Hi all-

So I replaced all four tie rods on my 1998 Ranger XLT RWD (apparently you aren't supposed to hold the shaft and be able to shake the ball joints like jingle bells), and I brought it into Midas for an alignment. The tech told me that they adjusted all of the angles except the L caster angle which he described as being "a little off" which may cause "a little pulling to the left". Let's just say it is more than a little off and the truck pulls hard to the left. The tech stated that the issue was a frozen upper control arm bolt and this is where my question comes in:

What needs to be done in order to un-stick this bolt and be able to adjust the caster angle? Is this just a matter of getting the nut to come off, or is the bolt likely seized inside the bushing? If it is seized inside the bushing, what are the odds of being able to work the bolt out and replacing it without having to replace the bushing? I replaced the leaf spring shackles a year or so ago, and those bolts fused with the rubber of the bushings so they were a bitch and a half, possibly two bitches, to get out (ended up having to cut the head off, and using a ball joint press to force the whole bolt/rubber mess out). Am I looking at the same thing here, or will the bolt come out cleanly (once I get it un-stuck and free of 16 years of rust)?

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I just want to know what I am getting myself into before I start...

Thanks guys,
Brett

 

id PB blast it it doesn't require a lot of movement to set the angle so as long as you can loosen the bolt a few turns you should be able to adjust the angle without having to get a new bolt it just slides in a groove and the bolt holds it tight in that position so wherever the bolt goes the bushing is going with it so unless you just want a new bolt id just try to free it up a bit. Also i can't see caster causing a huge pull unless you have hit something substantial they don't move a lot on these trucks I've aligned mine myself several times at work and caster is never out that bad.

 

Cross Caster being off by even 1 degre will cause a drift or a pull. It indirectly affects your toe and when your toe tries to equalize its self out wale your driving it will pull or push one of the knuckles. I'm surprised the mechanic didn't set the other side to equal that and have it not pull. I would rather them tell me the proble and ware tires than hafto figh the truck every time i drive. As for the bolt pearlkid9988 is right. If you don't hafto remove the bolt than leave it. Unless they were selling you a cam bolt they should have Ben able to set alignment. Just hit it with pb and tap on it day to day. It will come loose eventually.

 

looks like you are going to have to use a cut-off wheel and cut both ends of the bolt off

you will have to cut through the rubber bushing sleeve , then the bolt to get the upper control arm off

the bolt has been rust welded to inside of the sleeve

 

Replace with those adjustable aftermarket ones.