# Sawzall blade to cut a grade 10.9 bolt



## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Recommendation please! Bolt is 90mm long, 16mm thick, grade 10.9. It is a suspension bolt that has the bolt head blocked by a fuel tank. A Ford better idea, I suppose.

I have enough room to get a blade in there, and don't want to use an angle grinder for obvious reasons.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Sawsalls blade speed is too fast for the best blades when it come to real hard steel.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Nealtw said:


> Sawsalls blade speed is too fast for the best blades when it come to real hard steel.


Trigger controls cut speed, at least on mine. I think a diablo carbide should do the trick.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

BP, can you get to the nut? Believe it or not, I had to use my Dremal to cut one of the nuts off when I was replacing the trailing arms on our Pathfinder, I couldn't get a side grinder in there.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

BigJim said:


> BP, can you get to the nut? Believe it or not, I had to use my Dremal to cut one of the nuts off when I was replacing the trailing arms on our Pathfinder, I couldn't get a side grinder in there.


Oh, the nut is completely accessible. When you take the nut off, however, the fuel tank blocks the bolt. Have to drop the tank, or cut the bolt head off then pull it out. Not enough room to just push it through. Yeah.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Bigplanz said:


> Oh, the nut is completely accessible. When you take the nut off, however, the fuel tank blocks the bolt. Have to drop the tank, or cut the bolt head off then pull it out. Not enough room to just push it through. Yeah.


Just think about the teeth that you would find on a hacksaw blade and the speed you would cut with a hack saw. :wink2:


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Nealtw said:


> Just think about the teeth that you would find on a hacksaw blade and the speed you would cut with a hack saw. :wink2:


Hacksaw would be torture.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Bigplanz said:


> Hacksaw would be torture.


What you need is a hack saw blade that fits your saw and the cut at the speed of a hack saw. :devil3:


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Nealtw said:


> What you need is a hack saw blade that fits your saw and the cut at the speed of a hack saw. :devil3:


I am going with my $20 HF sawzall and $15 Diablo carbide blade from Home Depot. And, yes, I have replacement hardware.


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## Yodaman (Mar 9, 2015)

Hopefully you were able to find a fine tooth carbide blade. If the teeth chip out, try a carbide grit blade. I believe the 10.9 is in the mid 40's on the Rockwell C hardness scale. Carbide is about RC 70, plenty hard enough if you don't chip the teeth.
Good luck


ps. even a good bi-metel blade is hard enough, but will wear quickly if you run too fast.


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## hkstroud (Mar 17, 2011)

> I am going with my $20 HF sawzall and $15 Diablo carbide blade from Home Depot.



Bet it works.


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## ChuckF. (Aug 25, 2013)

I was just about to say that Diablo has a whole new line of specialized sawzall blades for tough jobs, fine toothed brazed-carbides included.

Might need a trickle of water to cool the blade, whatever you use.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

BP, is that bolt on a trailing arm? I had one just like that, I was able to push the bolt out of the first side of the flange. When I did that, I twisted the trailing arm which made the bolt sit at an angle and I could get the bolt on out that way. I saw a video of a fellow who bent the flanges to get a bolt out like that, that may also be an option.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Have to ask... how will you get the new one in? Won't you still have to pull the tank?


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

raylo32 said:


> Have to ask... how will you get the new one in? Won't you still have to pull the tank?


Just put it in with the nut on the fuel tank side. It doesn't make any difference.

My guess is that at the factory the suspension was assembled first, then the fuel tank went on. Therefore, no blockage problem when assembled. What they didn't know is that these lower and upper trailing arms are notorius for rusting out, so quite a few Expeditions/Navigators of this era (1997-2002) end up needing this repair.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

BigJim said:


> BP, is that bolt on a trailing arm? I had one just like that, I was able to push the bolt out of the first side of the flange. When I did that, I twisted the trailing arm which made the bolt sit at an angle and I could get the bolt on out that way. I saw a video of a fellow who bent the flanges to get a bolt out like that, that may also be an option.


I saw the bend the flange video. Seemed sketchy to me to bend a suspension component to get something to come out. Might change my mind if I can't get the bolt cut. That tank is NOT coming out.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Bigplanz said:


> I saw the bend the flange video. Seemed sketchy to me to bend a suspension component to get something to come out. Might change my mind if I can't get the bolt cut. That tank is NOT coming out.


