rear shocks - what's the risk of bolt breakage now?

[onebluemcm]

I've searched and read through all the posts about changing the rear shocks - I'm realizing this site is an awesome resource for the XJ owner... Had great luck with the forums in helping to figure out I had an issue with front U-joints - they are all fixed up now!

So, I read that the b@$tards (ie, upper shock bolts) will break off if you look at them wrong.

I've been spraying mine with PB Blaster every night for about a week or more - spraying both from the bottom and from the top, through that triangular hole in the body cross member back there. Some days, they get sprayed in the morning before work, and in the evening too.

How likely is it that they will snap off? I'm anticipating the worst, even after all the PB, though the stuff is pretty amazing. The XJ has got 177k on it, all in NY and mostly highway - easy mileage - it's not the rustiest XJ I've seen, but it's seen it's share of corrosion. Any tricks, other than the PB, to getting the bolts out without breakage?

I will probably spray them a few more days, then give it the old college try - I'll be sure to post back here what happens, maybe this thread will help someone out down the road. If they break off, it's probably not worth days of spraying them with PB - may as well just break them all off and get on with it. But hey, if it works, maybe it is a worth while thing to use a whole can of PB on......well, maybe not a WHOLE can......

[ponyracer1]

HAHAHA, pretty dam likely. Mines an 01 with 40K that came from nevada and never saw snow till 2 years ago. All but one of mine snapped.

[thebrick]

I replaced my shocks a couple of months ago...didn't break on bolt. Didn't think about it at the time, but should have replace them with some grade 8 bolts.

But I did what you did...soak them with PB Blaster...then hit each one squarely on the bolt head a few times with a hammer...to help loosen up any rust.

When it came time to remove the bolt...I used a long extension and univeral joint...it was had to get the socket to fit 'square' over the bolt head without one...the shock gets in the way and the bolts are at a slight angle relative to the body. I tried to used a box-end wrench, but it was difficult to get any leaverage.

So, just slowly turned counter-clock wise and each one came out with no problem.

Of course I live in central Cali...all we get is sun and rain.

[rocklandxjer]

ithica NY... 100% at least one... PB a couple times a day for two days while hitting it on the bolt heads with a hammer each time. then pray for the best...

[MoparManiac]

Yeah I dunno I must have got really lucky. I live in the northeast and my 91 has a rotted hole in the drivers floor and both rockers. I sprayed all four bolts down starting about a week before I was doing my lift and then when the time came all four came out without a problem. Weird? yeah according to many. Impossible? definately not.

[rocklandxjer]

its all about patience and prep. if you spray em and let em soak, youll be less likely to break... but up here its kina hard to not break one. good for you!

[SteveT]

Heat. Hit it with a torch (propane or MAPP) for a minute. or so. It'll expand the metal, ever so slightly, and help break the rust loose.

[1985xjlaredo]

Try to turn the boltl
tighter a little then start to back it off

[ert01]

I only broke one myself, but I leanerd a few things about it.

1) use PB and heat. Then tap it a few times to loosen the rust and let the PB into the threads a bit.
2) don't use an EZ-Out or extractor. They break! Just get a drill bit and skip right to the drilling stage. You'll break the ezout and that sucks to drill through.

If one does break, centre punch the broken bolt, then drill it out to whatever size it takes to get a 3/8" tap in there and retap it to 3/8.

[black2door]

I broke em all

[groovyone]

120K miles on mine and managed not to break any! Got lucky I guess.

[rocklandxjer]

have you removed them? thats what we are talking about, removing the bolts when replacing shocks

[rocklandxjer]

I will probably spray them a few more days, then give it the old college try - I'll be sure to post back here what happens, maybe this thread will help someone out down the road. If they break off, it's probably not worth days of spraying them with PB - may as well just break them all off and get on with it. But hey, if it works, maybe it is a worth while thing to use a whole can of PB on......well, maybe not a WHOLE can......

yea, but it sucks having to tap and dye up there, when you could just spend a couple days PBing it and get a couple, if not all out.

[Sparkman]

I soaked mine and then turned a little out, then in, then out, you get the idea. Didn't break one.

If I was home I'd give you a hand, but I'm out of the country on business. Good luck!

[TMXONR]

When I put my lift on, I sprayed some AeroKroil on them a couple days before, then right before we took them off we used some WD40. My XJ is an 87, and we didn't break one bolt or snap off one nut. Of course we used a regular ratchet, and a breaker bar on the bolts with nuts welded inside the frame.

[Matthew Currie]

I always do it as Sparkman does. On my very rusty 87 with shocks so old they were rusted out and the bolt heads were hard to find in the bed of rust, all the bolts came out. On my stepson's relatively rusty 93 with original shocks they came right out. On my 95, at a time when it showed almost no rust, I broke 3. On my stepson's 96 I broke all 4. Go figure. ETA I just realized that with that trend, if I ever have to do my 99, which has almost no rust at all, I'll probably break a few extras that aren't even there!

