HELP!!!!!

Day 2 and hour #17 and the lift still isn't done. There's been too many obstacles to list, but right now I'm just stuck. The bolts that hold the leaf springs to the frame rail won't budge. Impact wrench = nothing. Man power = nothing. I've used arm power, leg power, jack power, air power. Even tried melting a candle down into the bolt shaft to loosen it up. Nothing. The shackle bolts on the rear of leaf pack won't come loose either. I can cut those as a last resort, but the bolt on the front goes into the frame rail, I assume through a welded nut, and disappears. Cutting it will only make matters worse. ANY suggestions!?!? Anybody not doing anything tomorrow???

Oh, and the shock bolts broke, as promised. Easy-Outs don't work. Just drill the whole thing out and use a bigger bolt?

be careful with the leaf spring bolt that goes into the frame rail. i broke that one on the drivers side. I ended up with just about 1/8th inch of the bolt still in the leaf spring.

have you been spraying the bolts with PB Blaster or similar product? dont bother with WD40 as it doesnt desolve the rust on the bolt. Have you tried alternating between tightening and loosening the bolts or are you unable to get it loose at all? If when your backing the bolt out it starts to stick then give with a horrable screaching sound, then the threads are full of debris. just retighten the bolt down and back it out some more. alternate tightening and loosening the bolt. this will help get some of the rust and other debris out of the threads without getting it wedged between the two pieces of metal stalling your progress.

also, heat applied to the bolt seems to work well in getting the bond between the two rusted pieces broke to start off.

hth
stewie

Is the bolt rotating? Did it start to come out and then stop? Will it turn? If you can, look through one of the inside framerail holds to see the welded nut inside. See if just the edge of the bolt is sticking through the nut.

Here's the deal. The springs have rubber bushings with metal sleeves. The metal sleaves corrode with the bolt inside (I know poor design). So if the corrosion is bad enough the bolt won't move. In my case, I could undo the bolt to the point where it cleared the threads on the nut inside the frame rail (hint, the threads end about 1/4" before the end of the bolt). I spent hours turning the bolt with a cheater bar and it wouldn't budge. Finally, I realized that the bolt was spinning in the nut and was being held up because the threads had entered the corroded bushing sleeve. I cut the bolt on each side of the spring with a sawsall. I used pliers to work the last piece of the bolt out of the nut and then replaced it with a bolt I bought from a dealership.

The final option you'll find here is to cut the bolt on each side of the spring and then cut a window into the frame rail to get at the other end of the bolt. After you work the bolt out and put the new one on go to a shop and have them weld a pate on the frame rail where the window was to maintain strength. You may find a post on here somewhere with more detailed information.

As far as the shocks go. Try to drill that bolt out if the nuts are still in tact. If the nuts pop off and start moving around. You'll have to cut a window from inside the jeep to get at the shock mounts. Again, there are posts on here with more detailed information on how to do this.

Finally, I don't know if you're using PB Blaster or not but it is really required when working on jeeps like this . Not WD40! PB Blaster. There's a big difference. Spray all nuts and bolts each day for at least a week if you have time. PB gets in there and loosens things up.

Good luck!

another idea is to keep the oem main leaf and make a bastard pack...not having to take out the leafs is a major advantage.

As stated earlier, use P B Blaster. Put it on now and again before you go to bed then again in the morning. I had to use a 4 ft. pipe over the end of a box end wrench to brake mine loose. Once you get it moving don't stop or it could bind up again. One of the front control arm bolts was bonded to the rubber bushing. I had to cut the bolt with a cutoff wheel in my 4 inch disc grinder on each side of the bushing for it to come out. It will be okay when you get it all done and lots of "good" experience. I wish you well.
PS on the shock bolts. I drilled a hole up through the broke off bolt and taped new threads. I've seen on here some where about people cutting a hole in their rear compartment to get to the upper shock bolt nuts.

When I changed out my rear shackles, I had difficulty with the upper bolts going into the welded nut. Be careful. I used lots of PB Blaster, and the alternating loosen/tighten method - over a couple days. If the bolt gets too hot from one-way turning, it could snap. I actually split a 22mm impact socket breaking one side loose, but - patience won out, and I broke nothing. On that same side, there was rust & adhesion of the inner bushing sleeve. PB eventually let that break loose, too.

