s a will there’s a way
Is that a new caged nut? Where did it come from, the GM dealer here says they’re not available!
Hey! Sorry for the delay, from what I remember (bear with me it’s been forever!) I do believe we kept the same cage. We found and alternative instead of replacing the cage. If I’m not mistaken it took a weld rod to get it right, I would have to Rewatch to help me confirm via memory but I do not believe we got a new cage. I believe we simply welded what we could down. Car hasn’t had any problems since this “surgery” and it’s almost 350k now :) hope this helps. Again apologies for the delay
Now, the real trick is to get the bolt out without cutting it so it can be used again, in your case it seems it wasn’t too stuck into the bushing since it came free fairly easily. It really was just a captive nut problem which could be dealt with the same way as you did it. Life is a lot easier with a welder!
Problem is uh my sister mayyy have sorta diiiid roll the car therefore bending the bolt and we didn’t know until the tire wore out and blew 😭 we do have weld machines and did think of that, I believe we even tried welding to I forget either the cage or bolt to help remove? It’s been so long…we really didn’t have much of a choice and we couldn’t fix the cage after…overall not a fan of the cage/bolt design but 🤷♂️ the car is still on the road 😂
I will be working by myself and I don’t think I can get it done, but thanks for the advice.
@@demelom2596 if I could do it myself (other than dad helping with torch) you can do it! Cars are really easy, sometimes just takes thinking out of the box. You’ve got this! If something doesn’t work once but YOU THINK it will? Keep on it. Research doesn’t hurt either but trust, you got this! Sorry for the late reply lemme know how you do/did!
Where did you find that new rectangle nut and cage, bolt as well?
sorry John just saw this. I believe I went to a local GM dealer for the new bolt, as well as the cage nut (if I remember correctly). Theres also GMPartsOnline, or a website similar you can check out (it has diagrams and part numbers on the site)
Well I just did 1 found it easier to Sawzall rhe control arm off at the bushing running down the bolt. Then you remove entire control arm. Then spin then you can clamp the vice grips on the sleeve only
I’m going off memory but I believe we tried all that and anything that seemed like it wouldn’t work 😂 after many attempts of such we said screw it and just snip snip 😂 the sleeve itself from memory was seized to the bolt, no amount of holding prevented spinning. BUT that being said, that IS a good tip for anyone who hasn’t had happen what I did!
I would pin this too if I knew how 😂
How did u get access to the cage nut ?
I'll have to remember, I'll get back you you later today with the right answer, thanks for the comment!
Upon review of the video and a talk with my dad here's what made it accessible:
So theres supposed to be a cage, just like a square metal piece over top of the nut (within the cage), in my case one or 2 of the welds broke. The cap I'll call it is welded on the 4 corners, and 2 had broke. I used a chisel to break the other 2 welds, using other chisels as spacers in order to access the welds to break them. Once that cap is off, the nut is exposed, and the nut itself was rust welded pretty much to the bolt. On the HHR I believe there is also 2 holes from the rear side, looking toward the front (looking at where the 21mm bolt is), which also is a small access point. From that hole it was determined that we could create space for more access. Hope this helps, it was quite some time ago and I've since worked on 2 other cars so my memory is a little rough
What size is that bolt? One came OUT of my car. Husband and son searching for one.... 😢
it would have to be purchased from a dealer since it's a high strength bolt, I tried searching myself and that was the only solution. Sorry to hear about that :c
@@TrinityInMe_3 THANKS FRIEND!
@@pamminton5988 no problem :)
GREAT job!
Thank you I appreciate it! I’m much better at such things now and clearly was nervous then 😂 I Apologize for a late response as my MacBook had stopped working forever ago! Hope this vid helps you or someone you know :) happy new year
I have the same issue . Last bolt after a full rebuild and turbo upgrade . Go figure
It’s always the last bolt eh? I’ve been there. But, silver linings in everything! I’m sure you got this, and I hope my video has helped to some degree. Apologies for the late reply as my MacBook crapped the bed a while ago :c
Thanks. Same problem. I spun the bolt so fast it kicked out cage nut. Still have to cut bolt next. Just did this 8-7-22
If you do end up doing some cutting what we attempted (may have succeeded in doing, I forget by now) was welding to further support. Because once that’s all cut it’s not the same. I hope it works out for you my friend and happy new year
What camera did you use? The video quality is excellent.
