xj92
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Junction City, KS
I broke the front bolt on the driver side leaf spring pack today. Part of the bolt is still sticking out, so I can't even remove the springs. My drill can't get a straight shot at it because of the pinch seam. The bolt is only sticking out 1/2" from what I can tell. Any ideas for getting it out? Here are my thoughts, feel free to correct, criticize, or shed light on a better way to get the bolt out of there.
1. Bend the outside metal piece of the spring hanger out enough to slide the spring pack out of the perch. Screw a nut onto the piece of the bolt that is sticking out, weld it in place, and crank it out. I don't have a welder so I'd have to find somebody with a welder willing to bring it out to where I live, and I've already spent a couple hours trying to bend that piece out enough, and it's moved a lot, but not enough to get the springs out.
2. Cut a hole from inside to access the inside of the frame rail. From there I could cut the nut off and have a new one welded in place. Problem with this is that if the nut were not welded in the exact right location, I'd have future problems getting the bolt in and out. It seems like it would be difficult to get it exactly right. Maybe tack weld it with the bolt in to get it lined up right and then finish it off with the bolt out. I'd then have to have something welded to fix the floor.
Those are the only 2 ways I can think of so far. Bolt extractors wouldn't work because of how stuck the bolt is. If I drill it out, I'll have to re-tap it, and then the bolt would be a different size and wouldn't fit through the standard spring bushings. Anyway to do this without a welder? Any ideas. TIA.
1. Bend the outside metal piece of the spring hanger out enough to slide the spring pack out of the perch. Screw a nut onto the piece of the bolt that is sticking out, weld it in place, and crank it out. I don't have a welder so I'd have to find somebody with a welder willing to bring it out to where I live, and I've already spent a couple hours trying to bend that piece out enough, and it's moved a lot, but not enough to get the springs out.
2. Cut a hole from inside to access the inside of the frame rail. From there I could cut the nut off and have a new one welded in place. Problem with this is that if the nut were not welded in the exact right location, I'd have future problems getting the bolt in and out. It seems like it would be difficult to get it exactly right. Maybe tack weld it with the bolt in to get it lined up right and then finish it off with the bolt out. I'd then have to have something welded to fix the floor.
Those are the only 2 ways I can think of so far. Bolt extractors wouldn't work because of how stuck the bolt is. If I drill it out, I'll have to re-tap it, and then the bolt would be a different size and wouldn't fit through the standard spring bushings. Anyway to do this without a welder? Any ideas. TIA.