Hi all,
I'm trying to replace upper control arm bushings, and I spent 4 hours today trying to loosen the nuts and bolts from the driver side. I couldn't get them out.

On the frame side of the UCA, I was able to get the nut off after quite a bit of work and PB Blaster. I tapped the end of the bolt back very carefully into the housing. Then I got in the wheelwell and tried to pull the bolt out through the frame access hole. the metal tab is sort of in the way, but I used the tab as a lip to grab onto the bolt. I got it almost out all the way and it stuck. Wasn't going anywhere.

I could turn it clockwise/ccw with no trouble but it wasn't backing out the last few millimeters. Did it get caught, or is there a sneaky trick to get this sucker out?

Then, I tried to loosen up the axle mount UCA nut. I finally broke it free. I am wondering if I need the t55 torx socket, or can I just hammer that bolt out?

Finally, it occurred to me that replacing these bushings is MUCH harder than lower control arm bushings. I am always fighting the coil, or all the suspension gear (track bar, drag link). I just looked at the passenger side and I realized that the frame mount bolt on that side has just a few inches clearance so it's hard to get a hammer in there to pull that bolt out.

Do you need to pull the coils out to do this job, or can it be done with coils in?

I have to say that out of all the things I've done on my 3 XJ's over 10 years, UCA bushings are going to be the toughest. Any help is very much appreciated.

I replaced mine last week I had my XJ's frame suspended on 6ton Jackstands with the front axle on some 3 ton jackstands I used a breaker bar to loosen the nuts once they had 2 threads holding them on I wacked the nut with a Deadblow hammer and had my buddy pull the bolt out of the slot as I punched them through with a Punch. I did soak all my bolts with Kroil and PB blaster for a month before I started. On the axle end I had to cut mine off . I also had to cut off all of my lowers .

When you say "cut" do you mean a SawzAll? Or a cutting torch?!?

To remove the UCA nuts you MUST heat them with a butane torch, due to the loctite

Use this exact same butane torch to get rid of the UCA bushes, which would be a pig of a job without it

In short, burn the bushes with flame, push out inner steel sleeve, set fire to remaining rubber while scraping out with a screwdriver, finally, VERY carefully hacksaw a slit in the outer steel sleeve, use an air or cold chisel, open up one end of the slit, and punch the sleeve out by splitting it

take every precaution against burning your truck to the ground

For what it's worth, I am the original poster from my 2013 thread, and I still remember this job. If I remember correctly, I took a box wrench on that bolt and angled it down so that it was pointing at about a 4 oclock position from the side. Then I took a floor jack and put the free end of the wrench into the cup of the floor jack. Then I very slowly pumped that jack up to break the bolt free. It worked and I was pretty proud of myself for getting that out.

the main problem is the 15mm bolt heads, which are recessed with the unirail, are of some weird design, flag heads I think, but with a very "short" tophat dimension of the bolt head

The flags snap off and there is not enough meat for a socket to hold the head

Forget all that ****, just heat the ****ing nuts for 60secs with Butane torch and they come off like butter, even though its only blue Loctite, there was NO way, I could have got mine out.

I felt so stupid