Question on Control Arm Bushing and ball joint Replacement

I did the same install yesterday and when I was putting the ball joint into the wheel carrier on the drivers side I snapped a bolt inside the wheel carrier. Tried to drill it out and use a easy out bit and snapped that too. Now I al driving around with just one bolt into the wheel carrier. Any suggestions or do I just need to buy a whole new wheel carrier?

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This post was auto-generated based upon a question asked on our tech article page here: Pelican Technical Article: MINI Cooper - Control Arm Bushing and Ball Joint Replacement

[Nick at Pelican Parts]

dO NOT drive the vehicle, it can fall apart causing a crash.

You will have to drill it out and tap it. if that doesn't work, replace the carrier.

- Nick

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Drilling a broken off easy-out is very difficult; you will need to purchase special drill bits for drilling hardened tool steel. Center-punch very carefully so the bit does not wander.

Another option would be to weld a nut to the broken bolt; if the bolt is broken below flush, then build up the bolt with weld (being careful not to weld to the side of the hole) and then welding a nut on. Then you can turn the nut out with a wrench, hopefully with the remains of the bolt.

Failing that, see if you can take the carrier to a machine shop. They have ways of dealing with broken bolts. If nothing else, the hole can be burned out by EDM (Electron Discharge Machining).

It may be simpler to replace the carrier, though.

--DD