I believe it was from an iPhone 10 or newer appreciate the feedback thanks :)
How long of a replacement bolt do you need? Oem is 2weeks out for delivery and can’t find oem length. Anyone know what alternative bolt I can buy?
I honestly can't tell you the size off memory. I tried researching the specs but couldn't find anything specific. I wouldn't recommend replacing with a temporary bolt just because of how heavy duty the bolt is. Because of it being a high grade big boy who means business I wouldn't put a temporary replacement unless, the temp is grade 8/10 because I believe the bolt itself from GM is grade 8. Anything less might lead to something happening. I personally have a gm dealer in my town, but if you dig deep enough you might find the bolt on GMpartsdirect or genuinegmparts websites. The head of the bolt is also 21mm
@@TrinityInMe_3 we need one too....
@pamminton5988 I apologize for having not seen this sooner. My MacBook crapped itself and I haven’t been able to keep up my channel therefore keep up with comments. If you haven’t found it out by now I recommend going to a GM dealership or someone competent online where you can specifically point out what you need via a diagram. I again am sorry, I appreciate your comment and I wish you a happy new year
Lifesaver
Glad I could help!
Get a Diablo blade eazy as cut a cake
We did! We rely on diablo for such cuts. Wish it didn’t have to be on my car but, circumstances 😂 sorry for the delayed response as I’m revisiting some of my media :) hope your car adventures are well and good!
I'm having this with a pt cruiser
it's a bitch of a time if you have to do what I did xD
You need to slow down with the camera and hand movements, It's kinda hard to follow you.
Not sure if I replied I apologize! But I have diagnosed anxiety and it being my first video I know how it looks 😭 even watching it back I thought of how I could’ve done better. But nonethe less despite that I hope it helped you. Thank you for the input, I’m more aware of such now :)
Also have adhd so that doesn’t help too with anxiety 😂 I can’t really recreate the video, but I could attempt to summarize in a more composed fashion via comment if you prefer
Why wait until you have the control arm off until you started filming!? I can't stand when I am working on my vehicle and try to watch to find similar issues I am having with removing or replacing a part! Not if that sucks enough but then you want to watch a actual video showing you exactly how to fix it! I am a man that believes if your going to do a job then you do it to the best standards possible!;!! No matter what the job is or that goes for everything in life what it is!! And I know that other people working on cars on their own and don't have any school training but I have a brain and I can visually watch a video and then I use my notepad and break it down step by step and then I am basically writing my instructions! Listing to someone rambling on very quickly I get so pissed because I don't lean that way! By the way it's nothing personal but set your self high standards and don't take anything less that's how winning is Done!;
I completely understand your frustration and also relate to the fullest. I apologize for having recorded after as it may have been an afterthought, simply because of the process. The caged nut or enclosed nut in a welded box above said subframe was not even visible to the eye. Believe me I tried to get in there and, it wasn’t easy. Recording whilst using mentioned tools and the processes was out of question. We had to use anything we had to even see the cage alone, and the nut itself was near impossible. The main point of this video (going off memory) was to provide guidance more than an actual how to…this car was rolled, which is the only reason we had to do this. In most cases, it would be just a snap a photo and cross your fingers you’re close to being on the nut or accessing it. I was young at the time and stressed after hearing what had happened, and not quite adapted to making such videos. So I do apologize, and I also relate. I hope despite the fact I don’t show accessing the nut above that the walk through was thorough enough! I’ll try harder to anticipate recording such in the future if need be
What is wrong with you? 🤡iIt was obviously an afterthought to help others out if they have problems
I think I might just sell my car lol
its not that bad xD its because my sister rolled it and it was bent that the cage broke and made it harder. Might be able to get away with just heat and prying etc