I soaked all the bolts in PB blaster everyday since I ordered the lift about a week and a half ago. The bolt won't turn either direction. I used a cheater pipe, and even put my hands on the front tire and pushed with my legs.

One idea I had was making two horizontal cuts on the wraparound leaf that houses the bushing. Pop the piece out that I cut and try to slip the leaf off the bolt. Then it's just a matter of threading out of the welded nut and the frame bracket. As for the shackle bolts, I'll just cut those off and replace them. Can you only get the the frame rail bolt at a dealership? I don't wanna have to cut that one if I don't have to, especially since I'd have to cut into the frame rail to get the whole thing out.

As for the shock bolts, should I just drill them out one size bit at a time until the threads are gone and then retap with a slightly larger bolt? I don't wanna have to go cutting away at the floorboards.

And somebody said something about the LCA bolts being a bitch. You aint kiddin'! That's the whole reason this thing went into day 2 in the first place. The bolt was seized inside the bushing sleeve. I could get it to turn and then the rubber would send it spinning right back where it started. Ended up breaking a box-end wrench using it as a cheater. Felt pretty proud about that one though. Ended up cutting both ends of it and air chiseling it out four hours after I started on it. :doh:

You guys must put a lot of salt on your roads.... mine were quite easy to get out. Just used a 2ft prybar to break it loose and an impact to get em the rest of the way out. arty:

Winters can get harsh in West Virginia, and the state road lays the salt down pretty thick. It's only been in this state a year though. It came from South Dakota and barely had a spot of rust under it, but one year in WV takes its toll.

you know the little plastic thingy that comes with pb & wd-40 and others. Drill a hole through the unibody just big enough for it to fit through so you can get that crap on the bolt were it matters. I have used all of my 225 lbs to break those bolts loose before and it sounded like a shotgun going off when they finally loosened.

Use a floor jack or bottle jack to apply constant pressure to the breaker bar or cheater bar.

Frank Z said:

Use a floor jack or bottle jack to apply constant pressure to the breaker bar or cheater bar.

Click to expand...

Tried that too.:helpme:

I read somewhere on here where a guy suggested heating the bolt and then hitting it with PB while it was hot. The idea being the shock cooling effect possibly breaking the rust that is seizing the bolt. Good luck.

I ordered new bolts from here: pointe-products.com. They are 14mmx120mm with a 2.0 thread pitch.

Also, for those that don't know: Lying under the jeep, if you use a flashlight and really aim the stream of PB, you can hit the weld nut with the PB throught the holes in the frame rail.

Same thing happen to mine.Just twist my shocks 1/2" drill and tap works just fine for me.

Man I feel your pain. I am dealing with the same ole story. Worked on my jeep for 8 hours yesterday. Pb blasted everything for 4 days. Broke every bolt off in the frame for the leaf springs.

I had to cut all of mine, and then weld a plate and new bolt back in on both sides of the frame rail. PB is gonna work the best, plus a little heat.

My idea worked! :laugh3: Used the acetaline torch to cut the wraparound off, used a utility knife to cut the bushing out, used an angle grinder to cut the sleeve, pryed the sleeve off and then backed the bolt out. *Whew!* :smoker:It was a lot of work, but I saved the bolt. The shackle bolts were tough but they came with a little persuasion. She's still not completely done, but at least she's back on all fours. I still have NO rear shocks . We just ran out of time, so I'm gonna drive up to my girlfriend's brother's house on Friday, about 25 miles, with no shocks. We're gonna drill the old bolts the rest of the way out, retap, and drive a headless bolt up in there. Weld it in place, put the shock on, and put a nut on the bottom side. Sound like it oughta work?

for the shock bolts i generally just try to take them out. if they do, cool. if they don't, then i take an air hammer with a pointed bit and hit the broken bolt. you can then just snap the bolt out, or sometimes the actual welded nut will rip of. then you can put a nut and bolt through there. that's actually what they do at the dealership most of the time.