HELP broken shock mount

J98cherokee · Dec 29, 2004

Hi all, I was putting on the rubicon 4.5" lift and I broke 2 out of 4 of the heads of the shock mounts in the rear off flush with the metal. I have been trying to drill holes through them and i got smaller bits to go but I cant get anything bigger it is eating up my bits in 2 seconds. Is there an insert behind the sheet metal for the bolt to thread to because Im wondering if I can just drill a bigger hole but if there is a insert and I drill too big I would be screwed drying to put in my bolt.Any suggestions would really help. Thanks
Ryan

xjj33p3r · Dec 29, 2004

You'll have to go inside your jeep, and kinda find where the bolts would be. You'll need to cut a hole through the sheet metal, and remove the bolts that way. That's the only way I've heard of it done.

skyjackerXJ · Dec 29, 2004

The first time I lifted an XJ I broke all 4 upper shock mounts. They were flush with the body, so I found the centers, drilled a 1/8" hole, and then slowly increased bit sizes until I was about a 16th or so from the original bolt size. Then just slowly and carefully tap them again.

It took a while, but turned out surprisingly well. I used a cordless DeWalt and cobalt drill bits. Remember to use some cutting fluid when drilling.

And if you go this route and put new bolts back into those holes, use anti-seize. Also, check out detoursusa.com; they've come out with a cool new upper shock mount so you'll never have to go through this again.

kubtastic · Dec 29, 2004

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

this might be faster though

Timber · Dec 29, 2004

I did the rocklizard thing, but I cut two smaller holes and didn't cover them up with sheetmetal. If you cut there, be sure to paint the edges of the cuts or use some silicone. Cutting there makes it easy to use an air hammer/chisel to get the old weldnuts out. I didn't have access to one, so my new bolts are slightly crooked. I just made sure to check the torque every 50-100 miles for about 500 miles.

BTW--my mechanic wouldn't even touch the job and he moved here from Wisconsin just to build XJs, if that tells you anything.

Red97XJ · Dec 30, 2004

OK, first off, I can't remember who told me this, but it was on this forum last spring, but glory to him, not me.

This is a QUICK AND EASY fix. I am a regular schmo, did it in no time. Broke all 4 on my 97XJ.

Bust bolts.

Get a really big hammer and a big center punch and bang on each nut a few good hits. (I took a big bolt and ground it down on the end to a point). This will break the tac weld and the nut will be gone, left with a hole.

Get some good bolts and nuts. Put the nut in a closed wrench, use a small piece of black electric tape to hold in place. Fish in from factory slot from center of vehicle (about 6" inward) put shock in place and put bolt in and tighten. Helps to use the nuts that have a flange on one side, as you can't push it thru the wrench with the bolt when starting threads.

This sounds like a lot, but it is very easy. I can bolt both shocks in in half the time it would take just to move carpet!

Good luck to all.
Jason

P.S. By the way, I PB'd for over a week trying to save the hassle, it didn't work, but I would still do it, it made everything else go easy.

baseballneal86 · Dec 30, 2004

I totally agree with Red97XJ.

I worked at the local Jeep dealer this past summer and to replace broken shock bolts we would use an air chisel with a punch attachment to break the welded nut loose. Then using a magnet on a long extension we would drop a new bolt down through the hole where the nut used to be. It usually took no more than 15 minutes to finish both sides.

Although, using an air chisel on the underside of a muddy jeep is NO fun. I would recomend pressure washing or at least hosing off the bottom of your jeep before trying this method.

Timber · Dec 30, 2004

baseballneal86 said:
. . . we would drop a new bolt down through the hole where the nut used to be. It usually took no more than 15 minutes to finish both sides.

How'd you do that? I couldn't get a long enough bolt to fit down through that bolt hole. If that works, it's an awesomefest!

Red97XJ · Dec 31, 2004

I used a nut. Never tried the bolt.

bj-666 · Dec 31, 2004

Red97XJ said:
OK, first off, I can't remember who told me this, but it was on this forum last spring, but glory to him, not me.

This is a QUICK AND EASY fix. I am a regular schmo, did it in no time. Broke all 4 on my 97XJ.

Bust bolts.

Get a really big hammer and a big center punch and bang on each nut a few good hits. (I took a big bolt and ground it down on the end to a point). This will break the tac weld and the nut will be gone, left with a hole.

Get some good bolts and nuts. Put the nut in a closed wrench, use a small piece of black electric tape to hold in place. Fish in from factory slot from center of vehicle (about 6" inward) put shock in place and put bolt in and tighten. Helps to use the nuts that have a flange on one side, as you can't push it thru the wrench with the bolt when starting threads.

This sounds like a lot, but it is very easy. I can bolt both shocks in in half the time it would take just to move carpet!

Good luck to all.
Jason

P.S. By the way, I PB'd for over a week trying to save the hassle, it didn't work, but I would still do it, it made everything else go easy.

I might have been the one who told you that. That is exactly what i did works great and no probs to date!

HELP broken shock mount

J98cherokee

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xjj33p3r

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skyjackerXJ

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kubtastic

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Timber

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Red97XJ

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baseballneal86

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Timber

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Red97XJ

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bj-666

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