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Broke all rear upper shock mount bolts

robhurlburt

NAXJA Forum User
Location
lexington,ky
Went like this:

PB blaster and heat, lots of it. Didn't matter, snaped like a pretzel.
RageFace2.png


Fair enough, check NAXJA: (just smack the nutserts out from the bottom). Sounds easy enough (grab big hammer and screwdriver), 2 slams and its out:

Everything_went_better_than_expected.png


That was the rear one...Then I went at the one towards the front. Nothing. Slam, slam, curse, drill, slam, slam, curse, repeat x10. No dice. The 2 towards the rear popped out like nothing, the fronts were not moving.

Now I know i have to cut a hole in the floor. I was wondering if anyone had any luck hammering from the top of the bolt (just give me some hope here)?

I plan to follow this guide:
http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/broken_shock_mounts.htm

Last time it will look like this:
P2230124.jpg
 
I wouldnt cut out the floor! I replaced all 4 easily following a thread from here......... im going to look for the link but theres an access hole inboard from the shock mount bolts and you can tape a nut to a boxwrench and get it over the hole and screw in bolt from bottom..
mine were stripped so it was alot easier to clear the holes than a broken bolt. but an air chisel should knock that out?
 
These work well too. (They also keep the shock eyes oriented the same way as the bar pins, but whether that matters much is another discussion.)
http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep_xtras_barpin-eliminator.html

I really don't like the floor cutting method, and didn't have access to an air hammer, so I drilled the broken bolts out, then drilled and tapped for the next larger size and bolted the BPEs up. In hindsight, I'd have gone and bought an air hammer and some hardware and been done with it several hours sooner.
 
but an air chisel should knock that out?


I can't see how buying a set of $40 BPE would cost less than cutting the floor? I have all the tools to do it.

I will check harborfreight for a cheap chisel, hopefully they are real cheap?

$9, this will hopefully do the trick. it only needs to work once or twice:
http://www.harborfreight.com/air-impact-hammer-kit-32940.html
 
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Last thingI heard cutting the floor was pretty dang cheap, but it might of gone up since I cut my floor:rolleyes:

Don't see what the big deal is with cutting the floor? Don't be scared, the cut off wheel is your friend. meow
 
I cut my floor, used an impact wrench & a 17mm socket to break the weld nuts free, dropped bolts through the holes & put a wrench on them to keep it in place, raised the lift & zapped the nuts home. With a trunk full of garbage to re-arrange & a "surprise, I'm now improvising this whole fix unexpectedly" it still took me 1/2 hour or 45 minutes and cost me 7.50 for a piece of sheet metal to put over the holes.
 

that rules. i may do it for the heck of it, but i still need to get the bolts out

Last thingI heard cutting the floor was pretty dang cheap, but it might of gone up since I cut my floor:rolleyes:

like i said i have all the tools to cut up the floor, so yes it is cheap.

I cut my floor, used an impact wrench & a 17mm socket to break the weld nuts free, dropped bolts through the holes & put a wrench on them to keep it in place, raised the lift & zapped the nuts home. With a trunk full of garbage to re-arrange & a "surprise, I'm now improvising this whole fix unexpectedly" it still took me 1/2 hour or 45 minutes and cost me 7.50 for a piece of sheet metal to put over the holes.


spend $10 on a air hammer, and hope my compressor still works, or spend $10 on a piece of sheet metal and caulk to cover the hole.....hmm.....

it almost seems easier to me to cut it, as i heard its kinda a pain to get the new nuts in the right spot. if i cut it i have a nice access hole. The floor doesn't do amost anything structurally IIRC
 
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I can't see how buying a set of $40 BPE would cost less than cutting the floor? I have all the tools to do it.

I will check harborfreight for a cheap chisel, hopefully they are real cheap?

