Shackle question

Is the nut that holds the top bolt of the shackle welded to the inside of the frame rail or is there some way to get to it that I can't figure out? I can't imagine it's loose inside the frame rail. The last thing I want to do is take it apart and not be able to get to the nut to put it back together.

It's welded in there bud. They have been known to break the weld and you will figure out a way in there in a hurry, but just start ratcheting and it should come out.

what we have done is taken a 2.5" hole saw to the inner unibody to get to it, it was a pain in the ace to get at cause the tanks in the way but once you get a hole there you can actually get a socket on it BUT your gonna have to keep a lot of pressure on it to get it out for it sinks toward the outside of the frame. good thing to do is use LOTS of good penetrating lube in there for a few weeks and just loosen and tighten it a few times when you lube it up,

have fun, i know i did,

before i ever mess with a shackle bolt i have never pulled out i always whack all around it with a hammer, then penetraing oil through every hole in the frame to try to get to it, then some whacks with a hammer, then some heat from a propane torch, then repeat this a few times, then a 1/2" breaker bar or bigger with the 13/16 shallow socket very slowly and carefully and that always works. just make sure to repeat the process as much as possible before you try to use the breaker bar. for that reason i regularly grease the hell outta my spring and shackle bolts. good luck

yup, ive learned to anti sieze EVERYTHING on my truck after taking my old lift out yech,

The other option is to pull up the rear carpet and cut a square out of the rear floor about 2" by 4" right on top of the frame rail. This will allow you access to the nut, and doesn't affect the structure of the frame rail.

PM me and I'll take a pic of my jeep w/ holes. I used PB blaster for 4 months and heated and cooled and went really slowly, and it still broke off because the sleeve inside the bushing was rust welded to the bolt.

Hey do you any of you guys know the size of the nut on the top shackle bolt? I figured it would be 13/16 like the rest but I can not get a socket on it for the life of me. I had to cut through the floor because the welds broke loose (only had a 1ft ratchet on it and the damn thing still broke). Now I am just having a really hard time on figuring out how to get the top bolt out since I can't get a good grip on the nut.

Can I get a pic, I'm headed in the rear shackle direction SOON.