Is this bolt supposed to look like this?

[mgroeger]

So the Mrs. and I went off roading at Uwharie National Forest yesterday and hit some fun challenging trails. On the way home I walkie-talkied her and said we gotta pull over, something is very wrong with my steering, I can't go over 50mph without feeling really unstable.
So we pull over and I crawl around under the Jeep and find the picture above. Yep, looks like the flag nut came off and that was a fun 1.5 hour drive home. It was late and nothing was open so I pushed the bolt back in and it bit on a few threads in the bracket but was not tight at all. There was still play but it was driveable , didn't' go over 55 and got death wobble twice from a bump in the road but was able to stop it immediately.
By the time I got home my neck and shoulder were sooo tense... lol.

 

[mrblaine]

View attachment 106998


So the Mrs. and I went off roading at Uwharie National Forest yesterday and hit some fun challenging trails. On the way home I walkie-talkied her and said we gotta pull over, something is very wrong with my steering, I can't go over 50mph without feeling really unstable.
So we pull over and I crawl around under the Jeep and find the picture above. Yep, looks like the flag nut came off and that was a fun 1.5 hour drive home. It was late and nothing was open so I pushed the bolt back in and it bit on a few threads in the bracket but was not tight at all. There was still play but it was driveable , didn't' go over 55 and got death wobble twice from a bump in the road but was able to stop it immediately.
By the time I got home my neck and shoulder were sooo tense... lol.

If there are not any bits of leg pulling going on, then you are a very scary person. Without that bolt, the steering is compromised to the point of potentially fatal consequences. It is decidedly dangerous to drive your rig in that condition at more than 15-20 mph on roads with no other folks around. If that bolts falls out in a right hand sweeper with oncoming traffic, you will go much straighter than you need to and can easily wind up in the other lane.

Don't do that again.

 

[ranger101]

You were very lucky that didn’t fall all the way out! It needs a locking nut on there. Get rid of the OEM nut

 

[jazngab]

Holy smokes. I have my track bar out now and just turning the wheel back and forth there is ZERO stability. Can’t imagine driving with that coming apart

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

The bolt itself looks perfectly fine. The fact that it's not all the way in is something else entirely.

Some people I know, not necessarily Jeepers, would have spent so much time and money on getting towed home and cried about it for days if not weeks.

I'm glad you made it home and applaud you for the balls to do what it took to get there.

Your speed may have been too high but you did make it.

Did you have anything to kinda help hold the bolt in place? Wire ties? Duct Tape? 8" C-clamp? 12 gauge romex cable?

 

[jazngab]

Not sure how it stayed in place unless it’s wedged and pressure was holding it. There should be a flag nut on the other side holding it in place

 

[billiebob]

you need AAA

 

[mgroeger]

If there are not any bits of leg pulling going on, then you are a very scary person. Without that bolt, the steering is compromised to the point of potentially fatal consequences. It is decidedly dangerous to drive your rig in that condition at more than 15-20 mph on roads with no other folks around. If that bolts falls out in a right hand sweeper with oncoming traffic, you will go much straighter than you need to and can easily wind up in the other lane.

Don't do that again.

Unfortunately there is no leg pulling going on. What you see here is how it looked when I discovered it, I took a 15mm socket and got it to go all the way back in, bite some existing threads on the backside of the bracket and stay put. I did check it a few times and realized that it wasn't coming back out but was obviously loose. Once I saw that it would stay put I felt a little better but was still uneasy because it was not bolted down tight so there was still some play.
Admittedly not the brightest decision.
It will be getting a normal nut, lock washer and loctite later today.

 

[mrblaine]

Unfortunately there is no leg pulling going on. What you see here is how it looked when I discovered it, I took a 15mm socket and got it to go all the way back in, bite some existing threads on the backside of the bracket and stay put. I did check it a few times and realized that it wasn't coming back out but was obviously loose. Once I saw that it would stay put I felt a little better but was still uneasy because it was not bolted down tight so there was still some play.
Admittedly not the brightest decision.
It will be getting a normal nut, lock washer and loctite later today.

It didn't bite on existing threads on the bracket because there are none. It is a through hole for the bolt and the flag nut goes behind. The only thing holding it in was the hole in the bolt sleeve being offset slightly and putting some pressure to push the bolt sideways against the inside of the hole in the mount. Had you wiggled the end of the trackbar around, you would have been able to pull the bolt all the way out.

Avoid the lock washer. That isn't the application for one. Get a flag nut.

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

Avoid the lock washer. That isn't the application for one. Get the flag nut.

I'll word this just a little different.

