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Rear upper shock bolts

8K views 32 replies 12 participants last post by  R-U-B-I-C-O-N 
#1 ·
So both bolts on passenger side snapped, tried to drill and back out bit and broke the back out bit. Got the Dremel and with the size of the cut off wheel it only can get half the nut cut.. Been Beatin on it and tryin to drill for hours with no luck. What now?
 
#3 ·
Is the extractor still in it? Did you use the 1 1/2" cutoff wheel? Did you use a punch or chisel combined with a bfg and some elbow grease?
With the gas tank and exhaust pipe not a lot of room to swing a hammer.. Not enough room to get a chisel in either.....

Maybe I just but more drill bits tomorrow and try again, gave up after 4 hours of no luck😡
 
#4 ·
Maybe you drilled the hole to small with to small an extractor. Worse case.......drill and retap. Im about to try and remove mine in the next couple of days..... hopefully your problem dont turn into mine. GL.

Dew
 
#5 ·
Maybe you drilled the hole to small with to small an extractor. Worse case.......drill and retap. Im about to try and remove mine in the next couple of days..... hopefully your problem dont turn into mine. GL. Dew
I hit mine with pb every day for three days prior and only had issues with those 2 bolts. If ya can I recommend peeling back the wheel well and spraying them from the top as well.
 
#6 ·
Im tackling this job soon. Been spraying mine with PB for four days now. Gonna go get a small torch as well before I start. Once you get yours figured out, go buy a bottle of antiseize!
 
#7 ·
Same thing happened to me. I went through lots of bits but got no where, so I took it to a garage who used carbide bits instead of my titanium coated hardware store stuff. They went through three of carbides before they got it drilled out. After I got the jeep home, I mounted the shock with a grade 8 5/16" bolt, two flat washers, and a nyloc nut.

Happy Trails,
Bob
 
#11 ·
Bob, your experience was not the result of non carbide bits. Your local garage using multiple bits (expensive carbide ones at that) is not a sign that one needs a special bit. Your everyday high speed steel bits can bore through the stock shock bolts--I know from experience. I'm currently 6 for 8 on old, corroded, TJ upper rear shock bolts. The two I drilled through were completed using some hss bits off the clearance rack at my local Chinese-o-world.

OP, you never replied as to whether or not the extractor was still lodged in your Jeep. That would probably be a factor in your approach. I would waste zero time trying to drill through an extractor. You can cut about 2/3 of the diameter of the weld nut with the 1.5" Dremel cutoff wheel. If you have already cut through 1/2 of the nut, then get a punch or cold chisel on the nut and hit the snot out of it. It will break off. Maybe ten good whacks with a 3# sledge and bingo, you're installing. If you are having clearance issues, you need a longer punch. The one I used was approx. 15". Wear goggles and gloves. Try not to plunk your thumb.

All readers who are spending hours and hours on drilling these bolts, take five minutes and read about metal drilling. Slow speed, lubricate, start small and step up. Otherwise, knocking the nut off is less time consuming. Spend more time wheeling. :thumb:
 
#8 ·
This is on my list of things to do tomorrow. New shocks are suppose to arrive Monday afternoon, so I thought I would get it all ready, assuming that the removal will be the hardest part. I've been PB blasting all the bolts every few days over the last week and a half. Hopefully they don't snap off, because that will put the repair over my head. Did you guys use an impact wrench on them or a regular ratchet?
 
#9 ·
I did this last month and my two inner bolts at the top snapped. Don't use an impact! I just drilled and tapped a new hole after 4 hours of trying to take the stupid bolt out. She's riding rock solid now. For I were to do it all over again I would try and put some pb blast from the top. Good luck!
 
#10 ·
You may well have something........ i totally forgot about hitting it with a little heat from a torch. I also get my shocks in Monday from Morris...... so ive hit mine already with some loose um up. I know the front wont be a problem ive already had them off.