[chelms27]

My 97 from Texas w/o any rust I sprayed for 2 weeks prior, and then was really gentle keeping the angles of the socket perfect broke all four without even thinking about coming out. It was easy to knock the old nuts off, and hold new nuts up with a wrench and put new bolts in. Good Luck

[Rocketman]

I broke mine so I WELDED the Rocky Road BPE's in place so I never have to worry about it again. I can change the shocks at will now. If you break em off, you can drive it to a welder with no shocks to get mounts welded on if necessary. Just don't hit the railroad tracks at 60mph...:shhh:

[dizzymac]

If they ...I mean when they break...just drill them out to a size that will work and put a nut and bolt in their place. You can go about it a couple of ways...Its possible to get a nut or bolt in between the floor pan and the crossmember that holds the upper rear shock bolts. Its a real PITA but it can be done. You can try to put a bolt down thru the hole you just drilled or slide a nut over the weld nut thats already in there and thread a bolt in to it from below. OR....
You can cut two little access panels in your floor pan, remember.. the shock mounts are not directly across from each other, look underneath and you'll see where to cut. I would cut round holes, less chance of them tearing. Now you can replace those bolts, you can cover the holes over in whatever manner works for you.
I think there is a thread in here on how someone else did it, check it out and you can modify it to suit your needs.

[YeaItsSlo]

i got a 96, i sprayed them for a week.. and all 4 snapped..

[camarors8992]

Wow, I thought I just had some really bad luck. I went to change my rear shocks and started to get the top bolts and the first one snapped. I just put my rear tire back on and left it be as I saw the headache it was going to become.

[BCParker]

I snapped three and spun the nut on the other.

this was after a good solid week of PB twice a day.


drilling was nearly impossible. ended up punching them out with an air chisel,

using large washers and grade 8 bolts (zinc coated) to replace.

it's a pain in the ass (and the hands) but you can get a short box end

wrench with the new nut taped to it up through the holes in the 'frame'.

I needed a helper to get the new bolts threaded and torqued down.



if I ever do it again I'll be cutting holes in the floor and going at em from the top.

-B

[MrShaft696]

I snapped all 4 drilled em, and used the part from the rear sway bar assembly as a bar pin eliminator. I think i duct taped a nut to the end of a wrench and tightened everything back up

[onebluemcm]

I soaked mine and then turned a little out, then in, then out, you get the idea. Didn't break one.

If I was home I'd give you a hand, but I'm out of the country on business. Good luck!


Really appreciate it - I might not get to it until next week - more time to continue spraying them with PB - I'll begin knocking them with a hammer after spraying the PB.

I'm thankful for all the feedback, but the stories are not encouraging - if they break off, I think I'll try to punch the welded-on nuts through (a good reason for a new, long punch or set of 'em.....;) and if that doesnt work, I suppose I'll rip up the carpet and try that way with cutting holes. I do have an angle grinder with a few cut-off wheels - is that appropriate for cutting through the floor pan over the shock mounts?

[1985xjlaredo]

OK take it to a shop and let them break stuff then argue with them after they break it and see what become free parts for you.
But do the PB about 2 weeks before and clean the bottom of the thing before you take it to em

[mjd99xj]

I have a theory about this... its not what state your from its how crappy the factory undercoating happens to be on your particular car... between me and a couple friends we have 5 98-00 xjs and a couple are rust ballls acd a few are perfect underneath. All upstate NY and driven through winters. soaked mine at least 2 weeks, heated, worked in and out and all 4 still disentegrated. bpe's kick ass!

[Gordy]

Sprayed the hell out of mine with WD40, but still had 3 of the 4 snap on me, you need a really good quality center drill bit to drill 'em out. I drilled one out then broke the center drill bit on the second. Had enough pissing around so I welded studs in and solved the problem once and for all.

[AlohaBra]

I broke mine so I WELDED the Rocky Road BPE's in place so I never have to worry about it again. I can change the shocks at will now. If you break em off, you can drive it to a welder with no shocks to get mounts welded on if necessary. Just don't hit the railroad tracks at 60mph...:shhh:
I use the Rocky Road BPEs front and back, but didn't weld them...butta like a previous post...this is sunny California.
The RR BPE uses one large bolt and a very strong base so welding the base in place means those screws (not bolts) will never need to be removed again. If they do break put a bolt in there and weld it.

If fact, get the BPEs before you change shocks, so if you break the screws, you can just drill them out and put the BPE in place (a 5 minute job).

[wacho4]

Sprayed for two weeks, almost a whole can of PB, puls a little wd-40 while at work(why not let the boss pay for it).99 with only 50 some k miles. Broke all 4. Broke a drill bit while drilling out second bolt. Broke a tap trying to tap second hole after drilling out broken drill bit. Completly dulled, sharpened on dad's drill docter, then broke another drill bit while trying to drill out broken tap. All this on a drizzly, foggy day in our dirt and gravel driveway. I Gave up. The local Jeep dealer(which also operates as an off road shop) charged me like 15 bucks to finish drilling everything out after I got off work the next day(they broke 2 bits, too ha ha). I then replaced with regular bolt and nut. Stainless. Oh yeah, go careful with it while driving without the rear shocks.

