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lift underway quick question

C

clay

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Auburn, Alabama
Are there any tricks to removing the front eye bolt on the rear leaf springs of an XJ? Everything else has come off smoothly (including the upper shock bolts!) but even with a breaker bar and lots of tugging I can't get the front of the leafs undone. I know that I should count my blessing that everything else has come off so well with no real troubles but I'm kinda stuck and could use any wisdom available.

I'm putting an RE 3.5" lift on a 1995 XJ, fourdoor, 4.0, automatic, 231, blah blah (I don't think you need to know this but thought I'd add it in case). Fast help will be appreciated!
 
Last edited:
yeah, impact gun will vibrate it and help if you have acess to one. PB blaster good idea. if you dont have an impact tug in bursts to hopefuly vibrate it out...

pipe on the breaker bar?
 
clay said:
Are there any tricks to removing the front eye bolt on the rear leaf springs of an XJ? Everything else has come off smoothly (including the upper shock bolts!) but even with a breaker bar and lots of tugging I can't get the front of the leafs undone. I know that I should count my blessing that everything else has come off so well with no real troubles but I'm kinda stuck and could use any wisdom available.

I'm putting an RE 3.5" lift on a 1995 XJ, fourdoor, 4.0, automatic, 231, blah blah (I don't think you need to know this but thought I'd add it in case). Fast help will be appreciated!
Click to expand...
Some kind of penetrating oil, but you will have to leave it on for a while to work its way in (like overnight or even a day or two). Or you could try heating it with a propane torch (but don't flame it with PB Blaster on there, or you will light up like a chinese lantern!). If neither of those help, take a grinder to it and replace it with a new grade 8 bolt and nut. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but these things have worked for me in the past.
Good luck,
Buck :canada:
 
Hey buck I used this Technique on my bump stop bolts, it might work for your problem too. I drilled a small hole above the bolt just big enough to insert the straw from the penitrating oil can, and sprayed away. The hole will let the oil get inside the frame rails to the backside of the welded on nut. Might be enough to break it free. You might want to slap a spot of paint on the hole before you get any oil on it too.
 
what exactly do you mean by
clay said:
but even with a breaker bar and lots of tugging I can't get the front of the leafs undone.
Click to expand...
?

is the bolt loosened all the way but you can't pull it out? or are you still working on getting it loose?

im guessing you've already removed the shackle and u-bolts? if you haven't, do this first, it will make getting the front bolt out a lot easier by removing the weight from the leaves. if its still giving you trouble and you have a third hand, have someone pry at the bolt head with a screwdriver, prybar, whatever, while you turn the bolt. I was at the junkyard taking leaves out of an rusty early 90s xj and had to grab on of the mexican dudes to help pry while I turned, worked perfectly :)
 
The u-bolts and shackle bolts are already removed. The bolt in the front is still in the welded nut on the inside of the frame. One side is coming slowly the other I can't get to move at all. As I said, it has been soaking in PB for a while but I don't think that it can reach the spot that really needs it. I will try having someone pry while I use the breaker bar.
 
get a really long breaker bar and it can be done. 2 bad things can happen:
1. the bolt will seize in the bushing, in this case, cut the head off and rotate the leaf spring to get it out.
2. the nut will break from the frame. in this case, i think your best bet is cutting a hole under the nut with a 4" angle grinder, and putting a wrench up there to hold it in place.

with these simple steps, it will make leaf replacement a breeze.
 
Speaking as one who's "been there, done that", I'll let you know my experience was similar. Put a 3" Skyjacker lift in an '89 XJ. Everything went fine until we got to the rear. Those blind bolts for the front of the rear leaf would not budge!!!! I ended up soaking it with liquid wrench overnight, then putting on a good quality box-end wrench and lifting the end of the wrench with a floor jack to turn it. It turned like 1/16 of a turn at a time...very slow process. But it did work! I think the bushing was stuck to the bolt...not a rusted bolt problem.

My son called it the "evil bolt"! We eventually prevailed! Good luck.
 
I have run into the same problem a number of times, as I work in a 4wd shop, one thing to worry about is if the bolt and bushing go through the hole in the frame you will need flatten out the tear it makes, and use a washer and a grade 8 bolt. Usually if you heat them enough you can melt the bushing around the spring, and if the bushing works its way out I have used in the past a punch of somekind and spread the bushing out and then sprayed more PB, then if you can hold the bushing, and also turn the bolt that will usually make it come out. If it breaks the nut you can cut the unibody rail and put a new nut and all in....
 
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