Very dangerous are the breakages of the bolts of the lower arms of the front suspension of the Volga. 1:01 - If you installed through repair bolts-studs on the Volga instead of the lower arm axle, then be prepared for the fact that they will burst after a few months of operation. You can find out what this can lead to by following the link on the forum http://www.gaz3102.ru/forum/viewtopic... 1:37 - An attempt to drill a hardened bushing of the Volga lower arm axle with an 18 mm HSS drill with a powerful drill did not lead to anything, this drill does not take hardened steel. This drill only twisted my arms, because the drill constantly jammed. And yet, how in a garage, without an oxyacetylene torch and a suitable car service, can you solve the problem of the lower arm axles of the Volga front suspension? It turns out that a through bolt from a Chevy Niva, the so-called axle of the lower arms of the front suspension, will suit us perfectly. To do this, using a hammer drill, we drill a hole in the bushing of the axles of the lower arms to 18 mm in several passes with concrete drills. Some motorists install a bolt from a simple Niva of 16.5 mm, drilling a hole in the bushing only to 16.5 mm. See the report on this work here https://www.drive2.ru/l/4516062602408... However, it will be more reliable to install a powerful standard bolt of 18 mm from a Chevy Niva. Here is a motorist who removed the beam and drilled the bushings with 16 mm and 18 mm reamers, without a drill, just a ratchet in four days. https://www.drive2.ru/l/5376903/ He installed the bolts with the ends outward so that they do not touch the steering trapezoid. However, when unscrewing the nuts, the bolt can slide back and jam the steering. Decide for yourself how you will install these bolts. I put the nuts to the trapezoid. So, let's get back to our method. 1:46 - This method of drilling hardened steel with concrete drills belongs to Viktor Leontiev, you just need to sharpen these drills on silicon carbide emery at certain angles. You need to buy at least a pair of concrete drills of each diameter of 16 mm and 18 mm. At first, it is more convenient to drill with short drills, they are cheaper, 210 mm long. Then use longer 260 mm-310 mm. Drills with the sharpening we need are available for sale, the stepped one is not suitable for us. Even for new drills, be sure to correct the cutting edges on silicon carbide emery. How to sharpen drills correctly, watch two videos on Viktor Leontiev’s channel dedicated to sharpening drills. • Video 1:57 - When sharpened correctly, the drill confidently drills a bearing, a file, and even a cutter made of P6M5 steel!!! • Video 2:11 - You need to follow certain conditions to successfully drill the hardened bushing of the Volga’s lower arms. We will remove the metal layer little by little, 0.5-1.0 mm. 3:17 - We use a hammer drill to drill the bushing of the lower arm axles, since it has protection against the drill jamming. 3:33 - For comfortable work, provide yourself with good back support, since you will have to press hard on the hammer drill. We drill the bushing with a hammer drill, rather than hammering. 3:45 - We constantly cool the drill in oil. From time to time, we let the hammer drill cool down as well. I drilled in the winter in the cold, and even then I let the hammer cool down. 3:52 - When the drill drills a hardened bushing, it makes a characteristic sound and gets very hot, smoke comes out of the hole. 4:14 - We constantly adjust the cutting edges of the drill on the grinder, otherwise, the drilling will take a long time. 4:43 - The bushing itself has 18 mm threads at the edges, and in the center the hole narrows to 15 mm. To begin, we drill the bushing with an 18 mm drill to the depth of the thread, having turned the drill surfacing to the required size (for example, 17.5 mm). We make the next pass with a standard 18 mm drill, having previously adjusted the cutting edges of the surfacing on the grinder. Then we proceed to drilling a 15 mm hole. Take a 16 mm drill and grind it down to 15.5 mm and use several drills with different grinding in several passes to drill out this hole. When you finally drill out the bushing with an 18 mm drill, the bolt from the Chevy-Niva may not go in all the way, because the hole alignment is slightly lost. Then work a little more by welding the drill back and forth over the entire surface of the hole. 5:30 - I needed five drills in total. Before installing, do not forget to lubricate the bolt with graphite grease. Otherwise, over time, it will rust so much that you will burn it out of the bushing with an oxyacetylene torch. This is a problem on all Nivas. 5:40 - Lock the bolt with two nuts. 5:49 - Turn the steering wheel, check if the steering linkage joint touches the outer nut. 6:04 - If necessary, cut off part of the nut, round off the cut edges of the nut and bolt. Have a nice renovation!