[wacho4]

Oh yeah I'm in Maryland, But my XJ originally came from New York state as well.

[Rocketman]

After reading this post and many others it seems people have the mis-impression that Stainless Steel bolts are good. Their strength is LESS than grade 5 and closer to a 3. They just don't rust. Zinc plated 5's or 8's perform much better with a little anti-seeze and cost about 1/4 the price of SS.

I wouldn't use SS anywhere on my junk.

[guzzirider]

i broke both on one side?? What the heck is PB?

[Sparkman]

PB Blaster, one of the best penetrating oils. Available around here at most places, Walmart, Tractor Supply, most auto parts stores. Aero Kroil is really good too.

[wacho4]

After reading this post and many others it seems people have the mis-impression that Stainless Steel bolts are good. Their strength is LESS than grade 5 and closer to a 3. They just don't rust. Zinc plated 5's or 8's perform much better with a little anti-seeze and cost about 1/4 the price of SS.

I wouldn't use SS anywhere on my junk.

I was only worried about thier rust. Mine say they are grade 5. Anything on my XJ is only temporary anyway, It can always be a little better.
I wouldn't think these bolts need to be all that strong. As long as you have the bumpstop correct and long enough shock travel. And what they go into isn't much more than sheetmetal anyway. Is my train of thought that wrong?

[glub]

I cut holes in the floor.. it doesn't take long to get the carpet out actually.... I had OME shocks and my grade 8 bolts were longer than needed, so I installed the bolt from the outside in, with the nut on the inside of mount to avoid excess bolt length hitting the shock. Other shocks (esp. stem up) might not have this problem.

I'm gonna seal it up with seam sealer and a rivet or two, so that it will relatively easy to get off if there's a next time.

I didn't do this, but was thinking you could set it up to be easier next time by installing the bolt from the inside out and tighten them down with a washer and nut before the barpins goes on... i.e:

bolt head -> washer -> FLOOR -> washer -> nut -> barpin -> washer -> nut

This would hold the barpin off the underside of the floor mount by the depth of the washer + nut, but should prevent the bolt from free spinning. Maybe even locktite the first nut, and then anti-seize the final one...

Or weld the bolts to a plate at the right spacing and insert it from the inside...


If time is tight and there's any danger of breaking bolts, the only way to make the job deterministic is to cut the floor! You'll save time in the long run, plus you can get a good idea what kind of rust holes you have in the cargo floor!

[wacho4]

the rust, not thier rust , sorry

[dynorockcg]

I just took all 4 out without any breaks. I sprayed with PB every 1-2 days for about a week. The 01 has been in VA and NC since I got it in 03 or 04 (was previously an Enterprise rent-a-car so who knows where it has been). Just make sure you are square (use the shock as a guide) and use plenty of pressure pushing upwards and turn slowly. You should be able to tell if they are turning or twisting.

[mlanicca]

I got all 4 out without breaking any. Sprayed them with PB everyday for a week, and used an impact wrench on the lowest settint to get them out. Went back and forth from loosening to tightening. One of them took almost 15 minutes to get out.

[orangegilly]

I swapped out the shocks on mine about 3 weeks ago. Broke 2/4 bolts, one on each side (after soaking with PB for about a week and a half). My Jeep-mechanic friend told me to just turn the shock slightly, and use a 1/4" self-tapping hex-head screw for the other side. Not a permanent solution, but it's just a daily driver at the moment and I can't see it coming out of there with one good bolt and a screw on each shock. Once I get a lift, I'll probably do something a bit more permanent, but it's fine for now.

[tgoff]

The bolts shouldn’t break. I have an 86 XJ just recently changed the shocks without realizing all of these people are breaking them. I had no trouble at all came off piece of cake. I used PB as well but only the night before and morning of. The Jeep has spent its lift on the coast of Humboldt County CA and has its fair share of rust as well.

[glub]

The bolts shouldn’t break. I have an 86 XJ just recently changed the shocks without realizing all of these people are breaking them. I had no trouble at all came off piece of cake. I used PB as well but only the night before and morning of. The Jeep has spent its lift on the coast of Humboldt County CA and has its fair share of rust as well.

they shouldn't.. but they do

[rocklandxjer]

heh heh

[stevez]

Well the bottom of my 91 XJ is a rusty mess but I didn't break a bolt last week. The lowers were sprayed with penetrating oil for a few days and cam right out. The upper bolts are the trouble makers but the trick is to spray them and carefully tighten them a smidge and then loosen a smidge. Everytime you hear a creak go the other way with your wrench (not an air-tool). Being on a lift is helpful too.