That is exactly what I said, no way was that tank coming out. When I twisted the trailing arm, I rolled the loose end up into the flange which made the bolt head end angle down. Surprisingly it came out without too much trouble then, as the bolt had just enough room to clear the tank. I sure hope that will work for you also, those trailing arms can be a real pain, at least for me they were.

I wasn't too thrilled about bending a support flange either. I was really happy the bolt came out without having too.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Here is the bolt I am going to have to cut through. (This on a 2000 Expedition, but it is the same bolt.)


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

BP, that is the way mine looked, have you tried to twist the arm so the bolt will clear the tank, that is what worked for me. It may not work on your truck though. Dern shame you can't bend that bolt but it is tempered so hard it would only snap instead of bend. It does look like you can get a dremal up in there with a small cutoff wheel. I cut the track bolt off my dozer one time with a dremal and cut off wheel.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

How will you get a new one in, if you can't get the old one out.


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## Porsche986S (Dec 10, 2017)

Looking at the pic it should be no big deal to cut off the bolt . Obviously keep an eye on that wiring harness :biggrin2: . Spray some oil/silicone/whatever you have and keep the blade speed down . Use some decent quality bimetal blades and you'll get it done . And your plan to install the bolt from the other direction is spot on , it will make any future repairs ( if needed ) so much easier . From the looks of the rust on that bolt I would coat the new bolts with either grease or anti-seize as an extra measure of protection .


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Nealtw said:


> How will you get a new one in, if you can't get the old one out.


You put the bolt in the other way, with the nut on the fuel tank side.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

BigJim said:


> BP, that is the way mine looked, have you tried to twist the arm so the bolt will clear the tank, that is what worked for me. It may not work on your truck though. Dern shame you can't bend that bolt but it is tempered so hard it would only snap instead of bend. It does look like you can get a dremal up in there with a small cutoff wheel. I cut the track bolt off my dozer one time with a dremal and cut off wheel.


Dremel/angle grinder is not advisable, given the 19 year old rusty fuel tank is right there. Too much risk, shower of sparks, gasoline near by, etc.


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

I noticed in the picture that the bolt you're replace has an upset (larger) shaft under the head. Most likely it's made that way so that it doesn't clamp the mount against the plate. If you put a regular bolt through from the other side, 2 things will happen - 1) the mount will end up tight against the plate, restricting the rotation of the mount and eventually wearing through the plate, and 2) the new bolt will be too small for the hole in the plate, so the mount will wander around. 



I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but dropping the tank (or at least freeing it up enough to move it out of the way) is really the only way to do this right.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

HotRodx10 said:


> I noticed in the picture that the bolt you're replace has an upset (larger) shaft under the head. Most likely it's made that way so that it doesn't clamp the mount against the plate. If you put a regular bolt through from the other side, 2 things will happen - 1) the mount will end up tight against the plate, restricting the rotation of the mount and eventually wearing through the plate, and 2) the new bolt will be too small for the hole in the plate, so the mount will wander around.
> 
> 
> 
> I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but dropping the tank (or at least freeing it up enough to move it out of the way) is really the only way to do this right.


Attached are photos of the new bolt and what it goes into. It looks like the bolt I reversed on the other side when I replaced the other lower control arm a couple of weeks ago. Fitment was fine. It doesn't appear that it makes any difference which way the bolt is oriented. Searched in forums and reversing his bolt is a common practice. I am pretty sure this will work.


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

Of course it will fit; I just didn't know how critical the alignment of the mount is and what it means if it is able to move around that little bit. It's your vehicle, so you have to live with it. I just wanted to make you aware that the mount will have a little more play than it used to, since the hole in the mount and the hole in the frame are both larger than the threaded end of the bolt.


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## Calson (Jan 23, 2019)

If it will fit I would use a cut-off wheel on a hand grinder. Sparks are not a worry unless you are in an enclosed space. Think about the sparks flying around and open flames at a muffler shop. Gasoline itself is not flammable, only when it is a vapor will it combust.


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## hkstroud (Mar 17, 2011)

Abrasive sawsall blade


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