Front Sway Bar bolts...

Ok, i've got a '98 XJ and i'm trying to replace the stock sway bar links with some JKS quick disconnect ones.

I'm having SERIOUS trouble trying to get the stock lower bolts removed. (These are the ones that run through a small "S"-shaped bracket that is mounted to the axle.) The kit replaces these.

They have Torx heads.
Are these pressed in, welded in, or just threaded in?

I've tried drilling, cutting, and heating up the bracket with a torch and then pounding it with a mini-sledge, but they don't seem to want to come off.

I'm down to a little nub on the driver side, but the pass. side is still intact.

Any help out there for this???

Ive never herd of this ,sorry man

They're pressed in. Friggin' IDIOTs at Jeep decided to use a Torx head on a pressed-in bolt.

When I did mine, we drilled through the Torx hole and then sliced the front and back of the bolt off (use a grinder and don't cut the bracket). This left a little donut in the swaybar bracket - punch that out with an impact hammer-type dealy and you're done.

I've been very successful with using a cut off wheel to cut the bolt in half (to get a more squared surface instead of it being kind of blunt). Then use a tie rod puller and popped the bolts out.

This is the easy way: grind off the head of the bolt, and just tighten the nut (with the swaybar link still on) until the splined part of the bolt pops out.

Mambeu said:

This is the easy way: grind off the head of the bolt, and just tighten the nut (with the swaybar link still on) until the splined part of the bolt pops out.

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I think i like this idea the best so far.
I can't do it on the driver's side as the threaded end has already been cut off, but i'll definitely try it on the pass. side. Thanks!

they are pressed in. the hole and the last 1/4 inch of the bolt below the head are splined. .... yucca man,,, i think the reason they put the the torx head on is so if the spines strip out , you can use the torx wrench to hold the bolt while you remove the nut with a wrench.....
if you have a large C-clamp and a couple of sockets you can press it out yourself..
dont beat on it with a hammer, you will only bend the bracket on the axle..

Hmmm...
A c-clamp is cheaper than an angle grinder. (I have neither here...)

The hard part for me was the nut holding it on. Everything is rusted together. Once i got that off a simple blows with a little sleghammer poped 'em right out.

Mambeu said:

This is the easy way: grind off the head of the bolt, and just tighten the nut (with the swaybar link still on) until the splined part of the bolt pops out.

Click to expand...

I like that idea! I used some heat, and air hammer...it is frustrating, but they did eventually pop out.

Air hammer and it took about 2 seconds per side.

Rock lizard had a great tech wite up on this very thing!

http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/swaybar_endlinks.htm

XJ Ron said:

Rock lizard had a great tech wite up on this very thing!

http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/swaybar_endlinks.htm

Click to expand...

thats the same way i did mine. bought a tie rod puller for 13 bucks and had at it. took me a little longer though with the amount of rust that accumulated on the passenger side. the inner sleve of the bushing stuck to the bolt and the corrosion prevented removal. it took some creative use of a pipe wrench to break it free, then it was easy as cake.

The Adam Blaster said:

Hmmm...
A c-clamp is cheaper than an angle grinder. (I have neither here...)

Click to expand...

Leave the nut on the end of the stud and use a pitman arm puller...it takes about 2 minutes and it is as easy as you can get.

Well, where was the puller idea 5 days ago??? lol
I got one bolt out tonight with the help of a buddy. We cut the torx head off and used a 1/2" socket to slide over the bolt and act as a spacer so we didn't have to tighten the nut all the way to the bracket. (Half the threads were blown off from hammer poundings.)
We then used a breaker bar and really tightened the nut up against the socket, and it pulled the bolt through. This was on the pass. side, and there isn't a lot of space because of the steering stabilizer, even with the wheels turned all the way driver side.
I wonder how that puller idea works on the pass. side with the tight space? I guess flipping the puller sideways would help??

Anyways, tried a little on driver, but didn't get very far. I cut it down to a nub, that was a mistake, but also before i realized how hard this was going to be.
I also drilled a small hole through it, so tomorrow i'm going to find some small bolts and matching nuts and a washer and try the same method that worked tonight.

Oh ya, at some point i pulled out my air hammer, little Campbell Hausfeld and a little 5 gallon tank. No effect from that bad boy. Just a slight ringing in my ears.

Yeah...the studs can be a b*tch. The puller works on both sides you just have to pop the stud out for the steering stabilizer while your doing it. Good luck!

yeah, the puller is the easiest way; if you have one.
the c- clamp with a socket over the torx head end of the bolt is the poor mans puller.

RicksXJ said:

yeah, the puller is the easiest way; if you have one.
the c- clamp with a socket over the torx head end of the bolt is the poor mans puller.

Click to expand...

Hmmm... Didn't try that way, i was trying to use the c-clamp just braced against the bracket and pulling against the bolt end.
Your way makes more sense! :idea:

Update! Sort of...

Well, i'm sort of at my wit's end with the driver's side bolt.
Tonight i went at it again with a c-clamp, 2 actually. I used a socket and went at it from the outside, then inside, and back to the outside.
All i ended up with was 2 bent to hell clamps.

The 4" one went pretty quick. The 6" took longer, but suffered more damage.
(Forgive my lack of knowledge regarding the parts of a c-clamp below.)
The flat rotating part at the end of the threaded part got bent, almost had the threaded part poke through. And the little bar that you use to tighten the clamp is bent and chewed up from the bar i used to add some extra leverage.

Thinking back to the amount of force we used with the breaker bar on the pass. side, i'm not sure how i'm going to get this little nub of a bolt off the bracket...

I think tommorow i'll go back to the drill, and try to widen the hole that's already in there.

Re: Update! Sort of...

The Adam Blaster said:

Well, i'm sort of at my wit's end with the driver's side bolt.
Tonight i went at it again with a c-clamp, 2 actually. I used a socket and went at it from the outside, then inside, and back to the outside.
All i ended up with was 2 bent to hell clamps.

The 4" one went pretty quick. The 6" took longer, but suffered more damage.
(Forgive my lack of knowledge regarding the parts of a c-clamp below.)
The flat rotating part at the end of the threaded part got bent, almost had the threaded part poke through. And the little bar that you use to tighten the clamp is bent and chewed up from the bar i used to add some extra leverage.

Thinking back to the amount of force we used with the breaker bar on the pass. side, i'm not sure how i'm going to get this little nub of a bolt off the bracket...

I think tommorow i'll go back to the drill, and try to widen the hole that's already in there.

Click to expand...

C-clamps are not ment for that kind of stress...try the puller while leaving the nut on the end of the stud...it will be out in 10 minutes.