Hi Fatal Apathy.

Click image to enlarge

Your plan of attack for releasing the remaining bolt thread sounds good to me. But I'm not the one out there on the ground in the cold & wet having to fix it..
I've not done a front strut removal on the Freelander before, but it might be quicker / easier to remove the strut with the knuckle still in place - at least that way you get to tackle that thread removal inside at working height. Obviously that approach can release a whole world of fun with lower control arms, steering track rod ball joints & driveshafts.

I guess it is down to your confidence / patience in getting the thread out with the knuckle in situ. If you can get it out (without damaging the knuckle thread), then the job should be easier. More importantly, you will have the satisfaction that you've beaten that bolt...

I wonder if its possible to partially de-rust the old bolt where it spans the gap in the strut. Would a junior hacksaw blade remove some of the crud that jams the shank when you tun the bolt ? Jules

Yes, that would work. When I did the job again on the second strut, I used an old pcb pick tool to remove the debris, followed by a flush of WD40 in the split on the knuckle. Then backed the bolt out roughly 1 - 2 turns. Repeated 4 or 5 times - after that I was reasonably happy there wasn't enough crud to cause any issues.

The second one I did was the offside rear strut (arguably less corrosion and the strut bolt was in better condition)... So the efforts with the pick and copious amounts of WD40 might have been pointless... But I'll be using the same method when I do the front shock absorbers this summer...

I was going to suggest exactly the same, small pick to clean the threads of rust. 👍 Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

So the update so far is the sheared bolt as now been cut in the middle, and I've managed to drill the bolt out to 7mm just leaving about 3mm until you would damage the thread in the hub few photo as always below.

Jack up remove the wheel turn it so you get better access.
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Remove drop link and any wiring in the way.
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Used grinder to make the cut in the centre of the clamp.
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Just touched it at first.
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Then a little bit more.
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Finally right through.
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I then started to drill out the threaded part of the bolt.
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Managed to drill through with 7mm drill bit, tomorrow will see me trying to remove the rest of the bolt.

Posted here too.
https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic40558-15.html

Would it be an option to drill it right out oversize and use a larger diameter, longer bolt with a nut on the outside to clamp the hub back against the strut?
Seems a simpler plan. Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

Quote:

Bobupndown

Would it be an option to drill it right out oversize and use a larger diameter, longer bolt with a nut on the outside to clamp the hub back against the strut?
Seems a simpler plan.

Ok so just a quick report, after a few days of trying to slowly drill out the sheared bolt i gave up, decided to get a second hand hub from a local breaker on Thursday morning, spent another few hours cleaning the hub up.

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wire wheeled and scraped then added some anti rust proofing.
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Left that to dry the rest of the day to tackle the bottom ball joint
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What a nightmare that turned out to be, more info to come.