$9, this will hopefully do the trick. it only needs to work once or twice:
http://www.harborfreight.com/air-impact-hammer-kit-32940.html

If Cheap is what your looking for ID still Say dont cut floor .. i didnt use bar pin eliminators. All i did was Put in new hardware . i figured why pay for b.p.e.'s when now that i know how i can easily replace Bolts (if i ever have to) through the access hole. its actually so easy that i wondered why people acted like it was such a big deal.. i say if your doing a lift why not plan on replacing the old ones? on mine that werent stripped i stripped with a drill i believe. and then got the same size as stock bolt/nut but longer because it passed through thhe old nut on top .. (making it an easier fit) So not that im thinking about it i think i didnt knock out the old nut
 
I cut my floor, used an impact wrench & a 17mm socket to break the weld nuts free, dropped bolts through the holes & put a wrench on them to keep it in place, raised the lift & zapped the nuts home. With a trunk full of garbage to re-arrange & a "surprise, I'm now improvising this whole fix unexpectedly" it still took me 1/2 hour or 45 minutes and cost me 7.50 for a piece of sheet metal to put over the holes.


Sounds like more work than what i did and costs more.. all i paid for was New Hardware. im not seing the benefit to going through the floor when theres already an access hole to get to the back of the mount (yes its tight but it wasnt that hard)
strip old nuts with drill and put in new ones..

I for shure left the old nut in there now that im thinking about it .. too bad i cant find that thread it had a clear explanation and clear pics..


To each there own.. i suppose if i had a trail rig or a rough D.D. id probably just hack the floor... (prolly not)
 
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Mine broke and I think I just drilled the bolt out and knocked the left-overs out with a punch, then ran a tap through to clean up the threads....FREE and not too hard.
 
Air hammer is the way to go - very easy plus you get to buy a new tool (cheap one at that) that may be useful in the future.

Use the bolt on a piece of 14 gauge wire trick for feeding new bolts through the frame hole for the upper shock mount spot. You can even get a wrench through there to hold the bolt head while you tighten up the nuts for the shock.

Super simple.
 
FWIW i you have air tools you should go buy an air hammer anyway. It's quite useful for just about anything suspension related that's been bolted up for 20 years.
 
I drill and re-tap them... I have even started using Grade 2 bolts to make the process easier... The only time I have broke the bolt is trying to take the shocks off.
 
To save me the trouble of going thru this problem; everytime I remove the rear shocks bolts I apply some LocCeise to the threads and to make the next bolt removal easier. It something that I learned while in the USN years ago....
 
FWIW i you have air tools you should go buy an air hammer anyway. It's quite useful for just about anything suspension related that's been bolted up for 20 years.

i have a compressor, but the only tool i have for it is a finish nailer. i used it to put down quarter round and haven't touched it since (5yrs, chepo harbor freight)

why are people telling me NOT to cut the floor? What harm can it do?
 
Please just cut the floor already! FWIW - you specifically asked if anyone had luck hammering out the nut. Everyone who has used an hammer has reported success. I have yet to see anyone post that the air hammer did not work. If you search around, you will find a post of mine where I show the tack welds on the nut. There is zero penetration on the body-side of the weld.

Alternatively, you can fit a crescent wrench around the nut by placing the wrench through an existing hole in the shock mount. This is the same hole that one would normally use to install new hardware if they didn't cut holes in the floor. Before buying an air hammer or cutting the floor, put a wrench on the welded nut and smack it with a BFH. You'll probably break the welds.

I was wondering if anyone had any luck hammering from the top of the bolt (just give me some hope here)?
 
why are people telling me NOT to cut the floor? What harm can it do?

I really have no clue why they are making a big deal about it. I broke 3 out of the 4. Instead of spending more money for a tool I'll use once I just got out the cut off wheel and went to town, 45 min later I had all 4 welded bolts off. Went to lowe's to get some grade 8 hardware and was fixed for less than $5.

Btw you could of already had the floor cut and all those bolts replaced by now.
 
I know I am going to end up having to do this when I replace the shocks on my XJ soon here. Cutting into the floor is not an option in my opinion.
 
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