Steering box bolt through?

If one were to strip one of the threads in the steering box mounting would it be possible to put a bolt with a nut on the other side to safely secure it?

I have another vehicle to use and only drive 125 miles a week, so I'm not in a rush to fix the Jeep. Just hoping I don't have to spend money on a new/reman/used steering box.

While it ought to be possible, remember that these are high grade bolts, and the nut must also be high grade. You're dealing with a very critical part here.

Also note that the flange on the steering box is not designed for a nut on that side. It is sloped, and if you simply put a nut on, it will seat very poorly, and may stress the bolt enough to cause it to fail if it doesn't just work loose. I think you'll have to file or grind the surface of the flange flat to accept a nut and washer, or fabricate a sloped washer to fit its contour. It won't work well and tighten properly unless the nut seats on a surface that's a proper 90 degrees to the axis of the bolt.

I don't know about the strength, but I'd consider a helicoil thread insert instead. Maybe someone more experienced with this can tell you whether that would be strong enough.

A final note: you'll notice that the correct bolts are necked down a little on the shank. This turns out to be pretty important, because without this they will rust in place and be impossible to remove. Keep this in mind when looking for new bolts.

Grind the bracket so a lock washer will fit. Take one of the good bolts to lowes and get a grade 8 bolt and nut. Use anti sieze and crank it down.

3fifty said:

Use anti sieze .

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WRONG! you want locktite on those bolts

OMGWTFBBQ!

Then why hasn't mine fallen off or loosened up yet on my trail rig?

You can get a gear box from a part-out pretty cheap