Dew
 
#12 ·
wheeliemay,

I appreciate your reply. Just so you know, I started with 1/16" and drilled slowly until the bit got dull. Sprayed PB blaster in the hole and started on the next size. (Don't have any spray type cutting oil, so used PB until it ran out then switched to another brand.) Repeated this way until all the bits that were smaller diameter than the bolt were dull. I then went through another box of new Dewalt drill bits the same way, starting at 1/16" and working up. Somewhere on my third new box of drill bits, I ran out of all my spray oil and decided that enough was enough. Perhaps one of the previous 3 owners had put in 10.9 grade bolts. Who knows.

Happy Trails,
Bob
 
#13 ·
Sounds like you gave it a good go. I'm glad you finally got it sorted. Sounds like your current combination of hardware should work out great. For future reference, I've had good luck with 3 in 1 oil for drilling metal--it's cheap. I'm sure there is something even better out there. Happy Jeeping.
 
#14 ·
Just dealt with this and here is what i did. I took an air chiesel with a somewhat pointed end and used it to push the bolt and the welded on nut off. Did 3 out of 4 of them this way. Took less than 5 minutes a bolt. You can probably rent one somwhere. Then i got some grade 8 bolts and washers and nuts and put it back together. I was worried it wouldn't thread but with an air rachet it was np at all.
 
#15 ·
I must have gotten lucky. Just wrapped up my install about an hour ago and believe it or not, no snapped bolts. I used an entire can of pb blaster over the last week and make sure I soaked everything.
 
#16 ·
Well.......I went after it today with my son. Got down to the last bolt on the rear drivers side and the one next to the tank snapped off. Everything had been going pretty smooth until then.

I attempted to use an extractor but with no luck. Tried to drill it out and went at an angle and ruined the nut. After about 4 hours and 12 broken drill bits, a Dremel, a BFH, and a punch I was able to break the nut loose from the frame. I borrowed a small air cut off wheel and ground it down until it fit through the hole in the frame and was able to cut the nut off of the frame.

Now I'm trying to decide the best way to bolt it back on. The hole in the frame is larger than the bolt that goes though shock mount. I'm going to have to do something to keep the bolt from moving around. I'm think about grinding down a couple washers that will keep the bolt centered in the frame. Also have a friend weld a piece on top of the bolt to keep it from free spinning inside the frame and put the nut on the bottom( as opposed to how it was originally). Anyone have any better ideas?
 
#17 ·
Pick up a grade 8 bolt, matching nut, and couple of decent sized washers. I went with 1 1/2" long, and the washer size was maybe about the size of a nickle (od). Drop the bolt w/ washer in from the top and tighten the nut w/ washer from the bottom. You can cut a notch in the very end of the bolt to allow you to put a standard screwdriver in when tightening the nut. Or, grab the tip with vice-grips and tighten the nut. You are about ten minutes away from being done with this one.
 
#19 ·
So........ did i miss it, or whats the solution for the bolts on the upper rear shocks. Those to me appear the scariest to break. Not been in there to much YET waiting on the shocks...... but not a lot of finger room at first glance. Might try a LOCK washer they dont move nearly as much as a washer and keeps things from loosening up with movement.
 
#20 ·
I'm in the same boat (1 bolt snapped). I'm going at it with an air hammer today then I will try to tighten the new grade 8 bolt with a new nut and a lock washer. Has anyone had any luck trying to slip a wrench through the frame and the wheel well to hold the nut while tightening? Got any tips?
 
#27 ·
Well i put the front ones on, but ive got to get the front wheels balanced and aligned so ........ if those bolts are going to break, ill let them break them. This could save me time and the need to purchase tools i dont have..... and then possibly end up taking it to them to fix my mess.
 
#32 ·
Not only do I use anti-seize, but I get out the 4 inch grinder and cut of the excess bolt hanging out the back. Car companies use longer bolts than necessary (with the pilot on the end) to cut down on assembly time. The less thread exposed the rusting the better. That and the fact I probably shaved 4 ounces off the weight of my LJ and can now start reaping the benefit of better gas mileage. :)
 
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