 

[mgroeger]

It didn't bite on existing threads on the bracket because there are none. It is a through hole for the bolt and the flag nut goes behind. The only thing holding it in was the hole in the bolt sleeve being offset slightly and putting some pressure to push the bolt sideways against the inside of the hole in the mount. Had you wiggled the end of the trackbar around, you would have been able to pull the bolt all the way out.

Avoid the lock washer. That isn't the application for one. Get a flag nut.

When I first saw it I did just that and wiggled the track bar and the bolt came out since it was half way out like you see in the pic. The weird thing is when I put it back in I HAD to use a socket to get the bolt all the way in. I know there are no threads back there but somehow (I guess while off roading) that back hole distorted or something where I had to screw through it.
That was my saving grace that helped hold it in. When I pulled the bolt out today I had to unscrew it to get it to pull out. Odd.
What is mind boggling is how in the world did this happen. The last time I touched that flag nut was half a year ago and I cranked that sucker tight.
I've never had to buy a flag nut before, do local auto stores carry them or Home Depot?

 

[jjvw]

Holy smokes. I have my track bar out now and just turning the wheel back and forth there is ZERO stability. Can’t imagine driving with that coming apart

It's a good exercise for anyone working on the front track bar to take a moment and turn the steering wheel back and forth without the track bar connected. When you see the front end only shift side to side, you will hopefully gain a new appreciation for how important that link is.

 

[mrblaine]

When I first saw it I did just that and wiggled the track bar and the bolt came out since it was half way out like you see in the pic. The weird thing is when I put it back in I HAD to use a socket to get the bolt all the way in. I know there are no threads back there but somehow (I guess while off roading) that back hole distorted or something where I had to screw through it.
That was my saving grace that helped hold it in. When I pulled the bolt out today I had to unscrew it to get it to pull out. Odd.
What is mind boggling is how in the world did this happen. The last time I touched that flag nut was half a year ago and I cranked that sucker tight.
I've never had to buy a flag nut before, do local auto stores carry them or Home Depot?

Two things ruin a bolted slip critical connection. Under torque and over torque. Under doesn't develop enough stretch in the bolt to stabilize the connection, over stretches the bolt past the elastic limit into plastic deformation and it doesn't have any elastic ability left to stretch and develop enough clamping force to stabilize the connection.

 

[mgroeger]

It's a good exercise for anyone working on the front track bar to take a moment and turn the steering wheel back and forth without it connected. When you see the front end only shift side to side, you will hopefully gain a new appreciation for how important that link is.

Yes, that was my Oh $hit moment in the parking lot when I saw that.

 

[jjvw]

When I first saw it I did just that and wiggled the track bar and the bolt came out since it was half way out like you see in the pic. The weird thing is when I put it back in I HAD to use a socket to get the bolt all the way in. I know there are no threads back there but somehow (I guess while off roading) that back hole distorted or something where I had to screw through it.
That was my saving grace that helped hold it in. When I pulled the bolt out today I had to unscrew it to get it to pull out. Odd.
...

All that means it that the bushing end wasn't fully lined up with the bracket. The bind you were screwing into was the weight of the Jeep against the bolt.

 

[jazngab]

When I first saw it I did just that and wiggled the track bar and the bolt came out since it was half way out like you see in the pic. The weird thing is when I put it back in I HAD to use a socket to get the bolt all the way in. I know there are no threads back there but somehow (I guess while off roading) that back hole distorted or something where I had to screw through it.
That was my saving grace that helped hold it in. When I pulled the bolt out today I had to unscrew it to get it to pull out. Odd.
What is mind boggling is how in the world did this happen. The last time I touched that flag nut was half a year ago and I cranked that sucker tight.
I've never had to buy a flag nut before, do local auto stores carry them or Home Depot?

You were prob ratcheting in the hole that was NOT centered and you were feeling the pressure of the hole and not the flag nut. The flag nut you have to hold in place until it bites then it would thread tight if it bit.

 

[mrblaine]

All that means it that the bushing end wasn't fully lined up with the bracket. The bind you were screwing into was the weight of the Jeep against the bolt.

Had someone been there to turn the steering wheel back and forth, he could have pulled it right out.

 

[mgroeger]

I just went out and checked it and you guys are correct. Dang, that makes it even worse. I was going to wrap duct tape around it last night just to keep it from coming forward but when I saw it staying put I felt better.

Regarding the flag nut, where can I get one today? Do I need the specific one for that area or will any flag nut with the proper threading work?

 

[jjvw]

Tape a nut to a wrench and feed up into place.

I recall Black Magic Brakes having a track bar flag nut.

 

[jjvw]

Had someone been there to turn the steering wheel back and forth, he could have pulled it right out.

Yep. And the Jeep is more than capable of shaking the bolt out while rolling down the road.