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rear upper shock mounts.

jdurbach

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Centennial
I am looking into getting a rustys 2" lift and it comes with new shocks. what is the best way to prevent breaking the upper shock mounts in the back? This is my DD and not having the lift done in a day is not an option for me. This is the only thing that is worrying me about installing the lift. I am pretty mechanically inclined. ive already done a full suspaension job on my 1968 mustang. Also how are the rustys hydro shocks? I dont want to go with nitro shocks bc the ride will already be bad enough with the AAL. Is there someone out there that makes a 2" full leaf pack besides OME because i cant afford that.
 
It's the bolts that snap if they are rusted up. Soak with penetration oil and be careful. If they're too seized, they are going to break no matter what.

Rancho also makes a 2.5 inch pack, but you'll probbably get 3 inches. The Rusty's 3 inch pack is good for the price.
 
PolishX said:
go with the JKS bar pin elimator kits while you are there
The BPEs really don't help with future bolt issues. I've had them and have subsequently removed them. Other than the fact that they give the shocks an additional 3/4" of length, they really don't offer anything over the standard bar pin. Where I do find that they shine is for shocks for 5" and up lifts. Most of those shocks don't come with bar pins and the JKS BPEs do a good job.
 
i have new pins that are much beefier. Called warrior pins i think. Come with longer bolts. Had em for two years havnt broken them yet
 
They may break on you no matter what (3/4 mine did). If they do, it's no big deal if you're willing to cut a few 2"x3" (roughly) holes in the cab.

I used an air-chisel to get off the weld-nuts, then used my old rear sway bar mounts to make BPE's and attached the whole deal to the old holes with grade 8 hardware and lockwashers.

There's a hole in the center of the underside mounts, I drilled through it into the cab to locate things for me then went into the cab and used an angle grinder to cut my holes. When the everything was together I sprayed rust-preventive primer all down into the holes and all over everything inside the rails (that I could reach). I cut a couple of pieces of flashing to the right size and sealed them down over the holes with a fat bead of RTV to keep water and dirt from coming back into the cab.


If you're set on doing it in one day, be prepared for this to happen.

Also be prepared for the bolt in the front eye of your leaf springs to be seized in the metal sleeve inside the eye bushing. On mine, one side came right out, the other side bound up. I still managed to get the AAL in both sides, but I did the side that was bound up first. In worst case scenarios, the weld nut will snap off inside the frame, to fix that one I've heard of people cutting or drilling access holes....

A 2" lift should slide right in, to fit 3.5 I had to have my front sway bar off, and of course I snapped the torx bit that I had trying to get the links off. I ended up just hacking the links off and pulled the bar.

Get a hold of a coil spring compressor, external type. You probably won't need it for a lift of that size, but if you need it, you'll NEED it. One of my bumpstops wouldn't come out and the compressor made a 5 min job of switching springs and kept me from destroying the bumpstop to get it off.

Air tools, cutting equipment (angle grinder & torch), and being prepared for the worst to happen will go a lot of the way towards having your lift done in one day.
 
PB blaster the heck out of them for a week or two. But if it's their time, they are going to break (unfortunately).

While JKS BPE's may not work, you can fabricate brackets that use a bolt at the upper mount. But you'll still need to get the shock bolts out. Plus, you'll lose an inch or so of shock length.
 
when, I did my lift I just cut wholes, in the floor above the rear shock mounts, so I can see the threads and blaster them with pb blaster and let it sit. Cause, I hate dealing with broken bolts, ''who doesent''..haha.....Just my 02 good luck
 
jdurbach said:
does the breakage normally happen on older xjs mine is a 99
It will happen on any year. At trick that I have used and it works 99% of the time is after soaking the bolts in PB Blaster, is once the bolt is loose, turn it back in, back it out till it stops, then back in a turn or two. I keep doing this till it's out. Yes it takes time, but a lot less than replacing a broken bolt or anything else. You can use this method on any bolt, just be aware, it isn't foolproof.
 
my fronts came out easy , my backs both broke off ( 98 XJ ) and then trying to use a tap . it snapped off in there as well ., hardened tap off the snap on truck so you know it wasnt cheap
 
Shocks are the least of your worries. My 95 took a day just to do the rears! One leaf pack took me 4 hours just to get off! I of course PB Blastered the Jeep for 2 weeks before the lift day came. The big problem was the driver side rear shackle. The thing that was a kick in the nutz was the passenger side came off in 20 minutes. You just never know.

The best advise I've seen on this thread is to prepare for the worst.

I have also discovered a better product than PB, its called Deep Creep. Its works 10 times better and twice as fast! Its also safe on rubber.(PB is not)
 
Broke 3 out of 4 on an 01 from vegas after I soaked them in PB blaster for a week. Knocked the nuts straight up and out, then tried the coat hanger and bolt trick. That didn't work so I pilot holed the center of the mount, went inside and hole sawed down through the floor, welded in 4 bolts and welded the hole saw cuts back up. Only takes about an hr if you have access to a mig welder.
 
Nobody has said it yet- when you do get to putting shocks back on, use antiseize on all bolts. Next time there will be no big problems. I drilled out and tapped to the next bolt size up- had to slightly widen the slot in the bar pin for the fatter bolt (went from metric to 5/16 or 3/8, I think) which is easy. Just about everything under my XJ gets antiseize when worked on, since I live in road salt country.
 
Ok...step by step :read:
#1. soak the bolts in pb for a week as mentioned.
#2. when its time to remove the bolts break out the propane torch and put heat on one of the bolts
#3. While the bolt is still hot spray some more pb on it(this is important because it causes a thermal shock to occur,breaking the rust bond)
#4. smack the bolt head with a hammer a few times
#5.loosen just a little bit then tighten the same amount that you loosened,working the rust off the threads.repeat this step untill you feel confident that the bolt is free.
#6.rinse and repeat 3x

#7. this should be in the FAQ. thread.
 
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This is my solution on EVERY one of my XJ's: remember when you took the rear sway bar off? The bracket that bolted on to the spring plate and had the link from the sway bar attached to it is what you need. I simply remove the old shocks ( really doesn't matter if the bolts break off on the upper shock mount or not ). Then, I take the brackets, line them up under the XJ where the top of the old shock mounted, measure for length, trim to fit, and then WELD them in place. Now, no more stupid bar pin mount! You simply use a bolt to fit through the assembly and have a nice day!
 
Just prepare for the worst. I am just finishing up a 2" Budget Boost on my 1998 XJ. I have been working on it for the past 4 days, on and off. I broke all 4 of the rear upper shock mounts, I wasn't happy. Drilled them out and tapped and rethreaded. Took some time though.

I also broke the top nut on the front sway bar disconnects. I had spares from my TJ that I replaced them with. I also snapped the leaf spring bolt. Right now, I am 99% complete, just need 2 longer leaf spring bolts but hardware stores are closed today.

Guaranteed you are going to break some bolts.
 
jdurbach said:
does the breakage normally happen on older xjs mine is a 99


They all brake....
Drill them out and weld a nut onto a piece of band iron and slip up into place holding the band iron/strap material. Coat the new grade 8 bolts with never sieze.:explosion
 
wow, this stuff makes me amazed that the bolts on my 90 gave me very little trouble... also, to share my experience, for those rear shackle bolts, a portable blow torch works wonders (i used the yellow can)... just watch the gas tank
 
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